“I know her name,” I mumble, still staring at him. “You asked her?”
“Didn’t need to,” Kellan says. “The moment she found out we sort of met in front of Club 69, she basically blurted out your entire résumé, in particular emphasizing the last three months of your life.”
He jiggles his brows at me meaningfully. I’m supposed to catch his drift, which I do…unfortunately.
After I went to bed, they talked…a lot.
Mandy’s such a traitor! From now on, I’m going to consciously unfriend her.
“What exactly did she say?” I ask warily.
Kellan laughs, the sound grating on my nerves, and I have no idea why.
It’s not like there’s anything annoying about it. In fact, it’s the most beautiful laugh I’ve ever heard. Too bad such a sexy voice and amazing outer packaging comes with the shittiest character I’ve ever met.
“I could tell you, but what’s in it for me?”
“Nothing.” I stare at him. “I could ask her, you know. She’s my best friend.”
“I don’t see her around. Do you?” He glances at me. “Haven’t you been wondering why she’s gone AWOL?”
I narrow my eyes in suspicion. “I knew it,” I say slowly. “She told you something before she left.”
“My lips are sealed.” He zips up his lips, the gesture so funny I let out a laugh.
“Her attempt’s in vain. I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“You sure?” he asks. “I like it when you squirm.”
He’s so full of himself.
Struggling to keep calm, I draw a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t squirm.”
“Back there, on that horse, you did.”
“I’m not going to argue with you,” I say, shaking my head.
“Because you don’t have a case.”
I choke back a laugh. He’s challenging me. I can see it in the way his mouth pulls up into a grin that’s so sexy I fear it’ll set me on fire. I can sure feel it between my legs.
What could I possibly respond with when he’s right and he knows it?
I did squirm against him, and to be honest, I’m pretty sure, given the chance, my traitorous body would do it again.
In the silence of the room, I watch him apply a lotion that reeks of the usual hospital scent. “So, you’re a physician or trained in the medical field?” I point at my ankle, eager to find out more about him.
“Nothing of the sort.” He wraps a bandage around my ankle. “I’m just good with horses. They’re not so different from women.”
“Ah.” I nod in mock agreement. “You’re really charming. Anyone ever tell you that?”
He laughs that raucous laughter of his. In spite of the insult he’s just thrown at me, I find that I’m not insulted at all. I don’t know why, but I wouldn’t have expected anything else from him.
“Horses are loyal as long as you take care of them,” Kellan explains, ignoring my statement. “But their emotions tend to get the better of them, and they’ll always put themselves first. They won’t hesitate to stomp over you and desert you.”
His words catch me off guard.
His smile is still in place, but the dark glint hasn’t left his eyes.
Something about his tone makes me think he was in a bad relationship.
Maybe that’s why he is the way he is.
“I’m sorry that you think that way. But I can assure you, not all women are the same.” I brush my hair back out of my face, wondering what the heck happened to him in the past that he’d generalize the entire female population.
Everyone has their closet full of emotional baggage. It comes with the people we let into our hearts and lives. Obviously, I’m not here to prove Kellan wrong, which is why I clear my throat and think hard on a change in topic.
Through the kitchen window, I watch Sniper outside. He’s sprawled out on the lawn, his head between his paws. From his relaxed posture, I can tell he’s in doggy slumberland.
“He’s a good dog,” I say out of need to keep the conversation rolling.
“He is.”
I turn back to regard Kellan. “You say you adopted him?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have nothing but time, as you must have gathered.” I point at my ankle.
He lets out a laugh. “With a sprained ankle, you have indeed.”
He puts the first aid kit aside and takes a seat beside me. Together we turn to watch Sniper.
“He’s a military working dog who was supposed to be put down,” Kellan says.
“Really? But why? He’s so sweet.” I cannot help but be disgusted. “Besides, as a military working dog, he’s probably very useful.”
“He was.” Kellan pauses, hesitating. “Sniper was one of the best in the service. He was trained to find booby traps, bombs and mines, track enemy troops and missing persons. All you had to do was let him familiarize himself with a scent and he’d run off and find the person. He was relentless.” He shakes his head in admiration, his eyes lost in reminiscence. “He saved so many soldiers. But then…”
I hold my breath. “But what?”