I breathed out a shocked gust of air but recovered quickly, fixing my expression into a mock glare. “Don’t you dare tell the others.”
He mimed pulling a zipper across his mouth, then tilted his head toward the parking lot. “Brooks is already planning to add a doggy suite so that Daisy can have her own bedroom.”
My laugh was watery, and I didn’t even try to stop it. “Thank you. For bringing them in.”
“You’re welcome.”
The harsh fluorescent lighting of the lobby did nothing to dim the wild blue of his eyes. It mademelook like I’d walked out of a crypt, but he stood there, tall and impossibly strong, one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. That was bad enough, wreaking havoc on my slowly weakening defenses.
But this ... this thoughtfulness was more than I could handle.
Archer stepped to the side, letting me through the lobby door first, and the feel of him walking closely behind almost caused me to stumble. He settled a big hand on the small of my back.
“Okay?” he asked in a low voice.
I nodded, unable to speak.
This was bad.Badbad.
Was I so hard up for affection that a little lower-back action felt better than my last round with a vibrator? God bless it, who came up with this stupid eight-date rule and unwavering sense of professionalism? I wanted to slap my past self.
The shelter’s parking lot had been turned into a car show for the rich and famous. They’d all driven separately, and while Archer’s truck was clean today, it looked damn-near shabby compared to his three teammates’.
Two huge, tricked-out SUVs with gleaming rims and custom paint jobs—one a deep hunter green and the other a charcoal gray so dark that it was almost black, but when the sun hit it, it gleamed iridescent. I’d never seen anything like them.
And a low-slung sports car in a pearlescent white with black rims. The happy dogs were leashed and sniffing around the vehicles while the three men talked about each other’s cars and pointed out things they’d done to them.
I thought about my paid-off Toyota with a few rust spots and a back door that opened with a loud creak, and couldn’t help but smile.Maybe I’d pull her around from the back and show off the new brake pads that had about sent me over my budget two months ago.
When the youngest of them pressed a button and the doors of his white sports car lifted straight up, the other two hooted and hollered, shoving him in the back as he grinned. The tallest one noticed my approach, elbowing the guy next to him. His eyes widened, and he smacked the youngest one in the stomach. He turned, eyeing me with undisguised interest.
“Hey,” I said. “Thank you for waiting so I could say goodbye. I’m Remi Sinclair, the interim director of the shelter. I’m so grateful to both of you for giving them such good homes.”
“Remi,” one of them said knowingly, trading a quick look with the others. “Yeah, we figured.”
My brow furrowed. “Okay.”
Behind me, Archer cleared his throat. All three of their faces smoothed out.
“What’s your sign, Remi?” the youngest one asked.
I blinked. “Um, Virgo. Why?”
He nodded. “That makes sense.”
Archer cleared his throat again, more pointedly this time.
Still very confused, I crouched down and called for the dogs.
Daisy got to me first, almost knocking me over with an enthusiastic kiss to the face. I laughed, bracing my hand back on the asphalt. “Hey, sweetheart. You’re going to have a lot of new people to meet.” I scratched behind her ears and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. I glanced up at her new dad. “She loves chew toys, but she needs the extra-strength kind,” I said, my voice already thick with tears. “And during thunderstorms, she’ll want to hide in the bathroom. She doesn’t like the lightning.”
He smiled kindly. “You got it. I’ll give her her own bathroom without windows, then.”
A tear slid down my cheek, and I brushed it away quickly. “Perfect.”
I clicked my tongue and Scout lumbered over, pressing his face into my chest.
“I’m gonna miss him,” I said in a shaky voice. “He’s been here for a year.”