SHE HAD TO be crazy, Harriet thought as she packed her things into a large suitcase the following morning.
She could have stayed in the comfort and security of her apartment. It was what she wanted. Christmas was approaching. She wanted to make the place cozy and festive. Decorate. Put things in place to make sure she felt comfortable and able to enjoy herself. Pad her world with comfort to keep out the psychological chill of spending the holidays without her family.
She didn’t want to stay in a stranger’s apartment.
Which was exactly why she was doing this.
Spending a few nights with Ethan Black would be the ultimate challenge, which was why the first thing she stuffed into her suitcase were three of her favorite books. She had a feeling she was going to need the comfort.
Resisting the temptation to call him and tell him she’d changed her mind, she added sweaters, several pairs of pants and a couple of shirts.
She removed a dress from the hanger and then paused.
Why would she need a dress?
She was going to be walking dogs. Doing what she always did. She wasn’t going to need a dress.
She was putting it back on the hanger when her phone rang.
It was Fliss.
“Hi there.” Harriet tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she thrust the dress back into her crowded closet space. “Everything okay?”
“Never better. How about you? You have snow!”
“We do.” Thinking of it made Harriet stuff two extra pairs of thick socks into her packing.
“Are you having trouble getting around? Any cancellations?”
“Not so far.” She picked up her favorite pair of boots and a spare scarf. “By the way, I’m moving my base of operations a few blocks south. I’m dog sitting for a while.” She said it casually, even though she knew there was no hope that Fliss would leave it at that.
“You’re what? You mean overnight? You said you would never do that. I’ve been trying to talk you into it for months. Who requested it? It must have been one of our special clients for you to say yes.”
“It was Debra.” She told herself that Debra was the ultimate beneficiary, so it wasn’t exactly a lie. “This is a one-off, special circumstance. Her daughter is in hospital.”
“You told me. And Madi was staying with her brother, and you agreed to walk twice a day. It’s right here in our schedule. So where does staying the night fit into all that? What were the special circumstances?”
“Madi is having problems settling.”
“Problems?”
Harriet wrapped her running shoes in a bag and tucked them into the side of the case. “She’s wrecking the apartment when she’s left.”
“Well, dogs are social animals.”
“I know, but knowing doesn’t help me solve the problem. Worse, she’s barking and howling. This guy has neighbors, and he wants to carry on living there after Madi has gone.” Harriet switched the phone to her other shoulder and started pushing underwear into the corners of her case. “She’s not settling at night, either. She’s howling.”
“So you’re moving in. With a stranger.”
“Not a stranger. He’s Debra’s brother, which is as good as having a reference. And he’s a doctor.”
“I didn’t know there were different categories of stranger.”
“It’s not as if I haven’t met him. We’ve talked a couple of times.” Harriet decided not to mention the dinner they’d shared.
“Just because he’s a doctor, doesn’t mean he’s a saint. Think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
“Fictional characters don’t count.”
“Some people say Jack the Ripper was a surgeon.”
“You are so comforting.” Harriet packed her pajamas. “I don’t think Debra’s brother is a serial killer.”
“Serial killers have relatives, you know.”
“He is not a serial killer. I’ve met him several times. Remember that trip to the hospital I took when I sprained my ankle?”
“Are you telling me this guy is Dr. Hot?”
“Your name, not mine.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so right away? Now I approve. Harriet Knight, congratulations. I never thought I’d see you moving in with a man you barely know. You are officially on your way to being a bad girl.”
Harriet rolled her eyes. Her inner GPS never took her anywhere near that particular destination. “He’s not even going to be there. He spends most of his life at work. That’s the reason we have a problem. Madi is struggling being on her own all day so I’m going to base myself there so that I can give her a little more attention and see if I can settle her down.”
“So you are moving into a stranger’s apartment to care for a dog.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s all it is?”
“Of course. What else?”
“I’ve always said you’d make the perfect doctor’s wife.”
“That’s insane.” Harriet stood up. “You talk as if doctors are one homogeneous being instead of individual people. And this guy doesn’t seem like the relationship type.”
“What have you packed to sleep in? Do not wear that old T-shirt with I love dogs on it.”
“It’s my favorite T-shirt and I do love dogs. It’s honest nightwear.”
“It’s not something you need to emblazon on your breasts when you’re spending the night with a sexy guy.”
“I never said he was sexy.”
“Is he?”
Harriet thought about the way he’d waited patiently while she’d struggled to get her words out. He hadn’t once tried to finish her sentence. True, he’d yelled but only that once and even she had to admit his frustration had been justified. And he’d apologized. She didn’t know many people who were big enough to apologize.
He’d let Madi sleep on his bed when she was distressed.
And the way he’d picked her up—
She sighed. “He’s sexy.”
“Whoa. Never heard you say that about a guy before. What do you like about him most? Shoulders? Abs? Great eyes?”
“He’s a good listener.”
“I’m talking about what makes him sexy.”
“So am I. That’s what makes him sexy to me. I like the fact that he didn’t interrupt me. He didn’t try to—” She stopped just in time. She wasn’t ready to tell Fliss that her stammer had come back. She wanted to deal with it by herself. “He didn’t try to dominate the conversation in the way some guys do.”
“So what you’re saying is that he’s totally unfortunate looking, but a nice person?”
Harriet laughed. “That’s not what I’m saying. But looks don’t matter, do they? My first internet dating experience kept checking his reflection on his phone.”
“Gross.”
“Exactly. And what Ethan looks like is irrelevant because this isn’t a date, it’s work. I’m doing this for Madi and for Debra. And for him, because he cannot make life-and-death decisions after three hours’ sleep.”
“I have been trying to talk you into dog sitting for ages. This is great.”
“This is a one-off. Don’t get any ideas.” Harriet could almost see Fliss making notes and plans. Next she’d be sending an email with suggestions for expanding their business into dog sitting and she really didn’t want that.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
Harriet tried to close her bulging case. “I can’t believe it, either. But I’m doing it for Madi.”
For the dog. For Debra.
Not for any other reason.