gone off again for the alone-time Buck craved.
Heâd done little more than think about making love to Sadie. At first, heâd resisted the idea, thinking it might be better to ease her into it. Maybe spend a week just necking, then a week pettingâ¦but heknew his control wasnât strong enough for that. Not with Sadie.
And there was the very real concern that if he waited, sheâd misconstrue his impatience for lack of interest. He couldnât have that.
He brought his attention back to his guests in time to hear Sadie say, âYes, itâs incredibly hard to give the dogs up, but I always make sure they go to a wonderful and appropriate home.â
âSo,â Harris asked with visible hesitation, âwould I be eligible to take one? Clairâs been talking about getting a pet since weâll be moving into our own house soon.â Then to explain, he added, âEthanâs wife, Rosie, is a realtor and sheâs always finding great deals on houses. The one we offered for is a handyman special, and since Buck is a real handyman, I couldnât pass it up.â
Ethan nodded. âRosie made kids and a dog and a damn picket fence all a stipulation before saying yes to my proposal.â He winked. âIâve been working most diligently on the kid part. Since thatâs not happening real fast, maybe I could surprise her with a dog. What about us? Do we qualify as suitable?â
Because Sadie barely knew Harris and Ethan, she glanced at Buck.
He nodded. âYouâre visiting with bona fide heroes, honey. Firefighters. Ethanâs even been written up for daring deeds, and Harris once went back into a fire to save a kidâs guinea pig. Neither one of them wouldever neglect or abuse an animal. And their wives are terrific, too. You couldnât find a better home for a dog.â
Harris pretended to sniff. âDamn, Buck, now youâve made me all weepy.â
Ethan laughed. âTrue friends always make each other sound good.â
âThank you,â Sadie said with a smile. âIâll definitely keep you in mind.â
Buck took Ethanâs elbow. âSpeaking of friends and what they do for each otherâitâs time for you two to hit the road.â
Ethan allowed himself to be hauled out of his seat. Harris rose on his own steam with a lot of feigned offense. âWhat? No dessert? No coffee? See, this is why you need to get hitched. Youâre a lousy host.â
Buck surprised them both by saying, âIâll see what I can do.â He didnât turn to see Sadieâs reaction. Heâd find out how she felt about a real relationship soon enough.
As he practically dragged Harris and Ethan to the front door, they yelled back their farewells to Sadie, then started sniggering and elbowing Buck as he tried to shove them out onto the stoop.
Buck gave up. âSo what do you think?â
Bobbing his eyebrows, Harris whispered, âStill waters run deep.â
âVery sweet,â Ethan added. âAnd gentle.â
Buck was so relieved, he grinned. Heâd been half afraid his buds wouldnât recognize Sadieâs appeal. It wasnât in your face, like a lush figure or a stop-traffic face. She didnât have a load of sexual confidence or snappy charisma. She wasnât a fashion plate.
Sadie was subtly attractive.
So much so, heâd been afraid they might not see her appeal at all. God knew heâd missed it at first. But through Sadie, he was learning the truth about cats, dogsâ¦and women. He was learning the truth about himself, and what he really wanted out of life.
He wanted Sadie.
Anyone so quietly kind and caring deserved a lot of love.
Buck had a hell of a lot of love to give.
âThanks,â he told his friends. âAnd goodbye.â
Harris had his mouth open to say more when Buck shut the door. For good measure, he locked it. He could hear the male laughter of his friends