Page 66 of Wanting the Winger

“Who is it?” Her head swivels side to side.

Darius brings Brutus inside and Tillie squeals as soon as she sees him.

She grabs my arm. “A doggie, Mom. He has a doggie.”

Darius bends down. “This is Brutus. Brutus, this is Tillie.”

“Can I pet—” Her question gets cut off when Brutus drags his tongue from her cheek to her temple. She giggles. “He licked me.”

“That means he likes you and he wants you to pet him,” Darius explains.

“That’s what a guy does when he likes you too,” Wendy mumbles softly so only I hear.

Tillie runs her hand from the top of his head down to his tail. “He’s so soft. Did you paint his spots, Mommy?”

I laugh as I think about how Darius and I met. “I did give him those spots. Do you like them?”

“I love them!”

“So those are the infamous rainbow leopard spots.” Wendy smirks.

“They’ve kind of grown on me,” Darius says, smiling.

“Tillie, what do you think of Darius coming to the beach with us?”

She nods. “Okay. And Brutus too?”

I smile. “And Brutus too.”

* * *

Darius pulls his truck into the beach house driveway. “Are you sure this is okay?” I ask. I feel weird about dropping in on people I don’t know.

“I’m positive. I texted Ace before we left your house to make sure he’s around. He said to look for them on the beach.”

“Them? Is he having a party?” My voice croaks.

“Sports teams tend to do things outside of work with their teammates.”

“Does he play hockey too?” I ask.

“No, he’s retired now, but he used to play for the Charleston Pirates football team.”

I roll my eyes at him. “I know the Pirates are a football team.”

“I thought you hated all sports.”

I shrug. “What can I say? I really just hate hockey. But I guess I’m gonna learn to love it now that I’ve got my very own hockey star.” I smile.

He taps the tip of my nose. “As long as you love me, that’s all that matters.”

“Well, that’s not challenging at all.”

“Is this the beach?” Tillie asks from the back seat of the truck.

I look back at her. “It’s right behind this house. How did you like riding with Brutus?”

Her blue eyes light up. “It was awesome. He let me pet him the whole time. Can we get a dog?”

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