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of many strays I collected. I managed to find homes for most of them, and word of my ability with dogs got around. I earned my first dollar training Mrs. Olsen’s poodle to stop digging up her rose beds.”
    He propped his elbows on the table. “So, a psychotic Great Dane is a natural progression from three legged mutts and digging poodles?”
    “Pippin isn’t psychotic,” she argued, but smiled.
    “All evidence to the contrary.”
    “He responded readily enough when you took control of the situation.” She mirrored his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I was very impressed.”
    He dropped his head slightly, shrinking the distance between them. “I was trying to impress the idiot dog. You’re admiration is a bonus.”
    Their gazes tangled across the table and she welcomed the delicious spark of sexual tension flaring between them.
    “Well,” she cleared her throat, “you managed both.”
    “Is that why you agreed to our…dating thing? Because of my impressive handling of a wild animal?”
    She grinned into his laughing blue gaze. “Of course. But what really impressed me was that you didn’t scream like a girl when Pippin knocked you on your ass.”
    He chuckled and she sat back, picking up her wine glass. “The point is with the right handling, Pippin will make a great family pet.”
    “For a family of lion tamers, maybe.”
    “I shouldn’t laugh since I’ve had the same thought. Oh, not that he needs a lion tamer, but he will need someone assertive enough to handle his size and zest for life. I’m not sure assertive applies to his owner. Mrs. Wilson is intimidated by him.”
    “Why would she choose such a monster if she’s afraid of him?”
    “I have no idea, although he wasn’t a monster when she got him.”
    “What will happen to him if she decides he’s too much for her?”
    “I won’t let anything happen to him. Though I try to avoid emotional attachments with my charges, I have to admit, Pippin has wormed his way into my heart. If things don’t work out with the Wilsons, I’ll find him another home.” She cocked her head, studying him. “He likes you. In fact—”
    “Oh, no.” Coop shook his head, shutting her down. “The only member of The Canine Academy I’m interested in is its owner.”
    “Hmmm…” She made her sigh a subtle tease. “Well, that’s too bad. Handling a wild animal may impress me, but I’m a complete sucker for a guy with a dog.”
    His low laugh brought about the return of that electrical charge she’d experienced yesterday, and her nipples pebbled beneath the confines of her blouse and bra. She marveled at his ability to touch her without lifting a finger, but his next words almost made her spew wine across the table.
    “How did you come to be raised by Sil?”
    Well, crap. That didn’t take long.
    What had she been thinking? They would proceed with this dating thing without any of the usual get-to-know-you questions? Cutting her losses and walking away before the whole situation blew up in her face would be the best course. But damn it, she didn’t want to walk away. Not yet. Evasion was her best option.
    “Sil and Adam were the only family I had left,” she said, and then quickly asked, “What about you? Sil says Elliott and you moved around a lot while you were growing up. What was that like?”
    ****
    “I wasn’t implying we should stop seeing each other, Cooper. I was upset. You know it was a big night for me. Even Giovanni wondered where you were.”
    “Did you tell him I was in Chicago, making sure a murderer doesn’t walk free?”
    At her irritated sigh, Coop wondered, and not for the first time, why either of them allowed their association to continue so long. Other than the sex, in the two years he and Ashley Connor dated, they hadn’t seen eye-to-eye on much, including the amount of time he spent doing his job. Frankly, there were times he wasn’t sure she even liked him.
    After having spent time with Rylee, with her easy