Forever Home. Allyson Charles

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      “We’ll see.” Standing up, he brushed his hands together and held one out to help her up. He called over his shoulder. “Ana, why don’t you name the new dogs and then we’ll go get some pizza.”

      Ana cheered.

      Izzy took his hand and pulled herself up. She brushed dog hair off her butt and glared at Brad.

      Yep. Definitely a devil.

      Returning the puppy to his bed, she hurried Ana through the naming process. She did her best to ignore how adorable all the names were, then grabbed Ana’s hand and fled from the kennels.

      She also did her best to ignore the chisel of guilt chipping away at her resolve. She wasn’t abandoning the dogs; they weren’t hers to abandon.

      She must have done a decent job at all that ignoring. She only gazed back at the shelter twice while buckling Ana into the car. The Pizza Pit would be safe, she told herself. It would be a dog-free zone. No sad eyes to tug at her heartstrings.

      She sped like hell away from the den of temptation and breathed a sigh of relief. Until she remembered. There would be one more temptation to overcome. And unlike the puppy, Brad didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d let a woman put him to bed and then allow her to just walk away.

      Chapter Five

      Izzy was wearing a charcoal gray skirt and jacket today, this skirt a little tighter than the one he’d first seen her in but still professional. It did fantastic things to her ass.

      She had opted to drive herself and Ana to the Pizza Pit. Careful and cautious to the last. Brad knew as a single mom she had to be responsible. Guarded. But it wouldn’t hurt her to loosen up. Humming softly, he leaned against the hood of his truck. And he’d be just the man to show her how.

      She strode across the restaurant’s parking lot, her legs looking amazing in her black heels. Ana’s hand was nestled in Izzy’s, and the girl was bouncing up and down, yanking on her mom’s arm. Puppies did have a way of stirring kids up.

      “Are you hungry?” he asked Ana.

      “Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes and looked so much like her mother when he irritated her, Brad couldn’t hold back his laugh.

      “Ana.” Izzy tugged on the girl’s ponytail. “Don’t be rude.”

      “Sorry, Brad.” Ana slipped her free hand into his and pulled them all to the door. “Can we get pepperoni?”

      “Works for me.” The feel of her small hand in Brad’s grip was strange. Her hand was slim and delicate, and warm as a furnace. He didn’t go around holding a lot of kids’ hands but had to admit something about it felt…nice.

      Opening the door, he let her go and waved mother and daughter through. “After you, ladies.”

      Ana skipped inside and made a beeline for the counter where orders were placed. “Looks like she’s been here before,” Brad said.

      “Too many times.” Izzy shook her head. “Part of the guilt of being a single mom. Overcompensation with pizza.”

      Placing his palm on the small of her back, he guided her to the order line. “Why should you feel guilty?”

      She snorted and then covered her mouth and nose with her hand, looking shocked at the sound.

      Brad grinned. Damn, she was cute. He lowered her hand and kept it nestled in his as they moved forward with the line. A different kind of warmth spread through his gut as he held Izzy’s hand.

      She flicked her glance down to where they were joined and chewed on her bottom lip. “Single moms always feel guilty. We have support groups for this. We’re guilty we didn’t give our kids a dad. We’re guilty that we don’t have as much time to spend with them because we’re so busy working. And that there’s not enough money for the camps they want or the toys the other kids get.”

      Brad blinked. “There’s a lot of crap going on in that head of yours.”

      “You have no idea,” she muttered.

      They reached the front of the line, and Ana bounced up to the cashier. “Extra-large pepperoni pizza, please.”

      “Extra-large?” Izzy raised an eyebrow and gently tugged her hand from his grip. “There’s only three of us. A medium will be fine,” she told the teenager behind the register.

      “A large at least,” Ana argued. She sucked on her lower lip. “I’m a growing girl, you know.”

      Brad burst out laughing. “Is this negotiation normal?”

      “Constant.” Izzy blew out a breath. “I think she just offered up the extra-large as an opening bid, knowing starting high is a good tactic to get what you really want.”

      “Aaah. She’s learning from her mom, then.” He ignored Izzy’s lowered eyebrows and stepped forward, handing the cashier his credit card. “Make it an extra-large and three sodas.” He shrugged at Izzy. “I’m a growing boy, too.”

      That earned a laugh from Ana, and they shot each other conspiratorial smiles.

      Rolling her eyes, Izzy reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet.

      “On me,” he told her, nudging her wallet back in the large bag.

      “Thanks.”

      They got their sodas and found a table, and Izzy plopped her bag on top of it and dug in. She searched for a bit and came up with a Ziploc bag full of tokens. “Here you go, Ana. Spend them wisely.”

      “Thanks, Mom.” Ana scooped up the bag and disappeared toward the video game machines.

      “You do come here a lot if you keep tokens in your purse.” He leaned over. “What else have you got in there?”

      She slapped at his hand and put the purse next to her as she sat. “None of your business.”

      He straddled the bench seat and sat facing her. “So, Isabelle Lopez, tell me about yourself. I know you are a secret softie when it comes to dogs and that you’re carrying around a lot of misplaced guilt. What else?”

      “I’m a woman who likes to get down to business. And you still haven’t told me the details for your cockamamie idea about this award.”

      Clutching his chest, he tsked. “You wound me. It’s a marvelous idea. We’re going to hold a little ceremony, maybe make it a lunch. Put out a nice spread. Charge, I don’t know, fifty bucks a ticket. At some point, yours truly will get up, make a little speech about how marvelous you are.” He leaned in close, smelled a hint of perfume on her skin. “That should be easy enough to do. You’ll get your picture taken; people will throw money at Forever Friends. A win-win.”

      She scraped her teeth across her upper lip. “How much money do you think you’ll raise?”

      He shrugged. “Hopefully enough for the next couple of months.” A server brought the pizza to their table, and Brad rubbed his hands together. “Should I go find Ana?”

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