Little Miss Lovesick (16 page)

CHAPTER 17

SINCE GT was out of town for a week, I didn’t “run into” Matt at his house. I had no reason to go over, but don’t think I didn’t try to come up with one. I hadn’t seen him or talked to him (Matt, not GT) since Sunday, practically a week ago.

I wanted to call him because I felt cranky from Dirk’s visit the night before. But I couldn’t screw up enough courage to do it. With Emily out of town for the weekend, I couldn’t think of anything to do except work. Sounded…fun.

However, I reminded myself as I sat at my desk Friday, I do have to wor
k
no
w
. I called the mortgage office to check on the closing paperwork for the Slocums. I wanted to help them get moved in before the baby was born. It looked like we would close next week.

The older couple hadn’t liked any of the houses I’d shown them — especially the one on East Plough Road. I was hoping something would hit the market before fall. There’s a lot of action in late summer as moving families try to get settled before school starts.

Perry made the rounds, asking everyone for a progress report. He was a great guy and I loved working for him, but I got nervous every time he did that. I’d never gotten over that whole fear of the principal thing from grade school.

“How’s everything going, Syd?” Perry stopped at my desk.

“Great. Should close with the Slocum’s next week. The Rasmussen’s haven’t seen anything they like yet. GT is out of town. The O’Brien’s are having a financing problem.” I waited for him to move on.

He nodded. “Let me know if Turkelbain takes up too much of your time and doesn’t look like he’s buying. He’s got a reputation for that and we don’t have time to waste around here.”

“Okay.” I waited for him to move on.

“I see we’re still getting flower deliveries.” He cocked his head toward the front desk.

This was so embarrassing. “Yeah, sorry, I’m trying to get him to stop but he won’t listen.”

Perry waved his hand as if at a gnat (which is what Dirk was). “Don’t worry about it.” He chuckled. “If he wants to decorate my office with fresh flowers, I don’t care. But ar
e
yo
u
all right?”

One of the many things I liked about Perry was that he genuinely liked all of his employees. Birthdays and Christmas were wonderful, and if you got married or had a baby, you always got an amazingly lovely gift, something that shouted “from the heart.”

I smiled. “I’ll be okay. Gram always said, ‘This too shall pass.’”

Perry laughed. “A wise woman.” He moved on. I breathed a sigh of relief.

After lunch, my cell phone rang. Matt’s number flashed. My heart skipped and I grinned like a wild woman.

“This is Sydney.” I didn’t want him to know I knew it was him.

“Hey, Syd, it’s Matt.” My stomach did a little dance at the sound of his voice.

“Hi, how’s it going?” I bent my head and kept my voice low in an attempt at a private conversation. Some days it sucked to work in a fish bowl office.

“Better since it stopped raining. Hey, are you doing anything Saturday?”

“I have an Open House from one to four. But I’m free after that.”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for anything. Not even at gunpoint.

“Well, I was thinking, I haven’t had a chance to use my grill all summer. You said you like steak, so I thought we could have a little barbeque. What d’ya think?”

“Sounds great.” Oh my gosh! He’s inviting me over to his house! A first!

“I hope you don’t think this sounds weird, but I won’t have time to shop before then, so I was thinking I’d pick you up, we’ll go to the store, then over to my place. I’ll drive you home after dinner.”

“Sounds great,” I said, trying to inject just the right amount of enthusiasm into my voice. Then I closed my eyes and raised my free arm in the air like a football hero, mouthing yyeesssss!

“Great, I’ll pick you up at your place Saturday at five.”

“I’ll be there.”

We hung up and I pounded my hands on my desk. Then I leaned my forehead on my arm and just grinned. That way no one could see me.

“I take it that was Lover Boy,” said Trent as he walked past my desk to the kitchenette.

“No-oo,” I said, trying to hide my grin. “There is no Lover Boy.”

“Sure, sure,” he said as he disappeared through a doorway.

I grinned again.

When Saturday dawned clear and bright, all I could do was lie in my bed and say, thank you, thank you, thank you, God. No rain cancellation on the barbeque!

The Open House went very well, no doubt in part due to the weather. By the time I was back home, I had high hopes of selling the house in the next few weeks. Maybe sooner.

I’d barely changed into shorts when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it with a Scrunchi in my mouth and a sunny, “Hi Matt, come on in.”

I finished putting my hair up, found a comfortable pair of sandals, and grabbed my purse.

“Oh, wait! Let me find a sweatshirt in case it cools down.”

“You don’t think I can keep you warm?” Matt asked with a wicked grin. At least, I interpreted it as a wicked grin.

“Are you offering?” I asked coyly.

He pulled my hand toward him until we collided. Then he kissed me breathless. “Let’s go,” he whispered.

Little Miss Lovesick fainted.

We pulled into the grocery store parking lot talking about what we each thought made a barbeque perfect.

“How can you have a barbeque without potato salad?” Matt asked, taking my hand when we got out of his truck.

“But not store-bought potato salad. That’s all I’m saying. It has too much mayonnaise in it.”

“I thought you were a city girl. What do you know about food that’s not store bought?”

I looked at him in mock exasperation. “Even city girls know how to cook.”

FREE PUPPYS  Nice Peeple Only Please

Matt and I read the hand-lettered sign as we approached the store entrance. Three tow-headed children stood by a box, alternately reaching inside and calling out to shoppers.

“’Nice people only’ — that’s cute,” I said.

“Hey mister, do you need a dog? If you’re nice, we could give you a really nice puppy.” The oldest child, maybe eight years old, called out to Matt in his childish, singsong voice, eyes wide and hopeful.

Matt smiled at the kids and looked into the box. “What kind of puppies are they?”

