Chapter Two
The walk with Beauregard was completely uneventful, with nothing coming of it but a spectacular Caramel Macchiato from a coffee shop near the dog park.
Caitlin filled Beau’s bowl from the kitchen sink, like she did after his walk every morning, but rather than his usual sloppy slurping, Beau sniffed the bowl, whined, and flopped down on his dog bed in the living room.
“Is your tummy hurting, big guy?” she asked, scratching behind his ear. He sighed and closed his eyes. Caitlin sighed, too. It was going to be a long, long day. The caffeine had helped lift her mood, but being wet and cold for who knew how long was going to be the pits.
She looked around the small, tidy apartment. She’d never really paid much attention to it before. She didn’t pay attention to any of her clients’ homes. They weren’t her concern. The pets were. She’d always been able to compartmentalize like that, which is why she liked accounting. She only had to consider relevant facts, not all the extras—like the dozens of photos in frames on the bookshelf at the far end of the room.
She pulled off her coat and hung it on the hook by the door, then slipped out of her boots and socks. The warm wood felt fantastic underfoot. She sighed as she wiggled her pruny bare toes, and for the first time since Taylor left, she was glad she wasn’t stuck walking dogs all day. As soon as she passed her CPA exam, she’d never have to walk another person’s dog again.
Fighting the urge to look over her shoulder like she was a toddler about to sneak candy, she padded to the bookshelf. This wasn’t snooping, really. He had this stuff out on display, after all. One frame made of a dark, knotty wood held a picture of what appeared to be a younger Taylor and his family. An elderly man and woman, probably grandparents, flanked a happy-looking couple who were no doubt his parents and Taylor and a girl with braces wearing a big grin who looked to be around twelve or thirteen.
Of the dozen or so pictures, at least half of them included Taylor and the older woman, and the rest were of his family. They must be very close. Caitlin’s chest tightened with longing. Her parents had divorced when she was a baby and she’d never had a close relationship with either. Even though they were only two hours apart, she’d only seen her mom once since moving back from Georgia.
Another picture was of Taylor in full dress uniform looking tall, muscled, and badass. Well, that explained his tendency to bark orders. As sexy as he was in his uniform, she preferred him in a bath towel. She closed her eyes and recalled the delicious expanse of tan skin and hard muscles, and her fingers twitched.
A loud ding from a computer on the desk to the left of the bookcase jerked her from her daydream. Again, it wasn’t snooping if something was in clear view, right? She squinted at the popup message on the screen several feet away.
can’t wait to see you this weekend! i love you, xoxo -b
Nothing like another woman’s love letter closed with kisses and hugs to kill a perfectly good daydream. B must be the woman he planned to give the ring to. “Better give that ring back, Beau,” she said. “Sounds like magic’s happening this weekend.”
Beau smacked his jowls several times and closed his eyes.
Even though she’d worn a coat, the water had partially soaked her clothes. When she looked down, she couldn’t help but admire her new hot pink lace bra showing through the thin sweater. She frowned. Spring Break T-shirt contestant wasn’t the look she was going for. Hopefully, the material would dry quickly. She pinched the fabric and pulled it away from her body.
Ding.
Again, she squinted at the computer screen to read a message from someone named Deborah.
I’ve considered your apology. How about dinner next Thursday? Same restaurant. I’ll meet you there at 7.
“Wait a minute,” she said to the screen. “What about B?” She turned to the snoring dog. “What about B and the magic weekend?”
Beau opened one eye and closed it again.
Maybe she’d misunderstood the message. Bossy, yes, but the guy didn’t seem like a jerk. A man who loved his dog like that couldn’t be a total jerk, right? Maybe the dinner date with the Deborah person was business. There were no kisses and hugs or “I love you’s.” Yeah. “Totally business,” she assured Beauregard.
Ding.
“Oh, come on,” she grumbled, turning her back to the computer, determined to not look. After staring at Beau, who appeared to be dreaming about chewing, she couldn’t resist anymore and whipped around to the screen. This one was from someone named Felicia.
Hey, honey. Left some undies at your place. Will come get them when I’m back in town. Love you lots.
Definitely not business. So much for men who loved pets not being jerks.
Caitlin flopped onto the couch and growled, which caused Beau to lift his head. Then, he chewed a few times like he had in his sleep.
“You okay?” she asked, dropping to her knees in front of him. Maybe he’d cracked a tooth or cut his gums on the ring, which would explain his not drinking and his odd chewing behavior. She put one hand over the top of his snout and the other under his chin and pried his mouth open. Nothing but big dog tongue and teeth, so she leaned down to get a look at the back molars and something glittered.
“Oh, man.” She leaned closer. “Yes!” she shouted with a fist pump before reaching into Beau’s mouth to pull out the ring stored between the back of his jaw and cheek. “You’re a dog, not a hamster, Beau-Beau.”
Sitting back on her heels, she examined the ring.
“Whoa.” This wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Based on Taylor’s clean, simple apartment and military background, she’d imagined a straightforward, no frills, round solitaire set in yellow gold. She turned it in the light and shook her head. It wasn’t huge, but a sizable square diamond was set in a fancy filigree that looked to be made of platinum with smaller diamonds embedded in it. It was in the style she remembered from the scrapbook pictures of her grandmother she loved looking at when she was a kid. She’d have never imagined him an antique ring kind of guy.
With a shiver, she stood and straightened the cold, wet shirt sticking to her neck and chest and headed to the kitchen, grateful Beau hadn’t swallowed the ring for a multitude of reasons—one being she could go home and put on something dry.
A quick wash with hot water and dish soap made the ring sparkly, especially under the halogen light above the kitchen sink. Almost magical.
Ding.
She glanced over her shoulder across the breakfast bar to the computer screen in the living room and rolled her eyes. Probably another girlfriend needing to retrieve her panties. With a sigh, she dried the ring on a dish towel hanging from the oven handle. Again, the deep stone in the center of the ring caught the light and winked at her. It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen.
Holding it between her forefinger and thumb, she studied the way the light refracted and changed color as it passed through the stones. Gary hadn’t given her an engagement ring. She’d loved her gold band he gave her on their wedding day, but she’d lamented not having a symbol of the value and promise of their engagement. Turned out, for Gary, promise and value were all but nonexistent, so it suited.
Unable to resist trying it on, she slid the ring on her finger and wiggled her hand to make it glimmer in the light. So pretty. Elegant, with the promise of forever.
“Poor B,” she said through the tightness in her throat. Caitlin knew what it was like to marry a player.
The computer dinged again, but she didn’t look. With a disgusted huff, she scanned the apartment for a prominent place to leave the ring where Beau couldn’t snack on it again. Moving to a wooden bowl in the middle of the breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the family room, she tugged on the ring to remove it, but it didn’t budge.
Oh, no. She twisted it and tugged harder as a knock came on the door. Beau jumped up from his dog bed and ran to the door barking. Crap. No way was she going to answer this guy’s door.
“Taylor, sugar, it’s me,” a woman’s voice called.
Perfect. Now women were dropping by in person. This guy was something else. With a grunt, she pulled on the ring as hard as she could, but no luck.
Beau went practically berserk, scratching the door and whining like a puppy. Clearly, he knew the person on the other side. After another knock, the door opened and the older woman she recognized from the family photos on the bookshelf stepped inside and froze, key in hand.
Her large brown eyes traveled from Beau to Caitlin, scanning her from her bare feet, to her clinging T-shirt, to her wet hair. Caitlin took a breath to introduce herself right as the woman’s gaze locked on the ring and a huge grin spread across her face.
“Well, it’s about damn time.”