Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Diana grabbed a piece of ham and smiled at Anna. She got up from her seat and rushed after the dogs. Instead of chasing after them, she took a look at where they were headed. She knew they were likely to take a curve away from the water, and the little dog leaned to the left.

So, she headed in the direction she knew they were likely to go. She had predicted it perfectly. Diana waited for the first small dog to pass her, then held the ham out for the larger dog to see.

It came to a quick halt. The dog had his full attention on her as she held the ham just out of its reach. She placed her hand over the dog's head, and it sat just as she knew it would.

A large man, completely out of breath, arrived and took up the dog's lead.

"This is a large dog," Diana said sternly.

"And he seems to like you," the man said between gasps.

"You are no match for this dog, clearly," Diana reprimanded him. "I'm sure you're smart enough to know that this could have ended differently."

The large man smiled at her, and it made her skin crawl. "Thankfully, you were here Miss…"

"You need to do better," she said sternly. "Get your dog under control so that I don't have to chase after it again."

With that, she spun around and headed in the direction that the smaller dog was going. She stopped a moment to scout the park out for a sign of where it might have gone just as another breathless man appeared behind her.

It was the handsome man who'd had her mind in a chokehold earlier. And, he was even more attractive than he'd seemed in passing, despite the now redness of his cheeks.

He was even more dapper than he'd seemed in passing. His eyes seemed to hold a world as deep as the oceans, and when he spoke, the sound of his voice crashed over her and dampened the harshness of the world around her.

"Thank you," he said, trying not to gasp.

She turned to face him and found herself at a loss for words. A tall blond man with eyes as blue as ice looked back at her. His normally pale skin was pink from the running. He wore a neat suit, and something about him stunned her.

She pushed thoughts of her attraction to him out of her mind. She was certain a man like that had to be married. After all, he had a child, and thoughts like that were hardly appropriate. She couldn't hazard a blush, giving her away. Reputations spread faster than fire in a place like that, and she couldn't risk it.

"The smaller dog, Spot," he said. "Did you see where it went?"

Diana shook her head. "Sorry," she said kindly. "But it should be safe now."

The gentleman looked distraught. His blue eyes looked past her as she searched the park for signs of Spot.

"It's my daughter's dog," he said. "I don't know how I will console her."

Diana smiled kindly. "There's no need for consoling yet," she said. "We'll find Spot. He must be tired by now, so he won't have run too far. As soon as he notices the threat is gone, he'll have stopped."

The man nodded and took a deep breath.

"Let's go this way," Diana suggested.

They walked the park, searching for Spot. As they walked and the man caught his breath, he seemed to calm down a little. He walked more upright, and the pink in his cheeks had subsided to flaunt his perfect complexion.

Diana tried not to look at him too often. Every time she did, she felt an inappropriate flutter in her chest. One that she tried desperately to subside, hoping it wasn't evident in her voice or face.

"Spot!" the man called.

"Not so urgently," she suggested. "If you hope to get his attention, you need to sound excited. He's a puppy. He'll respond."

The man nodded, and she shifted her voice into a higher pitch, a more excitable tone.

"Come, Spot!" Diana called the dog, clapping her hands lightly as she listened for a response from somewhere. They strolled, searching anywhere they could for a sight of the puppy.

Just then, Diana saw some disturbed dirt beneath a hedge. It was clear that something had crawled underneath it. She pointed it out to the man, and they approached slowly.

"Spot?" she called out. "Come Spotty! Here!"

Just then, the hedge rustled and shook, and she saw just the tip of a nose sticking out from between the leaves. Diana stepped into the flower bed and crouched down to look between the branches of the hedge.

There, she saw the puppy. It whined a little before he started to wag his tail just slightly. A beautiful black puppy with one white patch over its left eye. She reached in with a smile and pulled the dog out. It was panting heavily and squirmed excitedly at the sight of the man.

She wrapped her arms around it and smiled. "I'm assuming this is Spot?"

The man gave her a relieved smile. "It is, indeed," he said. "Again, I don't know how to thank you enough. Evangeline, she must be worried sick about him."

Diana lifted the puppy to check it for any injuries or stress. It allowed her to carry it, and then she brought it back and scratched it behind the ear. She was aware of the man's eyes on her and the nerves that fluttered through her every time she glanced at him.

"Despite being a little dirty and thirsty, Spot is just fine," Diana announced cheerfully.

"I think Spot has had enough of the park today," the man said. "Let's get him back to Eva and get him home."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to give him some water first," Diana said. "He's had quite the run, and I'm sure it is a short trip home."

"Certainly, the man said."

"I have some water where I was sitting," she said. "He can have a drink, and then he can go home and get some rest."

He smiled at her, and she felt an excited lump form in her throat. "Lead the way," he suggested.

She smirked and turned her face away so that he would not see her blush. They walked side-by-side back to where Anna was awaiting her return.

