Chapter 5

I wasn’t wrong. He snorted and waggled his eyebrows. “Yeah, yeah. But if you ever tell the guys I admitted to that, I’ll deny it. Vehemently.”

My hand flew to my mouth and I imitated locking my lips. I threw the non-existent key over my shoulder for good measure.

Liam threw back his head and laughed. It was loud and joyful, and when Tink joined in with happy woof, I smiled.

We walked with the dog between us, and even though neither of us spoke, it wasn’t uncomfortable. More like we’d been friends for years and were relaxed in each other’s presence. Like me and Sophie.

After a few minutes, Tinkerbell stopped. She rose on her hind legs, turned to the side, and sniffed in the air.

“What’s up, girl?” Liam buried his fingers in her neck fur, but his soothing gesture didn’t help. She stiffened, crouched, and a growl emanated from deep inside her. It grew louder and more threatening until it caught the attention of the entire group.

“What’s going on?”

“Is something wrong?”