Love After All
Page 53

Once he got the harness on Lou, they piled into the truck.
“Where are we going?” Chelsea asked.
“I thought we’d head to the park by the lake. There’s a dog park over there that Lou likes.”
“Awesome,” she said. “I love it over there. I can’t remember the last time I took a walk out that way. I usually take my walks over by my apartment.”
He frowned. “There’s no park that way.”
“No. But I like to walk downtown. And now that the town square project is finished, I wander around that way. Plus, I can stop into the shops and browse on my way back.”
“That’s not a walk. That’s a stroll.”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
He pulled into the parking lot at the entrance to the park, scooped Lou into his arms and set her on the ground, then attached the leash. She was already running forward, tugging on her leash.
Chelsea glanced down at Lou. “Obviously, she’s ready.”
“She is.”
“Then let’s go.”
“If you don’t mind, we’ll head to the fenced-off dog park to start. It’ll let Lou run off some frenzy before we walk.”
“I’m fine with that.”
The dog park was a short distance from the parking lot, so Bash led them there. It looked like there were quite a few people with their dogs already at the park, which would be good for Lou. They entered through the gate, and he let Lou off her leash. She didn’t even hesitate, making a mad dash for a German shepherd nearby.
“She has no fear, does she?” Chelsea asked as they slowly followed along.
“She’s turned out to be pretty feisty. I’ve brought her here a few times since I got her. She’s friendly and not mean to other dogs or to people. She’s a great dog.”
Chelsea turned to him. “You’re in love.”
He couldn’t fight the smile. “I might be.”
“I can’t blame you. She’s irresistible. Look at her, tumbling around with that Shih Tzu.”
“Oh, that’s Barney. He’s been here the past few times we have. They’re good friends.”
He waved to Victoria, Barney’s owner. She waved back and headed their way.
“Hi, Bash. How’s it going?”
“Good. Victoria, this is Chelsea.”
Chelsea shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Victoria.”
“You too, Chelsea.” She turned back to Bash. “So what are you up to today?”
“Just hanging out with Chelsea and Lou. You?”
“Letting Barney run off some energy for a bit.” Victoria turned around to look at the dogs. “The two of them sure do get along well, don’t they?”
“Yeah, they do.”
Chelsea stood back and watched the interplay between Victoria and Bash. Bash was being friendly, but not overly so. Victoria, on the other hand, was quite obviously interested in Bash.
And she was gorgeous, with long, brown hair and big brown eyes. She had long lashes that she was definitely batting in Bash’s direction, too.
And when she slid her hands in the back pockets of her very short shorts, the action thrust her breasts right toward Bash, who didn’t appear to notice. Or, if he did, he was polite enough not to ogle.
“It’s like they’re best friends already,” Victoria said. “I’m glad you bring Lou around. A lot of the dogs that come here are big and play too rough for him, but Lou is the perfect size.”
“They are a good fit, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Perfect.”
Yeah, there was some play on words going on, because Victoria’s perfect sounded all breathy and sexy.
Very interesting. And Chelsea decided to ignore the twinge of jealousy, because Bash wasn’t hers.
“By the way,” Victoria said, “I was talking to Jay, the trainer who brings his dogs here. He’s setting up an agility class. He’s going to run it at the pet store in Tulsa. I thought you might be interested?”
“That sounds good.”
“Great.” She took out her phone. “Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll pass it along to Jay? He’s talking about starting it in June.”
“Okay.” He gave Victoria his number.
Well played, Victoria.
Bash clearly had no idea he’d been maneuvered.
“Awesome. I need to get going, but I’ll call you later. Nice to meet you, Chelsea.”
“You, too, Victoria.”
She walked away—slowly—the sway of her hips obviously exaggerated. The interesting thing was, Bash hadn’t even been watching, because he’d already turned his attention back to her.
“You could come with me.”
“Where?”
“To the agility class.”
She shook her head. “You didn’t even notice it, did you?”
“Notice what?”
“Victoria. She was hitting on you.”
He shifted his gaze briefly on Victoria, who had gathered Barney up and was heading out of the dog park. “Uh, no she wasn’t.”
“Yes, Bash, she was.”
“No, she wasn’t. In what way was she hitting on me?”
“First, she barely said anything to me other than hello and goodbye. Second, body language.”
His brows rose. “Body language?”
“Yes. She leaned into you, and thrust her breasts out, and you totally missed her seductive walk away.”