“Have you ever thought about getting a dog?”

Jill shook her head and frowned. “I don’t have time. I’m too selfish.”

Reagan brushed her fingers along the back of Jill’s hand. “Well, I think you’ve proven you can make time for things you care about.”

Her cheeks reddened and she rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s still a work in progress.”

“I’ve appreciated your efforts so far.” Reagan winked.

“My efforts, huh? Well that’s good to know. I’ll have to make sure to keep working at them, though.”

“Of course, don’t want to get lazy,” she replied, her voice low.

Jill chuckled and continued walking, keeping Max at her side.

“So why animals?”

Jill furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“You could donate money and your time to any cause. Why animals?”

She didn’t answer for a moment, and they stayed quiet as they continued along the path. Maybe she’d never thought about it before. Maybe this was just the first place that popped up on her radar when she went searching for a charity.

Jill licked her lips and murmured, “Their love is unconditional.”

She closed her eyes at hearing the hint of pain in Jill’s voice. It made sense if she thought about it. So much of the love in her life was conditional, if anyone could call it love at all. Her heart ached for Jill and the family she had to endure.

“I get it.”

“I thought you might.” Jill smiled softly and held her gaze. “It’s why I brought you here.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.”

They finished the walk without another word because it didn’t feel like any more words needed to be said. Jill had taken a big step by asking Reagan to come today and that wasn’t lost on her. It felt as if their relationship was taking a turn toward something serious, something real. She’d felt it last night when Jill had slowly taken her, and she felt it even more now after having the privilege to learn more about Jill. She needed to make sure she never took little moments like this for granted.

When they arrived back at Reagan’s, they sat quietly in the car for a moment before either one of them made a move or a sound. Jill kept her car running which felt like a signal that their time was done for the day.

A few strands of hair had escaped from Jill’s ponytail, and Reagan pushed them behind her ear, trailing her finger along her jaw before dropping her hand. “Thank you for taking me today. I had a great time.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course. Would you like to come in? Maybe order some takeout and watch a movie?”