“Not until the doc clears you. I’m well aware tonight will set you back.”
He frowned.
I stepped into his space and kissed his cheek above that wild beard. “Come to bed? I need to hold you tonight. Also, forever.”
Xandra leapt from the back of the recliner and headed toward the bedrooms. She quite liked the room that Arthur had used for what…a day or two? Now, she could rule it.
“Yes?” I murmured against Arthur’s skin.
He grasped the back of my neck and guided me to him for a proper kiss. “Yes, to a forever thing. Yes, I’ll come to bed.” His eyes held promise, despite a rueful edge of knowing we’d have to wait. Then his expression softened and the heat faded, leaving only the promise of love.
I’d hold him to that promise. And eventually ensure we made it a forever thing in every way possible.
EPILOGUE
ARTHUR
TWO MONTHS LATER
The front lobby of my shelter gleamed and sparkled, with added glitter from the colored lights and ornaments hung high on the walls. The racks of leashes and dog toys and treats had been pushed back against the wall to make room for tables draped in seasonal red cloths. Elbow-high tables, because this Holiday party was pups-included, and keeping the food up meant less ease of grazing for the furry contingent.
Probably not zero, which was why chocolate, grapes, and onions were off the catering menu.
Ebony, at my side, slanted up a pitiful look and licked his lips, as if I hadn’t given him six homemade treats off the dogs’ table already. “Liar,” I murmured.
Turned out Mrs. Bollinger had been cranky from loneliness, and after becoming a hero for running off Harvey, Cheyenne’s frequent visits had won her over. She was around here somewhere with the mini-poodle she’d adopted, and the candy-cane liver snaps for dogs were her contribution.
“Doing okay?” Shane appeared at my side, Mimsy draped around his neck like a fur stole. He knew crowds were not my favorite thing.
“I am now. This is all friends.” Last night, we’d done a fundraiser party for the shelter, open to all the community. Neil had outdone himself, with auctions of pet portraits and training sessions and hand-knit sweaters that brought in a good chunk of change. Brooklyn donated a couple of first-week’s daycare vouchers, which hopefully would get him some repeat customers. We were making ends meet, but he was still growing his business reputation.
“Lots of friends tonight, though.” Shane gazed out over the crowd. “Most of whom would’ve told me if they got shot.” He raised an eyebrow at me.
I had to laugh, which was no doubt his intention. “You’re not still holding a grudge?”
“I’m getting over it, since at least you told me right away when the bad guy ran a truck through our front window and set the place on fire.”
“A small truck. A very limited fire.”
“You—” He broke off. “Are you teasing me now?”
“Maybe a bit.”
He grinned, then slipped Mimsy to the floor. “Hey, I taught her a new trick. Watch. Mimsy, bonbons!”
The cat slinked off between partygoers’ legs, ignoring various dogs, until she reached a small table holding a bowl full of fancy wrapped candy canes. With a smooth leap, she landed on top, selected a cane, grabbed the wrapper in her teeth and trotted back. Shane held out the crook of his elbow, and she jumped up with her prize.
“Looks like blue raspberry. Good choice, Mims.”
But before Shane could take it from her, a tanned hand reached around him and snagged the candy. “Thanks, Mimsy.” Shane’s boyfriend Theo peeled the wrapper and stuck the end of the cane in his mouth, his blond curls lit like a halo in the sparkle of the lights.
“Hey. I taught her to steal for me,” Shane said in mock displeasure. “You get your own thief cat.”
Theo laughed, then turned to me. “Has he chewed you out again for keeping him in the dark?”
“For the fiftieth time since you guys got home? Yeah.”
“He means it with love,” James’s smooth, deep voice said from behind me.
