Page 29 of Stunner (Whiskey Dolls 3)

“Goodnight, beautiful. Drive safe,” he returned on a chuckle as he stood tall and closed my door for me.

I hit the button to start my car and pulled out of the parking spot, smiling the whole way home as I thought about what tomorrow would bring. I’d finally take my new pet home, and hopefully, fingers and toes crossed, I’d end the day with a date as well.

14

OWEN

“Ican’t believe how good he looks,” Asher cooed as she sat on the floor of my living room so Triumph could love all over her. Sure, I could have had her pick him up down at the clinic, where he’d been with me all day, but if I was going to open a door on my own—or whatever the hell my sister had said—I felt more comfortable doing it here in private than in front of my staff and other patients.

I stood a few feet away, my back pressed against the wall, arms and ankles crossed as I watched her. She’d come from rehearsal at the club where she performed and was dressed in a pair or short, tight black yoga shorts that showed off miles of long, tanned legs, with a black sports bra beneath a ribbed white tank she had tied in a knot so it settled a few inches above the waistband of those shorts.

I’d been to Whiskey Dolls before—you couldn’t live in our county and not check it out at least once or twice—and what she was wearing was no more revealing than some of the costumes she’d worn on stage. Hell, if anything, her clothes weremoremodest, not less, but you’d have thought I was some pimple-faced hormonal fourteen-year-old with how my body reacted. I wanted to reach out and caress that skin at her belly to see ifit was as silky smooth as it looked. As it was, it had taken a whole hell of a lot of willpower to keep my dick from standing at attention.

“Aren’t you just the strongest, bravest, most amazing dog in the whole wide world?” she baby-talked, putting Triumph straight into a fit of happiness and excitement.

Christ, she was cute as hell when she snuggled with that damn dog. Not one to be ignored, Gus sauntered over and bumped Asher’s shoulder with his snout. She laughed, a sweet, musical sound, as she lifted her arm to hug him around his furry neck. “Aw, is someone jealous?”

Never in a million years did I think I’d envy my damn dog, but there I was, wishing I could trade places with him.

“Nah, he’s fine. I think he’ll miss Triumph when he’s gone. Those two got along a lot better than I expected.”

She looked up at me, those golden eyes bright as the midday sun when she smiled. “I bet. Gus is a great dog.”

I looked over at him just as he plopped down on the floor beside Asher and placed his head on her thigh. “He can be, when he’s not being a pain in the ass.”

Her giggle made my insides tighten. “This guy? Never.”

Turn the knob and open the door, I silently told myself.Just open the goddamn door.

“Listen—” I began, ready to put it all out there, when her phone started going off like crazy.

She let out a soft curse as she shifted and reached for the phone in her back pocket. “I’m so sorry.”

“No problem. You need to get that?”

She hit a button on the side to silence the call and set it on the floor beside her, face down. “No, it’s just Sloane. Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was wondering if—” That fucking phone started pinging like crazy, one message after another coming through in rapidfire. “Obviously, she really wants to get hold of you,” I said, my voice taking on a flat tone as my annoyance at the interruptions grew.

“God, she’s a pain in my ass,” Asher lamented as she lifted the phone back up and began to scroll. “It’s not an emergency, I swear. She’s texting about this big anniversary party our bosses are hosting for us. They’re closing the club down next Tuesday to celebrate. I RSVPed with a plus-one, but that was before. And now that Jackson and I are over—”

I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity. And it basically fell into my lap. “I’ll go with you.”

Her head darted up, her eyes wide with surprise. “What?”

I worked to keep my tone calm and casual. “I can go with you. That is, if you want.”

“I do,” she replied quickly, those two words coming out on an adorable squeak. Jesus, would it be too soon to kiss her already? “I mean, yeah. If you aren’t busy.”

“I’ve got the clinic, but I don’t think it’ll be an issue getting my vet tech to cover for me until closing. I cocked an eyebrow as she rose to her feet, doing a little stretch to ease her muscles that had gone stiff from sitting on the floor. “What are we talking here? Casual? Black tie?”

She hit me with a beaming smile I felt right in my dick. “Somewhere in the middle. Slacks and a nice shirt, mainly. You don’t even have to go full-suit if you don’t want to.”

“I can make that work.” I wasn’t a fan of suits, but I was more than willing to make the effort if it was necessary. This date was a year and a half, and a whole lot of drama, in the making. Hell, I’d have even donned another tux, despite hating those fucking things, if that was what it took. Uncrossing my arms, I took a step closer to her, closing most of the distance between us, but leaving enough space for the dogs to wind their way between our legs as they were doing right then.

A crisp, sweet juniper smell filled my nostrils as I inhaled deeply. It was mixed with the smallest hint of sweat from her rehearsal but was enough to cause me to lose the battle with my dick. It went rock hard at the thought of making her sweat as I drove into her, of how her smell on my sheets, mixed with sex, would be the best kind of aphrodisiac. “Then it’s a date, sweetheart,” I said, my voice coming out slightly hoarse as I reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Unable to help myself, I dragged the pads of my fingers along the column of her long, delicate neck.

Her pupils dilated, her breath hitched, and her throat clicked on a swallow. “A date?”

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