Realizing that he was serious, she smiled and shook her head. “It’s all right. She’s only playing. You’re home early, aren’t you?”
“I wanted to make sure my mother’s mutt wasn’t destroying my house,” Andrew muttered, giving the dog one last frown before looking at Nicole. “Where’s Martha?”
“She had a lot of errands to run this afternoon. Groceries, cleaners, that sort of thing. I told her I’d watch Buffy.”
“That was nice of you, but you didn’t have to sacrifice your afternoon. Martha could have just put the dog in the laundry room. Or out in the yard.”
Nicky shook her head and reached down to rub Buffy’s fluffy ears. “Your mother said she hasn’t been feeling well. Someone needed to watch her this afternoon.”
As if understanding, the little dog sneezed delicately. Nicky glanced at her watch. “Oh, it’s almost time for her medicine. Your mother gives it to her in a ball of cheese.”
“Uh, do you want me to do it?” Andrew offered gallantly, looking as though he’d rather walk barefoot across hot coals.
Nicky swallowed a laugh. “No, I don’t mind. I’ve been around animals a lot. I’m used to this sort of thing.”
He didn’t bother to hide his relief. “Good. I’m not.”
“Gee, now why doesn’t that surprise me?”
He lifted his eyebrow in the way he had when he wasn’t quite sure whether she was teasing him or making fun of him. She smiled at him and crossed the room, rising on tiptoe to brush a kiss across his stern mouth. “Teasing,” she assured him.
He nodded. “There’s cheese in the fridge.”
He followed her to the kitchen, carefully keeping his distance from the fuzzy little dog that bounced around Nicky’s feet. He watched as Nicky pulled a chunk of cheese out of the refrigerator and molded it around a little blue pill she’d taken from a bottle on the counter.
Aware of Andrew’s gaze on her, Nicky knelt to offer the cheese to the dog. “Here you go, Buff. It’s gotta taste better than my shoelace.”
The dog swallowed both the cheese and pill in one quick gulp, then, tail wagging, sniffed hopefully around for more.
“That looked easy enough,” Andrew remarked.
Nicky smiled and straightened. “Yes. She’s sweet, really.”
Andrew gave the dog a doubtful look and chose not to comment on the assessment. Instead he changed the subject. “I, er, hope my mother’s visit didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
“Of course not. I like her,” Nicky answered candidly. She did like his mother, though it had bothered her that Lucy hadn’t seemed to really understand her son. Didn’t she and Andrew ever sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk? Didn’t she care about his feelings—or was Lucy more interested in what he could do for her?
Andrew’s expression gave no clue of his true feelings. He said only, “She can be a bit, um, unorthodox, at times.”
Nicky laughed. “You haven’t met my mother.”
Would he ever meet her mother? she couldn’t help wondering. Would they ever get to that meet-the-families stage that implicitly formalized a relationship?
“I didn’t have a chance to look for an apartment today,” she told him, watching for his reaction. “I could probably make a few calls now, if you’ll keep an eye on Buffy until Martha gets back.”
He shook his head, and she wondered if the firm rejection had more to do with her leaving, or him having anything to do with the dog. “It’s getting late,” he said. “Why don’t you just plan to stay here for the weekend?”
She cocked her head, wishing she could read his expression. “You wouldn’t mind?”
He met her gaze squarely. “It would be my pleasure,” he said. The husky sincerity in his tone made her catch her breath. And then he rather spoiled the moment by clearing his voice, motioning vaguely toward the floor and saying, “Don’t leave me alone with that thing.”
She looked at the dog and nodded. “I’ll stay. Thank you.”
Andrew grunted and turned away. “I’l
l go change. Martha should be back soon and we can go see that movie I promised you last night.”
When Nicky moved to follow him out of the kitchen, he held up a hand. His mouth quirking into what might have been a wry smile, he shook his head. “You’d better stay here.”