Burying the fingers of one hand in her hair, Gabe leaned in. Olivia met him, pressing her lips against his, delight budding across her chest. It hadn’t even been a full week, but it felt as if it had been months since she’d savored his kiss, experienced the firmness in his lips, and inhaled his scent. Everything about it was as foreign as it was familiar. She reached for him, letting her fingers cradle both sides of his neck and her thumbs trail along the ridge of his jaw.

Just as his tongue was brushing against hers, there was a smack against the passenger-side window that was hard enough to shake the car.

Gabe jerked away, and Olivia let out a half-stifled scream before realizing a dog had pounced with his front paws against the pane. And not just any dog. A senior-aged golden retriever. Samson. A few feet away, a woman was holding his leash with a look of complete shock on her face.

“What the—” Gabe’s surprise quickly morphed into recognition. “Samson, you nut! Down, buddy.” He squeezed Olivia’s hand before pulling open the door handle. “I may not have mentioned this, but Samson’s got a bit of a jealous streak. Come on out. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Shaking off the heat of the kiss and a swell of confusion, Olivia stepped out to the woman’s apology.

“Sorry, man. I had no idea you were in there until he jumped at the window like that. So, I’m guessing this is her?” The woman looked from Gabe to Olivia and back to him as Samson whined and did a whole-body rub against the jeans he’d changed into before leaving the office.

Her? The way she’d said it, that single word carried a lot of power.

“Yeah, it is. Thanks for swinging by. When you didn’t text back, I wasn’t sure if you could.”

“Didn’t I reply? Sorry, it’s been one of those afternoons.”

Gabe waved Olivia over. “Olivia, this is Yun, one of my best friends. Yun, this is Olivia.”

Free of the leash, Yun met her halfway around the car. She was shorter than Olivia by a few inches but average height, and she was as cute as she was striking with shoulder-length silky, straight black hair, warm, brown eyes, and a great smile. She was in a lighter-colored pair of scrubs similar to what Gabe had been wearing earlier.

“Yun and I went to vet school together,” Gabe said as Samson dragged him closer to them. “I’m pretty sure without her, I’d never have made it through.”