Page 26 of Men or Paws
Rocco’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
I reached down and scratched the dog under the chin. “I don’t know why, but I was under the impression that Houdini was going to be a bit on the wild side, but he’s so mellow.”
“Don’t let that innocent face fool you. Sometimes he freaks out if he sees me leave the property or if he frantically searches for me and can’t find me. If you’re keeping him company or playing with him, he should be fine, but don’t be surprised if he suddenly goes from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Rawhide.” Rocco grinned.
I shook my head at his attempt at humor.
“Tough audience.” It didn’t seem to faze Rocco because he chuckled and kept talking. “By the way, Houdini is his name for a reason, so don’t leave any doors or gates open or he’ll be gone with the wind.”
“Got it.”
“And let me know when you’re going to take him off the property for a walk. I like to know where he is at all times.”
I nodded. “Not a problem.”
“Great,” Rocco said. “Now, I really should get started on my work. Let me give you that quick tour of the house and also show you which areas are off limits. This way.”
I followed Rocco and Houdini, wondering why there were areas he didn’t want me to see. I didn’t care what he had in his rooms, really, but what was he trying to hide?
Dead bodies? A meth lab? A secret G.I. Joe collection?
Leaving the kitchen, Rocco pointed to the first door around the corner, cracking it open just enough for me to see some light on the other side, but nothing more. “This is the garage where I have a few of my cars. We will go ahead and make this off limits since there is nothing that would be of interest to you in there, I’m guessing.”
I crossed my arms. “Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“No,” Rocco said. “Because you have made it perfectly clear that you are not a fan of my lifestyle, which, believe me, I’m not complaining about. It will make things so much easier over the next three weeks. I doubt you would want to see my car collection, anyway.” He let go of the door.
“Well, you assumed wrong, and since it’s not in the contract . . .” Taking one big step forward, I stopped the door from shutting all the way with the palm of my hand.
The problem was, I didn’t take into account how close that would put my body to Rocco’s body since he didn’t move out of my way.
Another inch and we would be touching.
My second mistake was glancing up at his Michelangelo-constructed jawline and taking in the scent of his cologne, a light, pleasing fragrance of citrus, sandalwood, with a dash of horse tranquilizer, I’m guessing, based on my current hypnotic state and the way my body was reacting to his proximity.
Why did I suddenly want to climb up his chest like a mountain goat and jam my nose in his neck?
“Why are you looking at me that way?” Rocco asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied, prying my gaze away from his chocolate-lava-cake brown eyes. I squinted, trying to get a peek of the garage through the two-inch door opening. “You said you doubted I would want to see your car collection. Well, you’re wrong, because I happen to be a car enthusiast.”
Rocco chuckled. “You?”
“Yes,me. Let’s take a quick look-see, and then we can move on to the rest of the house.”
He hesitated, then pushed the door all the way open. “Can we please make this quick?”
“Of course.” Nudging past him, I stepped down into the garage and immediately stopped in my tracks. “Holy cow. Nice garage.”
It appeared to be a six-car garage from the outside, but in reality, it could probably fit ten to twelve cars inside, with room to spare for his everyday man-cave necessities. The garage was like a giant car dealership showroom, well-lit, immaculately clean, with a shiny tile floor that didn’t have a speck of dust or oil.
I gasped at the sight of the first car. “A 1948 Ford De Luxe.”
Rocco stepped down into the garage with Houdini and stopped beside me, craning his neck in my direction. “How did you know that?”
“I told you—I love cars. My grandpa taught me a thing or two when I was growing up.”
Rocco’s car would have fit right in with my grandpa’s classic car collection.
