“And now I think we should leave Lyndsey and Zena alone,” Holden said, motioning for her and Mel to lead the way out of the building.
Emily didn’t need further urging. Even though the dog room was fairly spacious, with a three-foot-wide aisle between the two rows of five kennels, her body was way too aware of the gorgeous guy and his hot body.
Once outside, she found it easier to breathe…and think. Now that she knew her body reacted way too strongly to the man, Emily planned to keep her distance.
“How’d it go?” Carter asked as he approached.
Mel smiled, sliding her arm around her husband. “Great. Holden got through to her, right, Emily?”
She blinked, not expecting to be pulled into the conversation. “Uh, yeah. Zena seems to be responding now.”
“You know, there are a lot of dogs at the shelter that could use your help,” Carter said. “Maybe you can find time to volunteer, Holden.”
Mel nodded. “My husband’s right again. Wow, that’s twice in one day, honey. You’re on a roll.”
Holden chuckled, and Emily felt obliged to do the same, even though she wanted to groan. If the man volunteered at the shelter their paths would surely cross. since it was now connected to Animal Control headquarters. Distance and avoidance wouldn’t be possible.
“What do you say, Holden?” Mel smiled at the guy.
He frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t even started my job with Mac yet, so I don’t know what type of schedule I’ll have.”
“It won’t be a problem,” Carter said. “Hunter, Sinjin, and I volunteer there a lot.”
Shoot. Emily held back another groan. The guy was right. She’d seen several of the men from ESI helping out at different times throughout the week.
Which was a good thing, she reminded herself. She needed to think of the animals, not her discomfort.
“Okay, then.” Holden smiled. “I’d be happy to volunteer.”
Mel fist-pumped the air. “Super! Isn’t that great, Emily?”
She nodded. “Yes. We can always use help.”
“We?” Holden turned to her, and she noticed his eyes were more hazel than brown. “Do you volunteer there too?”
Emily opened her mouth, but Mel spoke first.
“Sometimes,” her friend said, and the mischievous gleam in her eyes wasn’t lost on Emily. “Most everyone here volunteers at one time or another.”
“True,” Carter said, releasing his wife to slap a hand on Holden’s shoulder. “How about we join the guys in beating the wetsuits off the squids in some horseshoes?”
Holden chuckled. “I’m in.”
Once the two men walked away, she turned to Mel and crossed her arms.
“What are you up to?”
Mel slapped a hand to her chest and widened her eyes. “Me? Nothing?”
She snorted. “Bullshit. Why didn’t you let me tell Holden I was an animal control officer?”
“Because, dear Emily,” Mel said with that darn twinkle in her eyes again. “The best way to keep a man’s interest is with a little mystery.”
“Wait a second.” She frowned. “I never said I was interested in Holden.”
Mel chuckled. “You didn’t have to, right, Lyndsey?”
Lyndsey shut the door of the foster building and approached with a gleam in her eyes that said she’d heard the last part of their conversation. “Right. That blush in your face gave you away. So did that gleam in his eyes when you hit him with the volleyball.”
