The Guy Next Door by Lori Foster Page A

part of the reason that they all doted on him so much. “The four-year-old is really prissy, and the three-year-old is a tomboy. As Uncle Jett, I get a free pass to spoil them.” Soon, he’d introduce Natalie to his boisterous clan. They’d love her and, he hoped, vice versa.
    The dog let out a lusty sigh.
    Natalie bent to look under the table. “The poor baby is worn out.”
    Jett peered under the table too, but he paid more attention to Natalie’s small feet. They were soft and delicate and very female. She had her toenails painted a funky powder blue. Demure on the outside, a little risqué underneath—that was Natalie.
    He thought of how she wrapped her legs around him,how sometimes her heels pressed into the small of his back, urging him to go deeper, harder…
    “Jett?”
    God, he was obsessed. “Buddy will get plenty of sleep tonight at Connie’s office. She has pens for the dogs.”
    “He’d be caged up?”
    Jett caught her pained expression. “For his own safety, yeah.”
    Natalie fidgeted for a moment then asked, “Couldn’t you take him to see your sister in the morning instead?”
    “I could,” he told her slowly, wondering if she was again trying to put him off from the vacation. “But I’m going with you.”
    For only a heartbeat, Natalie thought about what he said. “How early could your sister see him? I don’t mind if we leave a little later than I’d first planned. We could even leave the next day if we had to.”
    Jett sat back in his seat. Natalie would change her vacation plans for an abandoned pup? That told him volumes about her caring nature.
    He’d wanted to spend more time with her, but with every minute that passed, he had to wonder how much time would be enough.
    Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “That’s okay by me, if you’re sure.”
    “We just got him. If we turn right around and leave him again, he might feel abandoned.”
    Better odds were that the dog would get attached to his sister while they were away. Jett shrugged. “Possibly.”
    She again peeked under the table at Buddy. Lookingwistful, she said, “I’m sure your sister would be wonderful to him, but…maybe we could just take him with us?”
    Hell, they’d be just like a happy little family. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. “The place you’re renting, it allows pets?”
    “For a fee. I don’t mind paying the extra. It’ll be fine.”
    Looking at her face, Jett didn’t have the heart to disappoint her. He finished off another slice of pizza and collected his cell phone. “I’ll call Connie right now. We’ll see what we can work out.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    W HILE PUTTING IN THE call, Jett watched Natalie bite into her pizza with renewed gusto. Had she been fretting about leaving Buddy?
    His sister answered on the second ring. Knowing he didn’t need to identify himself, Jett said, “Hey Connie, you busy?”
    “Putting away dinner dishes. Why? What’s up?”
    Jett knew that he had to word this just right. “I was going to head off to spring break with Natalie tomorrow.”
    On the alert, Connie said, “Natalie? Who’s Natalie?”
    Because Natalie stared at him, listening to his every word, Jett couldn’t yet explain to his sister. “The thing is, we found a little dog today. Or more like he found us. He seems okay, not injured or anything. But since Natalie wants to take him with us, I’d like to have him checked over first. Do you think you could see us first thing in the morning?”
    There was a pause, and then: “ Us, as in you and the dog, or you and the girl?”
    Pizza held in one hand, her face comically blank, Natalie started shaking her head.
    Jett pretended not to see her. “As in me, the dog and the girl.”
    “I’ll make time.”
    Jett had known his sister would react in just that way. “Great.” If only Natalie was as easy to predict.
    “How early can you get to my office?”
    “As early as you need us. Natalie wanted to take off first thing tomorrow anyway.