Yes. Rock—durable and solid, the kind of dog a man could count on. Harrison crouched and put a hand out to the animal, his fingers closed in a fist the way the woman, Sophie Vasquez, had shown him. It seemed like overkill, this careful approach to an animal who hadn’t yet reached six months of age, but what did he know? The closest he’d come to having a pet was the raccoon that lived under his back porch.

“I think he likes me.”

Sophie coughed again, louder this time. “Rock is great, but he’s a stability dog, I’m afraid.”

Harrison turned to look up at her, struck again by how out of place she seemed among this room of scurrying puppies. It wasn’t just her air of fragility, which made it seem as though a strong wind would topple her over. It wasn’t her age either, although her short crop of dark brown hair and her round, sweet face made him suspect she was still in the youthful flush of her twenties.

No, it was the ruffled dress she wore, which seemed better suited for a tea party than a dog kennel.

He did his best to smile again. He was trying not to scare her away within the first ten minutes. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done that to a woman. Or a man. Or, if he was being honest, any living creature with a heart in its chest and eyes in its head. He wasn’t saying he was a bad-looking man—a bit rough around the edges, maybe—but he did have a tendency to come across more forcefully than he intended. His friends blamed it on what they called his “resting brick face.” Like you’re going to throw the next man who crosses you into a brick wall, they laughed.

Which was all well and good after a long day of work, but it wasn’t the least bit helpful here.

Just smile and relax, they said. Be yourself. And for God’s sake, lower your guard an inch or two to let in some air.

Well, he’d tried. The smile—both of them—had already fallen flat, and the idea of relaxing under that woman’s wide-eyed stare was impossible. No one had warned him that the puppy trainer was going to be a delicate, fragile wisp of feminine perfection. One of those things he might have been able to handle, but all of them?

Yeah, his guard was going to stay right where it was. It gave him someplace to hide.

“What’s a stability dog?” he managed to ask.

“Well,” she began, “some of our clients need dogs that can provide physical support.”