“And that kiss yesterday freaked you out. Admit it.”
Her breathing was rapid. “It was—”
“Yes, it was.” He dropped his gaze to her mouth and wondered whether to complicate things by kissing her again right now. He had a client waiting, so probably not the best idea. Next time he kissed Molly he didn’t want a time limit.
“You didn’t only borrow the dog. You changed his name.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not even going to deny it or make excuses?”
“It’s the truth. I’m pleading guilty to all of it. Why did I do it? Because I wanted to meet you. You intrigued the hell out of me, Molly. You still do. And I’m answering all of your questions, but you still haven’t answered mine.”
She ignored that. “I couldn’t work out why he never seemed to know his name. At first I thought he was disobedient and then I wondered if he had hearing issues, but all the time it was because Brutus wasn’t his name! That’s shocking.”
“Brutus!” The dog’s head whipped around and Daniel crouched down to make a fuss over him. “He knows his name now.”
She scowled at him. “That isn’t—”
“Which name do you think suits him best? Ruffles or Brutus?”
She stared at the dog and then at him. “That’s not the point.”
“It’s exactly the point.” Daniel straightened. “He’s a strong, male dog. He needs a strong, male name.”
“That’s sexist. And a person’s name has no bearing on their identity.”
“You really think he’s a Ruffles?” He stepped to one side to let the flow of pedestrians pass.
Her mouth opened and closed. “You have to win every argument.”
“I’m a lawyer. Arguing is part of my job, just as analyzing behavior is part of yours. But I’m going to save you a job, Molly. You want to know what’s going on here? I’ll tell you. When I want something badly, I go for it. And I want you. It’s that simple.” He watched as her breathing turned shallow.
“You don’t think it’s a touch unscrupulous involving a dog?”
“Brutus was happy enough to join me in Central Park. Happier, I suspect, than he was joining you on a jaunt across New York City when the sole purpose wasn’t a run in the park but for him to play a key role in embarrassing me in front of my colleagues.” He saw guilt flash across her face.
“I took good care of him.”
“You know what I think, Molly?” He leaned closer. “I think you’re relieved this happened because now you have an excuse to back away.”
“I don’t need an excuse. I can simply tell you to back off.”
“I mean with yourself. You can tell yourself that you’re backing away because I borrowed a dog. But we both know the dog isn’t the reason.” His phone buzzed and he cursed softly. “I have to go. I have a meeting. But I’ll try and get away early. Hopefully I’ll be free by eight.”
“What? No.” She pushed her hair back, flustered. “Daniel, we’re not meeting up later.”
“There are things you need to say and it isn’t good for a person to bottle them up. So I’ll drop by later and you can say everything that is currently bubbling up inside you and threatening a major explosion. Give me your address.”
“You don’t need my address. I’ve said everything I came here to say.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
“You made me think you were a dog person!”
Daniel glanced from her to Brutus, who was wagging his tail, a dopey expression on his face. “Turns out I might be a dog person, which is a tad confusing for both of us.” He stooped and talked firmly to Brutus, man-to-man. “Look after her on the way home, do you hear me? You’re in charge. No running across roads. No drinking from dirty puddles.” Brutus nudged his leg and whined with delight. Daniel thought to himself that if half his clients were as relaxed and easy to please as Brutus, his working day would be a lot less stressful.
Molly glared at him. “I suppose you think you’re off the hook?”