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Except with Holly, it wasn’t just sex He shoved his fingers in his hair and tugged This wasn’t helping He realized everyone was staring at him, but just then Jade stepped out the front door of the center and waved him over Thank God No more time to obsess or further eo"

"Adah he didn’t want to, and looked down at the hand she’d placed on his ar them privacy Privacy he was dary," she said "Want to get dinner?"

He looked into her eyes and knew he had to be honest right now, or this would get as out of hand as it had the last tiry for, Holly"

Her mouth opened, then closed He didn’t knohat she’d been about to say, but he knew that her response should have been a slap across his face He certainly deserved it, if not for the other night on the o when he’d touched her and shouldn’t have

But as it turned out, Holly had no response at all--at least not one she illing to share with hi but a look that he refused hi With a nod, he walked away, telling hi favor, but especially her, one she’d thank him for eventually

Nineteen

Holly knew damn well that Adairl, and she was not easily scared off In fact, nothing s

She watched Ada for hi at his feet in an exhausted heap on the front steps Obedience class was hard work At Adaround, dust rising He crouched down, ruffling her fur, giving her a sht between her eyes

Gertie writhed in ecstasy, giving hiave it back, honest and uninhibited, and frohed

A hand settled on her shoulder Dell’s "It’s not you," he assured her

"No?" She was pretty sure it was her

"No," Dell said "It’s because Brady here dropped hiers"

Brady smiled fondly at the memory "That’s not why he’s an idiot It’s because she’s his cave"

"Huh?" Holly said, but Dell was nodding

"Yeah," Dell said "That’s it exactly" He looked at Holly "You’re his cave The thing he fears yet wants theto have to ee, if that was all "And how do you propose I do that?" she asked

"Turn on all the lights and send hiested

Dell shook his head "Too subtle You need to set a trap and drag the big lug inside"

Holly let out a low laugh They loved Adam That was beautifully clear But they didn’t have a clue She just hoped she did

She walked to her Jeep and then took a call fro mishap By the time she disconnected, she was the last one fro but she had no trouble seeing across the yard to the very serious basketball ga on Three-on-three and she knew the players on the skins tea so hot that she was momentarily frozen, unable to look away Dell passed the ball to Brady, who flung it to Adaht it and fleard the basket, where he was rudely and harshly fouled, his opponent’s hand chopping through the air, ainst his ar, Adarace Clearly his shoulder wasn’t bothering hihtest

His opponent, one of Dell’s vet techs, swore viciously

Adaave him a steely-eyed look but didn’t retaliate for the foul or call him on it "Game point," he said, and passed the ball to Brady, ished in a sweet three-pointer Gah-fived each other in triumph

And froot a hot flash She shoved the vehicle in gear and drove off into the night

Holly was a half hour late to book club By the tiot there, the food had been devoured, dessert included Dessert was the whole reason for going to book club, da next to Lilah and Jade There were at least ten other wo the chosen book with an intensity that loom of the plot

Holly hadn’t enjoyed the book She liked books with happy endings, and this one hadn’t had anything close to an HEA She sat in the chair next to Kate and pulled the book fro," Kate whispered "Why are you glowing?"

"It’s sweat," she whispered back "Thing One and Thing Two are a pain inyou sweat?"

Holly hid her face behind the book

Kate pushed the book down and took in Holly’s expression, her s alanced around and found Lilah and Jade listening in unabashedly Great Holly flipped through the book, pretending to listen to the discussion going on around her They were talking about the characters

"It’s all about the characters for ree"

"How about compassion?" Kate asked "Loyalty? Heart? Because this…this book that we let into our lives"--she sent Holly a long glance--"needs to be compassionate It needs to be loyal to a fault and have heart Flawed is okay as long as it has heart"

"That’s a big order," Lilah said "But in this case, the…book," she said fully, "flawed as it iven a chance"

Holly looked at both Jade and Lilah, two very sharp women Two very sharp women who loved Adam like a brother "I don’t mind flaws," she said carefully "What book doesn’t have flaws?"

"You’re sure?" Kate asked "Sure sure?"

Holly hugged the book to her chest and nodded, hoping like hell that was true, and that she knehat she was doing

The next day Dell walked into Adam’s office and deposited a ten-week-old black Lab puppy on his desk A female, who lifted her head and blinked at Adam with sleepy dark eyes