“Uh, just regular puppies.” The boy looked back at his mother sitting on a folding chair, smiling indulgently at her progeny.

“The mother is a mongrel of unknown heritage, and we guess the father is, too,” she said. “But the vet says they’re healthy, and they’re a friendly lot.”

I already had my hand inside the box. Before I knew it, I was on my knees with a puppy in my arms. Matt reached over to pet it. The pup was velvety soft, with black, white and sable fur.

“Are you a good dad?” asked the youngest.

Matt looked at the child in surprise. She was a cute little thing, probably four or five, very serious though, and waiting for a response. I smothered my laughter in the puppy’s fur.

“They need a good fam’ly,” she explained.

“Do you have kids? They love kids,” the middle boy volunteered enthusiastically. “Especially kids my age.”

Matt smiled. “No, I don’t have any kids.” He leaned down and scratched one of the puppies in the box. Wet noses crowded against his hand as the pups fought for his attention. I put back the one I had and picked up another one.

A particularly enthusiastic puppy climbed over her siblings to rest her front feet on the back of Matt’s hand. She looked up at him with her liquid brown eyes, whining excitedly in her high puppy voice. Her tail wagged so hard her whole body shook. Within seconds, she tumbled over backward. Matt and I laughed as she twisted herself upright and climbed back up on his hand. With his other hand, he scooped her up against his chest and stood.

“You sure are a friendly one, aren’t you?” he said as he scratched her head. The puppy responded by licking his cheek. As Matt turned his head, the dog kept licking whatever skin she could reach. Soon both of Matt’s cheeks, his chin and his neck were covered in puppy kisses.

Oh, look at hi
m
, sighed Lovesick.

Don’t lose your hea
d
, warned another Voice
.
Puppies and kids may bring out some of his cuteness, but that doesn’t mean he’s The One.

“All right, all right, you little germ-carrier. That’s enough,” he said as he laughed and pulled the pup away from his face.

“She’s nice, huh?” The older boy spoke as the others looked on hopefully. “She’s housebroken, too. And she’s smart. Everybody needs a smart dog.”

I looked at the kids’ mother. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a good salesman.”

She laughed. “They’ve already given three away, and the day’s not over.”

Matt looked at the young salesman. “How do you know she’s smart?”

“If she wasn’t smart, she’d be dumb, and she’s no dummy!” The boy thought for a moment. “Her mom can do lots of tricks.”

“Yeah? You think she’ll be as smart as her mom?”

“Oh, yeah.” The boy nodded his head vigorously. “I’m almost as smart as my dad and I’m only seven. He tells me that all the time.” The boy frowned in consternation. “But I don’t know who the daddy dog is, so I guess I don’t know for sure she’ll be smart.”

Matt tried to suppress his mirth. He caught my eye and winked. I smiled and put back the puppy I had. I stood up and stroked Matt’s puppy’s ears. If only they stayed this cute and soft forever.

Matt held the pup in front of his face. She craned her neck to try to lick his nose. I laughed. I desperately wanted one, but I’d settle for visitation rights if Matt took one home. Between the puppies and the kids, he looked thoroughly wrapped around someone’s finger.

I’d love to have him wrapped aroun
d
m
y
finge
r
, purred Lovesick.

Don’t let him catch you looking at him like that. He’ll likely turn tail and ru
n
, warned another Voice.

“She looks pretty smart,” he said to the boy. “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. You think I should take her home and give it a shot?”

The kids looked at him with a mixture of excitement and wariness. The younger boy spoke up. “We don’t got no returns, mister. You gotta be sure.”

Matt laughed out loud. I turned away when I laughed so I wouldn’t hurt the kids’ feelings. I elbowed Matt in the ribs, and he tried to control his expression into one more befitting the children’s serious purpose.

“You’re right. This is a long-term commitment. Let me think. I’ve got money to buy her food. I live on a farm with a house and a big yard. I’ve got plenty of time to play with her. Yeah, I think we’d be good for each other.” Matt looked from the boy to me. “What do you think?”

Yo
u
aren’
t
falling for hi
m
, said a Voice
.
It’s the puppy. That’s all.

He’s got my dream life in the palm of his han
d
, said Another.

And the power to crush i
t
, warned the first Voice.

“You live on a farm? With cows?” the little girl asked. Matt turned to her and I closed my eyes against wanting him.

“A cow might step on her. Maybe you shouldn’t take her.” The oldest boy reached for the puppy.

“No, there aren’t any cows. I call it a farm, but I don’t have any animals. It’s just a lot of fields and woods.” Matt thought that was a pretty clear answer, but the kids no longer looked convinced he was worthy.

“I promise, she’ll be safe there.” Matt waited for the trio to give him their unanimous blessing.

How did they manage to let go of three puppies already?

The boy spoke to me for the first time. “No dogs on the bed. That’s the rule. So you gotta get her a doggie pillow. And she needs to be petted every day, and brushed and washed. But you can’t yell at her too much ’cause it’ll hurt her feelings.”

I opened my mouth to say he’d gotten the situation wrong, but how to explain? I looked at their mother. “We’re not — we don’t—” She waved my explanations away with a smile.

I looked at Matt, afraid of what to say or how to react. But he didn’t appear to mind that the kids included me in their “Care and Handling” lecture.

The oldest looked back at his siblings and put his hand over his heart. They followed suit, and the three turned to Matt and me.

“Put your hand on your heart,” said the little girl.

Matt smiled, moved the puppy into his left hand and covered his heart with his right. The puppy immediately began licking the back of his right hand.

“You, too,” the middle boy insisted, looking at me. I glanced apprehensively at Matt.