Free The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) by Sarah Ballance

He had some of his color back, which made her feel better. Then he reached out and took her camera bag, which made her feel…odd. A polite gesture by any account, but the hint of a smile and intensity in his eyes set loose a rabble ofbutterflies she hadn’t felt since…ever. She relinquished the bag—the ease at which she was able to do so astounding her, because her camera was her baby —and settled into step next to him.
    “So you help rescue animals, both domestic and abroad, buy ugly pajamas, and want to see the world,” he said. “What else is simmering under that surface?”
    “Feel the need to brace yourself?” she teased.
    “I probably should,” he said under his breath.
    She elbowed him and took hopeless note of just how hard he was under that tee of his. Figured she’d notice that.
    ”To answer your question,” she said,” I also do beefcake calendars for other local charities and some businesses.”
    “Is that what I think it is?”
    She grinned. “Stupidly ripped men posing for hottie of the month?”
    He nodded. “Not exactly how I would have worded it, but yeah.”
    “You’d be amazed at how much money they pull in as fundraisers. In fact, you and your brothers should get in on it. Put out a calendar for Fusion. You could give it away to your customers, and your phone would ring off the hook with people hiring you just to get a copy.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said in a tonethat suggested he absolutely would not.
    Ethan didn’t say much for the remainder of the walk, and Rue didn’t push it. He looked as if he had something on his mind, and she didn’t need to be in the middle of whatever it was. But more than that, she was excited over the job ahead. She loved her work with the shelter and wished she could do it more often, but she relied on the donated time ofa pet groomer, who also had her hands full with the ragtag bunch of strays and abandoned pets that arrived in spades at the door of the no-kill shelter.
    Upon their arrival, Ethan held open the front door. “Hey, Abbie,” Rue said to the owner, now her friend.
    The woman looked up from the front desk with a ready smile, but her attention quickly slid past Rue and landed squarely on Ethan.“Abbie Marshall,” Abbie said. “And this is not Janie.”
    “Not last I checked,” Ethan said easily. “Ethan Chase, substitute photographer’s assistant.”
    “I need to switch jobs,” Abbie muttered. “Or at least go watch you do yours.”
    “Forget it,” Rue said with a laugh. “He’s taken, and not by me. The line forms to the left.”
    Ethan shot her a grateful, albeit surprised, look. Sheoffered a soft smile in return. To Abbie, she asked, “Is Kate already here?” referring to the groomer.
    “Yep, she’s got a few ready for you. A couple of them are handfuls, giving Kate trouble, and someone dropped off a bunch of puppies a couple days ago.”
    “The difficult customers are always the best,” Rue said brightly. And she meant it. For some odd reason, not every animal enjoyedbeing bathed, de-matted, and groomed, and many of those were still pouting for the camera. Their expressions, more often than not, were hilarious, and they actually tended to be the first adopted.
    “I’m not sure I like where this is headed,” Ethan said under his breath.
    Rue didn’t say a word. She knew exactly where this was headed, and the thought of sensitive, sexy Ethan cradling afreshly washed and fluffed puppy had her panties in indecently crafted knots. “You’ll love it,” she said, speaking for the both of them.
    They passed the grooming area, where Kate held an angrily mewling cat under a rinse, and entered the back room together. Ethan hesitated at the sight—which was indeed pathetic—but quickly caught up. As soon as the door swung open, the saddest dog she’dever seen—and the shelter’s only permanent resident—padded her way over, head dipped in anticipation of the attention she knew would come.
    “What.