“And it’s not going to be easy, getting her over a fear like this one,” she added. “If it’s even possible in the first place. I’m not going to lie—if Lila were to hear about this, she’d probably pull the plug on the whole project.”

He swallowed.

“Hey,” she said and laid a light hand on his arm. “It’s not as bad as you think. I’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Yelling, if I have to. Pushing.”

A rueful grin touched his lips. “You do seem to do an awful lot of that. Oscar should have warned me how combative you are.”

Sophie almost laughed out loud. Before yesterday, pushy and combative were two words that no one would think to associate with her. Yet here she was, standing tall, asserting herself, getting results.

“You like it,” she said.

He grunted a soft assent.

“You like Bubbles too, don’t you?”

They both looked down at the puppy, who was staring adoringly up at her new owner. Sophie decided right then and there that nothing—not even the flames of hell—would stop her from making these two happy together. It would be a hard road, convincing a man who loved danger as much as Harrison that a creature as small and vulnerable as this one was worth the effort.

But she was. She was.

“Okay,” Harrison said. His assent came so suddenly that Sophie had to ask him to repeat himself. He did with another of those hesitant, almost apologetic smiles.

“It’s not going to be easy, you know,” he added. “I’m not used to being pushed. I’ll fight you every step of the way.”

She nodded. “I look forward to the challenge.”

“It could get ugly. I could get ugly. I usually do.” He hesitated, his eyes anxiously watching her own. “Most people give up on me long before we get to this point.”

“Yes, well. I’m not most people.”

“No, Sophie Vasquez.” His voice dropped so low that her name sounded almost like a caress. “I think we can safely agree on that.”

She had no time to follow up on this promising turn of events. At that exact moment, Bubbles decided she’d had enough of playing second string to the pair of them. With another of her small, plaintive barks, she demanded that she be pet, made much over, and otherwise coddled as befitted a lady of her stature. And Harrison, proving himself a pushover of the highest order, gave right in.

As much as Sophie appreciated the picture made by a large, attractive man and his tiny canine overlord, there was still quite a bit of work to do if she was going to make a success of this.