Free Diamond in the Ruff (Matchmaking Mamas Book 13) by Marie Ferrarella

the
last
thing he wanted to do. If nothing else, it would get in the way of her being able to adequately relate to the puppy she was so obviously meant to bond with.
    So instead, Christopher aimed his attention—as well as his words—at the black furry creature that all but had his head squarely in his lap, still silently begging for attention and to be petted.
    This, Christopher decided, was a dog that thrived on positive reinforcement. That should ultimately make it easier for Lily.
    “Have you been giving your mistress a hard time, Jonny-boy?” Christopher laughed, continuing to stroke the puppy. “Well, that’s going to stop as of right now, do I make myself clear?” he asked in a pseudostern voice.
    Eager-to-please brown eyes stared up at him, and then Jonathan’s pink tongue darted out to quickly lick his hand. The same hand that had just been petting the animal.
    Christopher pulled his hand out of the dog’s reach. “No more of that for a while. You’re not fooling anyone. We’re here to work,” he told the dog as he got up off the ground. The next moment, the leash in one hand, he offered his other hand to Lily. “C’mon, it’s time to start both your training lessons.”
    Taking his hand, Lily had the momentary sensation of being enveloped and taken care of. The man had strong hands. He also wasn’t as quick to let her hand go as she would have thought. It was just an extra second or so, but it registered.
    Feeling herself start to flush, Lily quickly changed the subject. “You made it sound as if you’re going to be training me, as well,” she said with a nervous laugh.
    The laugh dissipated in her throat when he looked at her with a wide smile and replied good-naturedly, “That’s because I am.”
    Lily was so stunned by his answer that for a couple of minutes, she had no reply to render, snappy or otherwise. And then her brain finally kicked in.
    “I’m happy to say that I’m housebroken,” she told Christopher.
    She watched, nearly mesmerized, as the corners of his mouth slowly curved. She found herself being drawn into his smile. The line “resistance is futile” flashed through her brain.
    “Good to know,” Christopher told her, “but that isn’t exactly what I have in mind for you.”
    “Oh?”
    She looked at him warily, unaccountably relieved that they were out in the open, in a fairly crowded area. For the life of her, she wouldn’t have been able to explain why the thought of being alone with the man made her fingertips tingle and the rest of her feel nervous. She did her best not to let him see the effect he was having on her.
    “And what is it that you have in mind for me?” she asked, brazening it out. It was a loaded question and had they been friends for some length of time, or at least at a stage where they knew one another a little better, the answer that flashed through her brain might have been obvious.
    “I intend to train you on how to train Jonny here,” he told Lily. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do just about everything. With a dog, the wrong way won’t get you the results you want and it could get you in trouble. Remember, it’s important to maintain positive reinforcement. I don’t care if it’s a treat—a small one,” he emphasized, warning, “or you’ll wind up with a severely overweight dog—or lavish praise, as long as it’s positive. Remember, kindness works far better than fear,” he told her as they began to walk to the heart of the park.
    “Fear?” she repeated uncertainly. The word conjured up vivid memories of her own reaction to Jonathan and his nipping teeth.
    Christopher nodded. “I’ve seen people scream at their pets, hit them with a rolled-up newspaper or anything else that happened to be handy. The pet was always the worse for it. You don’t want your pet to be obedient out of fear but out of love. I can’t stress that enough,” he told her. And then he curtailed the rest of his lecture, as if not wanting