Tara Taylor Quinn - The Moment of Truth

“We don’t know how old he is for sure, but he can be neutered at eight weeks so they should be able to do it.”

She talked to him about feeding schedules and about establishing who was the boss from the onset.

The puppy went to the bathroom. Dana told Josh to praise him. And grinned when he did so. There was something very endearing about such a perfect specimen of manhood bending over and congratulating ten pounds of matted fur on the little pile he’d just dropped. If there was a self-conscious bone in Josh Redmond’s body, he sure didn’t seem aware of its existence.

Maybe that was what endeared him to her more than anything else.

And when, another couple of minutes later, the puppy peed, Josh congratulated him again and they moved back into the house. He invited her to sit at his kitchen table. He offered her some iced tea and she accepted. “Here,” he said, drawing her attention to the can he held out to her.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, feeling the heat rise up to her cheeks. She’d been busy staring at the arsenal of cleaning supplies on the kitchen table. “It’s just—” she glanced back at the table “—laundry detergent, hand soap, liquid body soap, dish soap, dishwasher soap, bar soap, car wash, carpet detergent, upholstery cleaner...” They were all lined up, obviously brand-new, two brands of every single item.

“I...am on a mission to try the top two brands of each to find out which I like best,” he said.

She had the distinct feeling that he was making up every word as he went along. Someone who liked to clean also had brand preferences for every job.

But it wasn’t her business.

“Have you picked a name for him?” she asked instead, pointing to the puppy who was sound asleep with his head flopped against Josh’s chest.

He shook his head. “It didn’t occur to me.”

“The quickest way to teach him to come when he’s called is to call him only by one name, and to say that name every single time you speak to him. When you feed him, say his name and then the word eat, and put his food down. He’ll learn what eat means, too.”

“You called him Little Guy.”

“Because he’s male and little and I specifically was not naming him as I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep him.”

“Did you want to?”

He was getting personal again. This wasn’t about her. Though...she kind of wanted it to be.

And while Dana was all about living her new life, about believing that she was just as good as everyone else, she wasn’t so far along on her journey that she was going to pursue the guy who had to be the hottest bachelor in town.

“I didn’t think I wanted another puppy, not anytime soon. I’ve got a kitten now. And my duplex is small. But after having Little Guy around for a couple of days...yeah, I’d like another puppy. A smaller one, though.”

“You should get one, then.”

Maybe. “Anyway, I recommend naming him. Soon.”

“I like Little Guy. It’s what he is.”

“He’s going to be huge.”

“So...all the more reason to remind him that no matter how big he gets, I’ll still be bigger, right?”

He grinned. She melted.

And got the hell out of there.

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