Read Online Sheltered by the Millionaire by Catherine Mann - Free Book Online
Authors: Catherine Mann
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mischief. “Your life is much more fast-paced than that.”
“If you’re asking if I’m seeing anyone, the answer is no.” Although the fact that she would ask gave him hope he was on the right track playing this cool, taking his time. “You have my complete and undivided attention.”
Her eyes went wide and she chewed her bottom lip. “Really?”
He angled back, hitching a booted foot on his knee. “That was impressive seeing you in action today. You were amazing interviewing the foster families and sifting through all that paperwork. I had no idea how much detail went into ensuring the animals are safe and well cared for.”
“I’m just doing my job, a job I’m very happy to have. I get to do the work I love in an environment that is flexible about letting my daughter join me. It’s the best of both worlds and I intend to be worthy of keeping the position.”
“Well, I don’t know a lot about the animal rescue world, but from what I can tell, whatever they’re paying you can’t be nearly enough for how much heart you pour into saving each one of those cats and dogs.”
“We’re all called to make a difference in the world. This is my way,” she said simply and sipped her wine, her eyes tracking him with a hint of confusion.
Keep on course.
And he found himself actually wanting to get to know her better. Staying in the chair and finding out more about Megan wasn’t such a hardship. “What made you choose this line of work?”
“I’ve always loved animals.”
“But it must be more than that.”
She eyed him over the rim of her glass. “Most people accept the simple answer.”
“I’m not most people.”
He stared back, waiting even though he wanted to close the space between them and lay her down along that sofa. He burned to cover her, kiss her. Take her.
“Well, while other girls were reading
Little House on the Prairie
or Nancy Drew novels, I devoured everything I could find on animals, their history, how to care for them, how to train them.” The more she spoke, the more she relaxed on the throw pillows piled on the corner of the sofa. “I had these dreams of going to the big dog shows with my pup Snickers. I watched the shows over and over again so I could train him to do all the moves.”
She was so buttoned up and proper, all about the rules, he hadn’t expected such a quirky story from her. He wanted to know more. “What happened?”
Megan rolled her eyes and lifted her glass in toast. “Somehow I missed the memo that the dog show was just for purebreds.”
“What kind of dog did you have?”
“A Jack Russell-Shih Tzu mix. Absolutely adorable and somehow unacceptable.” She shook her head. “Wrong.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to have your big show with that pup.”
Her gaze narrowed to a steely determination he’d seen before, except he’d been the cause of her ire then.
“Oh, I made sure Snickers still had his moment in the sun. I trained him to ride a skateboard, made a video and sent it into the
Late Night
show. Imagine my mom’s surprise when they contacted us. I went on the show. And my dog was famous for a week.”
He leaned back with a chuckle of admiration. “If you did that today, you’d get a reality show.”
“You could be right.”
“You were famous for more than a week. I remember that story now....”
“I ran the talk show circuit until my fifteen minutes of fame was up.”
He blinked in surprise. “Somehow I didn’t guess you were a limelight seeker. I envisioned you more as the studious type, the crusader in a more conventional way. Now I see where Evie gets her showmanship.”
She laughed. “We’ve never really spent enough time with each other to form opinions.”
“You must have been fearless.” His mind filled with images of her as a child, as quirky and incredible as little Evie. “Most kids would be scared to put themselves in front of the camera that would broadcast them to the whole world.”
“I was hoping
“If you’re asking if I’m seeing anyone, the answer is no.” Although the fact that she would ask gave him hope he was on the right track playing this cool, taking his time. “You have my complete and undivided attention.”
Her eyes went wide and she chewed her bottom lip. “Really?”
He angled back, hitching a booted foot on his knee. “That was impressive seeing you in action today. You were amazing interviewing the foster families and sifting through all that paperwork. I had no idea how much detail went into ensuring the animals are safe and well cared for.”
“I’m just doing my job, a job I’m very happy to have. I get to do the work I love in an environment that is flexible about letting my daughter join me. It’s the best of both worlds and I intend to be worthy of keeping the position.”
“Well, I don’t know a lot about the animal rescue world, but from what I can tell, whatever they’re paying you can’t be nearly enough for how much heart you pour into saving each one of those cats and dogs.”
“We’re all called to make a difference in the world. This is my way,” she said simply and sipped her wine, her eyes tracking him with a hint of confusion.
Keep on course.
And he found himself actually wanting to get to know her better. Staying in the chair and finding out more about Megan wasn’t such a hardship. “What made you choose this line of work?”
“I’ve always loved animals.”
“But it must be more than that.”
She eyed him over the rim of her glass. “Most people accept the simple answer.”
“I’m not most people.”
He stared back, waiting even though he wanted to close the space between them and lay her down along that sofa. He burned to cover her, kiss her. Take her.
“Well, while other girls were reading
Little House on the Prairie
or Nancy Drew novels, I devoured everything I could find on animals, their history, how to care for them, how to train them.” The more she spoke, the more she relaxed on the throw pillows piled on the corner of the sofa. “I had these dreams of going to the big dog shows with my pup Snickers. I watched the shows over and over again so I could train him to do all the moves.”
She was so buttoned up and proper, all about the rules, he hadn’t expected such a quirky story from her. He wanted to know more. “What happened?”
Megan rolled her eyes and lifted her glass in toast. “Somehow I missed the memo that the dog show was just for purebreds.”
“What kind of dog did you have?”
“A Jack Russell-Shih Tzu mix. Absolutely adorable and somehow unacceptable.” She shook her head. “Wrong.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to have your big show with that pup.”
Her gaze narrowed to a steely determination he’d seen before, except he’d been the cause of her ire then.
“Oh, I made sure Snickers still had his moment in the sun. I trained him to ride a skateboard, made a video and sent it into the
Late Night
show. Imagine my mom’s surprise when they contacted us. I went on the show. And my dog was famous for a week.”
He leaned back with a chuckle of admiration. “If you did that today, you’d get a reality show.”
“You could be right.”
“You were famous for more than a week. I remember that story now....”
“I ran the talk show circuit until my fifteen minutes of fame was up.”
He blinked in surprise. “Somehow I didn’t guess you were a limelight seeker. I envisioned you more as the studious type, the crusader in a more conventional way. Now I see where Evie gets her showmanship.”
She laughed. “We’ve never really spent enough time with each other to form opinions.”
“You must have been fearless.” His mind filled with images of her as a child, as quirky and incredible as little Evie. “Most kids would be scared to put themselves in front of the camera that would broadcast them to the whole world.”
“I was hoping
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