“Whoa—crazy!” Sarah’s mouth fell open, as she looked between her friend and the blade. “What the hell are you going to do?! Kill it?!”
Lacy pursed her lips with a bemused grin.
“Seriously, Em—I say this as a friend: you need to stop watching so much late-night television. It’s starting to change you.”
“I’m not the one who just pulled a shiv on a dog!”
“I am not going to shiv—” Lacy cut off suddenly as there was another creak from the floor above them. For a moment, both girls just stared—cameras at the ready. Then she picked back up again in a whisper. “I am not going to shiv the dog. I’m going to shiv the window.”
Before Sarah could stop her, she stretched up her arm and stabbed the knife into the screen—pulling it in and out until there was a little hole in the corner. The second she could stick her fingers through, she reached up again and slipped the treats inside.
“There you go, boy. Enjoy.”
The entire house shook as the dog launched itself at the window—gobbling up the treats with a bark of delight. When he was finished, he barked again. Lacy gave him another handful.
“Now go,” she said authoritatively, snapping her fingers and pointing to the back of the house. “Be a good boy—and go.”
For a second, the dog just looked at her. Cocking his head to the side as she stared evenly back through the screen. Then, with another happy yip, he took off for the backyard.
Lacy dusted off her hands and turned back to her friend with a triumphant grin, only to see Sarah staring back at her with a scarcely contained smile.
“What?” Lacy said defensively. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Sarah shook back her long hair, doing her very best not to laugh. “Why is it that you talk to all men the same way? You know what? That sounded like your last dinner date.”
“It did not!”
“There, I’ve fed you—now go,” Sarah raised her voice in a high-pitched imitation. “Be a good boy, and go.”
Lacy elbowed her in the ribs.
“That is not what I sound like!”
“But it is what you say.” Sarah’s eyes glowed with triumph. “Admit it.”
Lacy jutted up her chin, defiantly refusing to meet her friend’s eyes.
“...sometimes.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows doubtfully, and she gave in with a scowl.
“Fine. Most of the time. But what am I supposed to do?” she fired back. “Some of us actually go into work early the next morning. We don’t saunter in sometime after twelve.”
“One time!” Sarah shrieked. “That was one time! I swear, you’re never going to let me live that down—”
There was a sudden noise on the other side of the window, and both women fell dead quiet—crouching down amongst the bushes, hands clutched around their cameras. For a second, they stayed there. Quieting their nerves. Waiting for their heartrates to return to normal. Then, without a word, they both stretched up to peer inside the house at the same time.
This time, their patience had been rewarded. Dylan Stone was in the building.
Chapter 2
“Damn, he’s even hotter in person,” Sarah breathed, staring with wide eyes. “I can totally see why the wife is cheating.” Lacy shot her a look. “What? Just voicing my opinion...”
She trailed off again as Dylan circled back into the living room, looking like something out of Greek mythology. There was a towel wrapped around his waist from the shower, but he was by no means dry. In fact, his entire body was glistening with moisture and steam.
For a second, the two of them just stared. They might despise everything the man stood for, but they were still women, after all. And they still had eyes.
Then Lacy cleared her throat in a desperate attempt to be professional. “Well...that’ll make for some great pictures to nail his ass.”