He laughed. “I can’t swim.”
Sophie laughed, then realized he wasn’t joking. “Seriously?”
Zach shook his head and gathered the dishes. “I probably could if my life depended on it, but before I came to li
ve with the Monroes, I never went to a pool, so I just never had a desire by the time I came to live here.”
“I’ll teach you,” she promised him. “And you won’t even have to come to one of my classes, either.”
“I’d best stay out of the pool.”
Zach never talked about his time before the Monroes. Ever. At least not with her, and Chelsea had been pretty tight-lipped about it as well, so Sophie had never pushed. She couldn’t help but wonder what made him so talkative tonight, or what had made him push his way into her home and make dinner. Not that she was upset about either, just curious.
She watched him move about her kitchen, cleaning and stacking dishes in the sink. No man had ever made her dinner, let alone in her own kitchen.
“You’re still in here.” Without turning around, he ran a sink full of sudsy water. “Go into the living room and relax.”
“What if I’m relaxed right here watching you?”
Throwing a slight grin over his shoulder, he shrugged. “You have a warped way of relaxing.”
Not if her version included a sexy man doing domestic chores. She was relaxed and aroused . . . a lethal combo with Zach in the house.
“How are the pups?” she asked.
“Well, they like my room.” He rinsed a pan and stacked it in the drying rack in the sink. “I talked to the vet earlier. She said she may have found a home for two of them when it’s time, but I need the other five adopted out as well as the mom.”
“Why don’t you keep her?” Sophie suggested.
Zach drained the water, grabbed a towel, and wiped his hands before turning to face her. “And what would I do with a dog?”
Sophie shrugged. “Same thing you’ve been doing. Love her.”
“Do I look like a dog person?”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Sophie still couldn’t suppress the smile. “You looked like a dog person when you were cuddled up with her.”
“Funny.” He crossed to the island and leaned on his forearms. “Why don’t you take a puppy?”
“Me?” She’d not really thought about it. “I wouldn’t know what to do with it when I was at work.”
“Take it with you,” he suggested. “You’ve got that park across the street. You could take it on walks when you had a break. You know you want one.”
That little one had cuddled against her neck when she’d carried it to his bedroom. Even his little puppy breath was adorable. But Flynn would not be happy. Granted, Flynn didn’t socialize much with Sophie, so most likely her grouchy cat would ignore a dog too. For a while she could keep them separated while she was gone, just until they grew more accustomed to each other.
“You’re considering it,” Zach said with a smile. “Boy or girl? I’ve got both.”
Sophie groaned and came to her feet. “You should’ve been a salesman. Give me a girl. I don’t want a boy hiking all over my furniture.”
Zach laughed. “And you think a female will hold her piss?”
“I don’t know,” she cried, throwing her arms up. “Just give me any of them. They’re all adorable.”
Zach sighed and glanced around the room. “I’m going to head home and let them out. I’ll be sure to save you one when the time comes to find homes.”
“You’re leaving?” she asked, lifting her brows. “Why don’t you stay for a bit?”
His heated gaze nearly sizzled her from across the center island. The man was that fast, that powerful . . . that potent. He could stop her with a look and have arousal shooting through her entire body.