“For God’s sake, Jennifer, hand the man his dog before he piddles on my floor from excitement!” Mrs. Fiorenza cries, laughing.
I don’t know if she means me or the dog, because it’s clear that the puppy has now realized that the big human in front of him is “his person.” His sweeping tail ticks like a metronome on high speed, and his tongue is going a mile a minute, licking the air until he connects with my arms, then connects with my face. I get puppy kisses everywhere he can reach, and Chloe kisses my cheek when she jumps on her tiptoes.
“Is he really ours?” I ask.
“Yeah. Technically, he’s not even one of Fiorenza’s dogs yet. She didn’t take custody of him, so to speak. He’s just... yours. Yours to rescue, yours to love. Do you have any ideas on a name for him?” Jen pulls out paperwork from her satchel. “You’ll have to sign a few things, give me your name, number, email, your vet’s address, all that.”
“I don’t have a name for him. I just knew he was the one.” I look into the little brown eyes looking up at me. He’s so soft and so happy to be in my arms.
“You don’t need a name right now,” Jen Chambers says with a smile.
“I think we should call him Rowan. It means ‘little red-haired one.’” Chloe strokes his soft head, and I picture her doing that with our son.
If we have one.
“Or Aiden,” she says. “It means, ‘little fire.’ And it has meaning to my family, as well.” She winks at me, and I know there’s probably some paranormal stuff I’ll find out about later.
“Rowan is cute. Rowly would be a good nickname for this little guy.”
“I like it.” I hug Chloe and hand her the dog so I can do the paperwork. “We can save Aiden for our son’s name?”
“Rosemary and Aiden. Kep and Rowly. Marmalade—just Marmalade for now.”
“And Chloe and Jared.” I kiss her lips gently. “Because that’s where all of this started.”
“Ah, yes. Poor accidentally engaged fools,” she whispers, a giggle at the end.
I shake my head and think about the life that’s going to spring from her song, about the changes and joy already growing from it. “It was meant to be, sweetheart. No accident about it.”
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Also, keep reading to see a picture of Jared and Chloe done by the lovely and talented @runawayfromtoads.
Ready for more monster romance from Pine Ridge?
Keep reading after the artwork to check out some other recent releases,
Princess Seeks Dragon, and A Wulver for the Week!
A Wulver for the Week
MINNIE (MINERVA WHENshe’s mad) Johnson can’t believe her cousin is getting married at twenty-two while she’s a full decade older and still single. It’s not that she’s jealous. She’s too mature and too fabulous to be jealous. She’s just dreading a week at a destination wedding with her entire cadre of pushy aunts and passive-aggressive parents. How can she enjoy a week away at an island resort? Just pack one simple accessory—a sexy fake boyfriend that will keep her relatives quiet.
Craig Macpherson is a wulver whose career in social work allows him to live up to his ancient roots of helping the needy. It’s not the easiest job in the world, so he’s thinking of taking a vacation for the first time in years—especially when his long-time work friend and secret crush offers to take him to an all-inclusive resort. The price? Pretend to be her infatuated boyfriend for a week at a family destination wedding. The secret? He’s not pretending...
Can Craig play it cool and keep Minerva from finding out, or can this fake romance turn into something real in just a week?
AWulver for the Weekis a novella length, steamy, fake-dating monster romance standalone set in the Pine Ridge Universe!
1: Minerva
“Gerri and Barry are getting married at Mirror Key, and Barry’s insanely wealthy grandparents are paying for everything.Every. Thing.”
“Gerri and Barry are getting married?” I step out of my pink scrubs and matching rubber shoes bedecked with tiny charms along the top and sides. “Sounds like a bad kids’ book.” I hope I can deflect Mama into criticizing my sense of humor—instead of my dating life.
“Will you hush? When I say everything, I meaneverything. We’re talking plane tickets, food, shuttle service, and rooms at an all-inclusive private resort for everyone in the family. Apparently, they own Reflections Resort and half the damn island!”
“It sounds like Gerri’s going to be living it up,” I say. I’m happy for my baby cousin. She was born when I was ten, and I became her babysitter as soon as I hit eleven. It was a role I loved and took seriously until I left for college. Gerri was and still is cute, sweet, petite, and totally the kind of girl to leave college with a diploma in one hand and a rock the size of a beach ball on the other.
