Before she opened the gate, her phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID. She closed her eyes briefly. Archibald. She answered it. He was persistent, if nothing else.

“Hi,” she said.

“Are you at the kennels?” he asked, a smile in his voice.

If he liked dogs, he couldn’t be all bad.

“Yes. Just came out to see them.”

“Did you want to get together tonight?”

“No, sorry. Next week sometime?” How many times did she have to tell him she wanted a week at least to get settled in? She wasn’t in the mood to date him or anyone else. Then she ran her fingers over her lips where Grant had kissed her last night. And she smiled, then shook her head. He wasn’t dating her, either.

“You’re killing me, you know?” Archibald said cheerily, not annoyed with her. Which was a good thing or she’d hang up on him.

The dogs were barking and going crazy, wanting to love her. “I’ve got to go, but we can talk later.”

“I’ll call you later tonight.”

“Tomorrow.” She really meant it when she said next week. She guessed she wasn’t used to alpha males wanting their way in things. She was so used to her former mates and her cousins being betas that she hadn’t realized how hard it was to say no to an alpha and mean no.

“Call you tomorrow.”

She pocketed her phone, opened the gate, and shut it behind her. She smiled at the dogs as they excitedly greeted her, backsides wagging along with their tails, their huge heads poking at her, tongues licking, teeth nipping. Okay, so she knew she should be all business, no playing around and make them mind from the beginning, but… She leaned down and gave them each a hug, laughing as they caught strands of her hair and nibbled on them, bumping her, each of them trying to wrest her attention away from the other dogs.

“Did you forget about the meal, lass?” a gruff voice said from the direction of the gate, and she whipped around to see Grant studying her.

“I did. But I’m not all that hungry. I’d forgotten to drop by and show Frederick how to train the dogs, so I came by to give him a few tricks.”

“He’s at the meal.” Grant wore the most elusive smile as he watched the dogs tackle her. “Tell me, is this the way you go about training them? If so, I’ve been doing a good job of it.”

She chuckled. “Oh sure. We’re just warming up.” She thought he looked a little worried. “Is something the matter?”

He shook his head. But she already knew him well enough to know something was bothering him.

She ventured, “I hope you hadn’t worried about me missing the meal.”

“We did,” he said, coming into the pen. The dogs hurried to greet him, too.

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to eating on a schedule.”

“Darby will fetch you in the future.”

“He doesn’t have—”

“The owner of the castle should eat with the staff,” Grant said very seriously, almost sternly, as if she had to abide by the “rules” now that she was here.

She wanted to remind him the staff was his, and she didn’t belong to his pack. That she was the owner of the castle, but as far as his people went, she hadn’t any say in what they did or didn’t do—his words. So she didn’t need to be anywhere that she didn’t want to be. But she bit her tongue.

“Everyone expected to see you at the meal,” he said, watching her while petting two of the dogs. Hercules returned to her side to get more attention.

Then she suspected what had been the matter. Grant had expected her to be there, sharing a meal, conversing with him. Did he feel stood up? Tickled at the notion, if that’s what this was all about, she stifled a smile. “I’ll try to be there next time.”

“About the kiss last night…”

She started laughing.

He smiled. “You seem to be avoiding me.”

“I think it’s better to just stick to business.”

“You know there’s more going on between us, lass.” At least he looked hopeful that there was.

Before she could say anything, footsteps on a cobblestone path headed their way, and they looked to see who was coming but couldn’t see whoever it was for the trees.

“Everyone has finished eating. Would you like Maynard to fix you a plate?” Grant asked in a placating way, and she was glad he was off the subject of kissing. Though she suspected that was all because of someone approaching the pen.

“No, really, I’m fine.” She didn’t want the cook to have to make up a special lunch for her just because she couldn’t get to the meal on time.

Frederick came through the trees and smiled to see Grant and her with the dogs. “Have you come to teach me how to handle them?” he asked her, sounding enthusiastic.

“I sure have. Then I have to get back to looking over the ledgers.” She thought Grant would leave, but instead, he stayed—to get a lesson or two himself, perhaps. Or maybe he just couldn’t believe she could wield a magic wand and make the dogs behave. She pulled out her pen and clicked it. All three dogs ran over to her and sat down on their rumps, tails wagging, eyes focused on hers. She smiled.

“Where are the treats you use to bribe them?” Grant asked, sounding amazed that she didn’t offer the dogs anything for their obedience.

“I don’t always give them treats. Petting them, hugging them, praising them all work, too—they adore being loved. I used treats to first get them to pay attention. But now, I can alternate with playing with them or other ways to show how much I enjoy being with them.”