Free The Guy Next Door by Lori Foster Page A

lurched back out of range, but Jett wasn’t quite so lucky. The bottom of his jeans got sprinkled.
    He looked at Natalie’s face and knew she was afraid of how he might react. Did she expect anger? Outrage? Abuse against the poor animal for getting excited?
    He’d have his work cut out for him, winning her trust.
    Jett rubbed the dog’s ear. Deadpan, he said to Natalie,“This might be a good time to mention that there could be some messes until he gets trained.”
    Relief left her giggling. One hand over her mouth, she scrambled to her feet and headed into the kitchen for paper towels. “He can stay at my place sometimes?”
    Damn, but she kept his emotions in turmoil. How the hell could she be so killer-sexy and still be so damned sweet?
    “If you don’t mind the occasional accident.” Maybe with the dog as an incentive, she’d break down and spend the night with him instead of scuttling back to her own apartment even before their breathing had quieted.
    Usually he avoided the commitment implicit in spending the night together, but the idea of holding Natalie all night, waking with her in the morning, appealed to him.
    Jett tried to take the towels from her so he could clean up the dog’s accident himself, but Natalie bent to the task without hesitation. Her hair fell forward, hiding her face, but he knew she was smiling.
    Staring down at her, Jett noted the delicate line of her spine, the flare of her hips and her utter lack of squeamishness. He marveled that she’d come from an entitled background.
    Not once had he ever seen her put her nose up at anyone. She didn’t shy away from hard work. She drove a modest car and dressed conservatively, both in style and cost. She laughed easily, spoke her mind and lived independently of her wealthy father.
    In no way did she act like one of the moneyed elite. His family would adore her.
    Her family, he assumed, would disdain him. Not that he gave a damn what they thought.
    As Natalie threw away the paper towels and washed her hands, Jett picked up the pup so it wouldn’t get excited and make more of a mess. He got a big licking-kiss for his trouble.
    “That’s what we should name you,” he told the dog as he wiped his face on a shoulder.
    “What?” Natalie asked when she returned.
    “Trouble.”
    She laughed and cuddled close to him to pet the dog. “No way can you saddle such a sweet little dog with that name.”
    “Sweet, huh? I need to change my jeans, woman. Nothing sweet in that.”
    Twin dimples showed in her cheeks as she bit back a big grin. “He just lost control, that’s all.” And then to the dog, “Didn’t you, baby?”
    The dog wriggled with happiness, and Jett tucked him under his arm for a better grip.
    “I am so glad you’re keeping him.”
    Jett heard the unremarked “but” in her statement. Natalie had the wheels turning, drawing conclusions that were probably all wrong.
    Did she think his decision to keep the dog excluded him from going with her on vacation?
    She didn’t know his family. In fact, he had a feeling she didn’t understand the idea behind “family” at all.
    When the dog started squirming around again, Jett decided it might be a good time to take him out real quick. He snagged a jacket from the coat tree by his door and stepped into his athletic shoes. “Soon as I take this beast out so he can commune with nature, I’m goingto call my sister, Connie. She’s a vet. She can keep the dog until we get back from the lake. And by then, she’ll have him good as new.”
    Startled by that outpouring, Natalie hustled after him. “You have a sister?”
    “Three actually, all of them younger, all of them nosy as hell.” He put a kiss to her forehead. The dog tried to do the same, which lifted Natalie’s frown. “That pizza is going to be cold before we get to eat it. You want to set things out while I’m gone? I’ll just be a few minutes.” He walked out the door before she could question him more.
    Once outside, a