The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) by Sarah Ballance Page A

a sparse patch of hair on her side, and he scratched it lightly. Her tail thumped a fast tempo.
    “You guys are ganging up on me,” he said. As he spoke, two of the puppies tumbled simultaneously from the basket. He and Rue made a grab for them at the same time, both of them missing.They bumped shoulders, and when Rue tipped to the side, he made a grab for her, only for them both to end up in a heap. In the immediate aftermath, no one moved, and he became blissfully, painfully aware of her warm curves pressed and nestled against him. It had been years since he’d felt that kind of body contact, and while guilt wasn’t the first emotion that hit him, it quickly followed,extinguishing all the warmth that preceded it.
    Then the puppy assault began.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one lope, then tumble, landing in a tail-wagging, tongue-lapping ball of fur against Rue’s chin. She squealed and curled against Ethan, and he had little time to react before he felt a similar attack against his own cheek.
    Until that moment, he’d forgotten just howticklish he was.
    Or how it felt to laugh. Really laugh.
    By the time they extricated themselves from the ball of puppies, his face and stomach hurt in long-forgotten ways. He hadn’t felt so light in ages…at least not until his eyes met Rue’s, and an emotion he couldn’t identify socked him in the gut.
    She smiled, and when his gaze tracked to her lips, he realized how close theywere. Only inches separated them, and so few of those that he thought he felt her breath brush his face. Old feelings stumbled back from hidden corners of his heart. Like what it felt like for someone to look at him like that across a shared pillow, or to wake tangled in someone’s arms. But to his surprise, his mind’s eye hadn’t taken him back to Amy. Instead he saw Rue, blue eyes electric with laughter,mouth so perfect he couldn’t help but be drawn to it. Or her. He’d never met anyone like her. So much life . She made the somewhat smelly, decidedly unpolished back room of an animal shelter beautiful—not just because of how she looked, but for what she did.
    “We should get back to work,” she said, breaking the moment. Not that it was a moment.
    He’d probably freaked her out, staringat her like he had, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help wanting that absolute zest she had for everything in life. He thought of her sharks and volcanoes and penguins. Definitely everything .
    Not the kind of woman any man could hold.
    Oddly, that made him feel better. He stood before he could give that too much thought. “I’m on puppy-wrangling duty.”
    She drew easily to herfeet. She had a great athletic body, muscles long and lean, but she still had curves. There wasn’t a man alive who wouldn’t notice a body like hers—especially not after the unexpected pleasure of finding himself pressed against it.
    And he was staring again.
    She cleared her throat. “I’ll just go see who Kate has ready next.”
    Two hours later, they’d worked their way through everyanimal at the shelter. Even Shaggy, who thumped her tail relentlessly at the attention. Ethan was pretty sure the mutt actually smiled.
    He knew he did. Amy had been a big supporter of animals, but her action had been in fundraisers and food drives. He’d never seen this side of things, and if asked, he probably wouldn’t have expected a photograph could make such a difference. But he saw now.
    After they’d secured the last of the animals, Rue brushed off her shirt and packed up her gear while he folded the backdrop and stacked the props in the corner. When he finished, he looked up to find her watching him.
    “What’s next?”
    “Next?” One eyebrow lifted. “You mean you’re not ready to run?”
    “I’m not much of a runner,” he said wryly. “I tend to hang on long after I’mneeded.”
    “So I’ve been told,” she said softly. “But I happen to think that makes you amazing. So next, I go back to my house