The air had a chill to it then as the sun was lower in the sky. Thankfully, Spot was warm as he snuggled into her arms. For the first time in her life, she found herself worried if she was walking upright or speaking properly.

She kept her head steady on her neck and watched the horizon as she walked. She couldn't risk looking in his direction again in case he could read her thoughts. It wasn't fair to his wife and daughter for her to have such inappropriate ideas about the man.

What she didn't consider was that, while she was looking at the horizon, she missed the branch that jutted out in front of her foot. It hooked her, and she stumbled forward.

"Woah," the man said as he reached for her.

He wrapped both arms around Diana to steady her and stop her from hitting the ground. He was warm and strong. He steadied her with a laugh that sounded like honey.

"Thank you," she said.

When he released her, a shiver washed over her body that she could not control. His touch had caused a chill to run over her skin. She had hoped it wouldn't be so obvious, but he looked at her and smiled.

Her hands worked quickly to straighten the muslin fabric of her dress and make sure that her stay had remained in place. The last thing she wanted was to appear even more unruly in front of him.

"You're cold," he said kindly.

She was going to protest, but he was already slipping his jacket off, and her attraction to him had dried up the words she had hoped to speak. He wrapped his jacket around her body, and she accepted it gratefully.

When she inhaled again, she noted that it smelled of liquorice. That was one of her favourite scents in the world. So, without being too obvious, she inhaled deeply again.

"Thank you," she said.

She looked at him and knew instantly that it was a mistake. Their eyes locked, and she felt instantly trapped in the blueness of them. He halted a moment in her gaze before he gave her a kind smile.

"You've saved the day," he said. "I should be thanking you."

They walked again in agonizing silence. Diana found herself, for the first time ever, unable to decide how to start a conversation with the man. Thankfully, a group of people approached, each calling eagerly out to Spot.

There was another man and two girls, followed by a woman whose behaviour Diana recognized as the nanny.

"Spot!" a young blonde girl cried as she came running. "Is he alright?"

Her face was red from crying, and so was the face of the other girl. The blonde girl shoved her face into the blond man's stomach and hugged him.

"He's alright, Eva," he said, identifying the girl as his daughter. "He simply got a little scare."

The young girl sniffed. "I want to go home," she said.

The other man shook his head. "I tried to keep up with you, but you were too quick. I figured I should stay with the girls."

The blond man beside her laughed. "You've always had a hard time with sport."

Eva reached out her hands and asked for Spot.

"I'm afraid I'm going to carry him for a little while longer," Diana said.

"No!" Eva argued. "Give him back."

"She's just going to hold him for a little while," her father explained. "Just until he's had some water. Then you can have him back."

Eva's lower lip quivered as tears threatened her. The last thing Diana wanted was to be the reason that the handsome man's daughter burst into tears for the second time that day.

"Tell you what," Diana said to Eva. "Why don't you all come with me? I have a picnic set up nearby, and my friend is waiting for me. There's plenty of space on the blanket."

The group all looked at each other as they waited for the girl to answer. There was a long silence as the girl thought it over. She looked between Spot and Diana as she thought it over.

"I might still have some chocolate left," Diana added to sweeten the deal.

"Okay," Eva answered energetically.

Once again, the girl's father flashed her a dashing smile and said, "Lead the way."

*

Mark hardly had time to feel the relief of Spot's safe return before that feeling was replaced by another one. He marvelled at the woman who had taken control of a dog that had moments before been entirely unruly.

What were the chances it would be the same woman who'd struck him earlier during their walk. The only thing that had stopped him from turning his head to get another look at her was the thought that they would likely never see each other again. How wrong he'd been.

There was something about her that just breathed control into everything. She did not seem concerned or on edge. Rather, she seemed to know exactly where Spot would go after being chased.

All the chaos that had occurred within the last few minutes had seemed to run right into her and break into a million manageable shards.

And Spot had become her number one priority. Even though he had caused her dress to be covered in dirt and grass, she didn't seem to mind that one bit. Rather, she focused only on whether Spot was alright.

She'd done an excellent job of soothing Eva's concerns as well. The woman was ever the lady, despite there being something different about her. Something exciting and mysterious that had him glancing at her a little too often.

Mark wondered what he might learn about her as they made their way towards the picnic that had so rudely been interrupted by his chase after Spot. He must have run right past her, he realized.

He felt embarrassed then. To think she had seen him in such a state about his puppy. Hugh, the kids, and Julia chatted merrily as they made their way back towards her friend on the blanket.

It was as if they'd all known each other for some time as they laughed and exchanged light-hearted teases.

"Anna," the woman said as they approached her picnic blanket. "These lovely people are going to join us for a while so that Spot here can have a drink of water."

"Lovely," Anna said with a wide smile, shuffling over to make some space. "I knew you were the right person for the job, Diana."

He finally knew her name. And he felt that it suited her perfectly.

Diana.