Unbelievably, because she really thought the dog’s tail couldn’t possibly move any faster, Molly managed to wag even harder as Lexie came up beside Olivia, crooning about what a pretty girl she was.

“Isn’t she precious?” asked Lexie.

“Yes,” Olivia admitted, smiling at the happy pup. Okay, so she was more of a cat person, but there were always exceptions. Molly was sweet, friendly, and obviously well-behaved. For all she’d tried to smother Luke with her love, she wasn’t quite as exuberant towards Olivia or Lexie although her body shuddered with the desire to jump all over them with doggy-kisses.

Looking up, she caught Luke’s expression as he smiled approvingly, watching the three of them.

“Alright, can we go pet the dog inside the house?” Patrick asked, sounding exasperated. Despite his tone, as soon as he had put his bag down in Luke’s kitchen—which was just past the mud room Luke’s garage opened into—he was down on his knees with his arms full of wiggling, ecstatic dog.

“They’ve already seen the house, but let me give you the tour,” Luke said, grinning. He held out his hand and Olivia took it, not unhappy to leave Lexie and Patrick in the kitchen cooing over Molly while she got to explore Luke’s house with him on their own before everyone else showed up.

The kitchen led into the two different rooms, the living room and a formal dining room with a rather battered looking table—covered in paperwork--and set of chairs in it.

“Basically my home office,” Luke said dryly, just letting her peek in before pulling her away and into the rectangular living room. There was a big leather couch that took up about a fourth of the room even though it was pressed up against the wall. Across from it was a large television, and a couple of armchairs on the same side of the room as the TV provided extra seating but no way to see the screen.

Down the hall there was a front room that Olivia could basically tell was a play area for Molly. There was a Christmas tree set up so it could be seen out the front window, and covered with lights and red and green ball ornaments. However, the room was definitely dedicated to the dog. Her lips twitched as she took in the doggy toys strewn all over it, as well as a doggy bed that looked so comfortable she was tempted to curl up on top of it, and it was the first room she’d seen with any pictures. Mostly of Molly with people. Luke shrugged when Olivia lifted an eyebrow at him.

“I’m pretty sure I know who runs this house,” she teased him.

“I wish I could say you were wrong.”