Page 6 of Redeem My Heart

Except for all those steamy looks he sent my way. But I probably imagined those. Those smolders weren’t actually directed at me. That’s just what his face looks like.

And he probably isn’t actively avoiding me around town. That’s just how it seems to me since I’m so hyper-aware of him.

Still, it’s obvious that I’m not the only one thinking about Dane Whitmore, given the way these ladies are talking about him.

The way they say ‘great’ gives me the creeps.

Surely that’s not where he got the name for the sanctuary. It’s just because of the tie-in to the dog breed.

“Size doesn’t matter,” the first woman argues.

“If you believe that, then I guess we know what Randy is packing.”

The other two women giggle. By now I’m fairly certain of the identity of the table behind me. Miranda Dillard is the one being judgmental because of course she is. Which means the other two are her besties, Amanda Stone and Brittany Collins. They’re all older than me, older than Luna too, but she was a freshman when they were graduating.

You know what happens to the mean girls from high school? They grow up to be mean ladies.

I roll my eyes and take another bite of my treat. I won’t let small town gossips interrupt my self-care time.

“Did you watch yesterday’s reels? They were the hottest yet.”

“I swear that man’s arms are as big as my thighs.”

“I’d like to leash him up and lick⁠—”

I whip around. “He is a person, you know. And what he’s doing out there, for the dogs, is important.”

The three women stare at me. Amanda’s eyebrows nearly crawl into her hairline.

“Maybe, but he’s a hot commodity. He wouldn’t be flaunting his body like that if he didn’t want people to look. It’s so not about the dogs.”

I want to correct them. But I don’t know if the real reason for Dane’s social media presence is widely known. Obviously, these women are some of his pay clicks though.

“Seriously. He should auction himself off. The highest bidder could spend a night in his bed.” Brittany waggles her eyebrows.

“Y’all are being really disrespectful,” I point out.

Amanda rolls her eyes. “Don’t be such a prude, Sugar.” She says my nickname in the way my mom meant it. As an insult.

“I’m not being a prude. I’m just trying to remind you, ladies,” I say the last word in the same way she said sugar. “Dane is a real person and y’all are being bitchy, judgmental and offensive.”

“What are you, his girlfriend?” Miranda asks, then laughs like her own question is the funniest joke ever.

“I don’t have to be his girlfriend to support someone in our community who is doing a good and noble thing.”

Brittany elbows Amanda. “Of course she’s not his girlfriend. You think a guy as hot as Dane Whitmore would be with our plump and frumpy Sugar Coleman? I mean look at her.”

The women all laugh. Tears burn at the back of my eyes and the bridge of my nose tingles with the tell-tale sign I’m about to cry. Not in front of these women.

I’m in the process of gathering my stuff when a shadow falls over my table.

“Hey Sunshine, you ready to go?”

I look up to find Dane leaning over me. He cups the back of my neck and tilts my head so he can—oh shit, he’s going to kiss me!

And then he does. Soft, plump lips meet mine and I forget my name and everything else about me. His tongue swipes against my bottom lip, then he’s pulling back and grinning down at me.

I think that’s when I die. It’s the smile he gives me. The one that lights up his pale blue eyes.