“Uh, nothing store-bought. I make her her food.”
“Oh wow. A spoiled good girl. I think we can swing that. Later, Pleasant.” She opened the front door and Clementine just trotted right inside.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Jesse asked, trying to keep his voice calm, even though he could feel the blood starting to race to the veins in his forehead.
“The wine was alright, but I still haven’t forgiven you yet. My father is all I have, but I think we could handle another addition to the family. I think I’ll keep your dog for a while. I think that’s penance enough. Byeeee.”
Jesse blinked as she slammed the door behind her. His mouth dropped open and then closed again. She had to be joking, right? With a sigh he settled on his heels and waited for her stupid prank to come to an end. Five minutes later, though, she still hadn’t returned with his dog. Jesse took a deep breath, then gently pressed the doorbell.
“Who is it?” Lily-Grace called out.
“Give me my dog back.”
“That’s a weird name!”
“Lily-Grace, you made your point. I have to meet my family for dinner soon. Can you please send my dog out? I have to go.”
“Say it again?”
“What? Please?”
“No. Say I’m a hotheaded jerk who needs to maybe see a therapist for my temper and control issues.”
“Lily-Grace!”
“Lower your voice! You’re scaring my dog!”
Jesse’s head fell forward and he pulled in two deep breaths before he started quietly counting to five. Mr. LeRoux was really inside, letting his daughter act like this.
“Just say it out loud, Pleasant. The first step is admitting you have a problem.”
“Fine,” Jesse said through gritted teeth. “I’m a hotheaded jerk who needs to see a therapist.”
“For?”
“For my temper and control issues.”
The door swung open and Lily-Grace greeted him with a bright smile. “See, that wasn’t so hard. You should see your face right now. You’re about to blow.”
“Where’s my dog?”
“She’s watching TV with my dad.”
Jesse stuck his fingers between his lips and let out an ear-splitting wolf whistle.
“Jesus Christ!” Lily-Grace winced, then jumped to the side when Clementine came sprinting past her. She ran right for the truck and jumped in the flatbed. “I guess I couldn’t compete with that. Geez.”
“Please tell your father I’m sorry again.”
“I will, but I seriously hope you get your shit together.”
“You’ve made your point.”
Lily-Grace just shook her head. “Goodbye, Jesse.”
He turned and headed back to his truck. When he had Clementine safely in the back seat he hopped behind the wheel and headed toward home. He tried to not make anything of the fact that Lily-Grace was still standing in the doorway, watching him go.
Chapter 4
Lily-Grace realized a moment too late she was actually watching Jesse Pleasant drive away like she was some young wife watching her menfolk head off to war. She shook herself, praying to God he didn’t catch a glimpse of her in his rearview mirror. Heading back inside, she was suddenly hot all over. The weather was nice, but maybe a little too warm for her onesie. She needed to change and cool down with a nice glass of water, or maybe a cold shower. And then she would lock up the way Jesse Pleasant made her feel in a tiny, yet secure vault.
What was wrong with her? She’d just gotten out of a relationship that ended under less than optimal conditions. She was still extremely pissed at Dane, but it wasn’t like she was in the midst of some unbearable sex drought. Her hand was keeping her company just fine. Still, at some point during Jesse’s apology tour, all she could do was think about ways to annoy him. For some silly reason she wanted to get under his skin. She wanted to see him react, and then ... Well, then she wanted to see if he brought that level of heat and passion between the sheets.
Lily-Grace closed her eyes, then let herself back into the house. Maybe she was the one who needed help. Her life was in shambles and she saw Jesse Pleasant as a viable distraction, even though everything about him screamed red flags. He needed therapy, but she needed to get a grip. Something about the whistle though ... God, she was pathetic.
She figured out early on that her sex drive was extremely high and in need of her constant attention. It took her years to finally find what she thought was the perfect partner in Dane. And now her imagination was picturing all the ways Jesse could fill Dane’s shoes. Not those exact shoes. She had no desire to repeat what she’d had with Dane. She loved being involved with a skilled, attentive Dominant, but she’d been oblivious to the ways his domineering side in the bedroom had been due to his lack of empathy in every other area of his life. She’d been so strong and so independent in so many other ways, she hadn’t noticed that he was failing her in all the ways she would need a partner to show up for her.
“You done harassing that poor young man?” Blinking, Lily-Grace turned and looked at her dad. She’d walked into the middle of the living room and just stood there, still thinking about Jesse.
“Poor young man, my ass. He’ll be fine. More than fine. His grandmother will forgive him. You’ve already forgiven him.”
“No, I haven’t.”
Lily-Grace stared back at her father, cocking her head in his direction. “Really, Dad? Really? You’re just gonna sit there and lie to my face like you’re not the most kind, forgiving person I’ve ever met? We’re really doing this?”
“Okay, so I’m not one to hold a grudge. I haven’t forgiven him just yet.”
“Well. Making him uncomfortable for five whole minutes will not derail the life path of Jesse Pleasant. This time tomorrow he’ll be right back to his old self, having learned absolutely nothing. That said. We should get a dog,” she announced before she flopped back down on the couch.
“Are you staying long enough to take care of a dog? I know you got taking-care-of-a-dog money, but—”
“Hey, I ask the questions around here,” she grumbled.
“Honey, I’m not trying to rush you out of here. You know I love having you around, but—”
“I know. I cope best when I have a plan, and I have not presented you with such a plan.” Which was the truth. It had been the way her father had taught her to tackle all her fears, any setback: Come up with a plan. Figure out what you need to do, if you need help and where to find it and go from there. Usually by now she’d have something figured out. Plans to go back to work, plans to find a new place and no plan to tell Dane her new address, but after everything that had happened, for the first time in years she truly felt off-kilter. She had no idea what to do, no idea what she wanted to do. So for now, watching t.v. shows in her pajamas and driving Jesse Pleasant to the brink of insanity seemed like the best thing to do.
“You don’t have to share the plan with me, but you usually mention when you have one.”
“As soon as I know, Daddio, you’ll know.”
“And until then. No dog.”
“A horse maybe?”
“Hmm, yes. Much more practical.” He turned his attention back to the television. “I love you, Lilybug. You’re gonna get through this.”