The clientele were, as Lexi had said, mainly homeless people. They were easy to spot. His company donated to a charity that helped homeless veterans, not necessarily providing them with a home, but giving them somewhere they could go for help and access to food and doctors. He was quite aware that people who ended up on the streets usually had far bigger problems than having no home. That tended to be a symptom rather than the cause of the problem. Most of the veterans he’d worked with had some level of PTSD and were finding it hard to settle back into life over here, unable to hold down jobs or interact with family and friends. Those issues had to be addressed first.
He stood and watched as a lady vet filed the overgrown teeth on a black and white rat, which then promptly vanished inside a man’s jacket pocket, just its twitching nose showing.
The vet glanced across. “Hi. You’re Lexi’s husband. I recognize you from the description.”
“The description?”
“Well, depending on whether it’s male or female, ‘scary badass,’ or ‘simply stunning.’”
His lips twitched. “I’m Josh.”
“Jasmine.”
He helped her for a while, then moved on. News travelled fast, and his fame was spreading before him. Everyone seemed to know him as Lexi’s husband, and most chatted to him briefly. He could tell from the way they spoke about her that they all liked Lexi, and felt protective of her. He was issued more than one warning that he’d better be good to her.
Yet one more reason this had to end after six months. She deserved someone good for her. Someone great. Someone offering strings. Someone other than him.
Night was falling, the place was almost empty, and the vets were all packing up when a man approached. Tall, skinny, pale face, and gray hair—he had a black dog on a leash, which pressed itself against the man’s leg.
He looked around, then his gaze fixed on Josh, and he came over. “You’re Lexi’s husband?”
Hell, he was famous. He nodded.
“Could you hold my dog for a second?” Without waiting for an answer, he shoved the lead into Josh’s hand and walked quickly away.
What the fuck?
The dog started after the man, whining softly, and Josh crouched down and rubbed his head. He glanced up, searching for the owner, but he’d disappeared. He found Lexi, though. She looked tired but happy as she crossed the grass to where he stood with the dog.
“You got a new friend?” Lexi asked.
“Some guy handed him to me and ran away.”
Lexi crouched down, examined the dog. “Oh no.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Toby. His owner has cancer. I’m guessing for him to leave Toby here, he must be bad.” She stroked the dog’s head, and then took the lead from Josh. “I’ll see if I can get him a place to stay.” The animal whimpered as she led him away, looking back over his shoulder and down the road toward where his owner had vanished.
Lexi came to a halt in front of a woman who was maybe in her fifties, with dark hair streaked with gray, a thin wiry body, and beautiful green eyes. “Can you take him, Martha? He’d better go into quarantine until we’ve checked him out.”
“Of course. Bobby’s new family picked him up today so there’s a kennel free.” She crouched down and petted the dog, who looked back at Josh with accusation in his eyes. What was he supposed to do?
As they left the park, they paused outside the gates. Josh didn’t want to go home yet. There were too many people at the house, all wanting her time. He liked having her to himself, and he didn’t want to think about that too closely. For many years, he hadn’t allowed himself to get close to anyone. He understood why. Despite his lack of education, he wasn’t stupid. He could sense himself drawn to Lexi, and part of him was scared. But still he couldn’t stay away.
He’d liked the way she looked at him back in the bedroom—like she was starving and he was something deliciously edible. His dick jerked in his pants. He shouldn’t have thought that. Now he couldn’t get rid of the image of Lexi on her knees in front of him. Had she ever given a blow job? Unlikely, if she’d been a virgin. He’d have to tell her what to do, how he liked it…if he could remember. Maybe they could learn together.
“Let’s go get a coffee,” he said.
“Okay. There’s a place just down the road.”
They settled into a booth by the window and both ordered coffee.
Watching her working with the animals had been a revelation. She was a goddamn millionaire, and she spent her evenings cleaning up dog puke. He’d seen the compassion she’d shown to all the animals and their owners. He didn’t want that for himself. He wasn’t an object of pity. What the hell would he need compassion for?
“You look a little…upset,” she said. “What’s the matter?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
She regarded him for what seemed like an age, head cocked to one side. “Will you tell me something?”
“I might.” Here we go…
“Why did you marry me?”
The question took him by surprise, and he said the first thing he could come up with. “For the money.”
“To start your business?”
For a minute, he was tempted to agree, let her think that was the case. But something deep inside him wanted to share the truth with her. He’d never told anyone his plan, not even his commanding officer, who’d approached him with the offer to marry Lexi.
He added sugar and stirred his coffee. “No, not to start the business.”