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uncomfortable, and maybe I just want to spend more time with Caleb—and to also make up for my rude behavior from the party. “I think you’re just trying to steal my blackberries.”
    “What? Me? Nah. I’d never do that.”
    A laugh escapes me. “Sure, you wouldn’t.”
    “The offer is open for a ride home and a clean shirt.”
    Color rises in my cheeks heat upon his lingering gaze. I really need to get control over this blushing. I’m not so easily flustered, but it’s like I can’t get control of myself around Caleb.
    And control is very important to me.
    There were many things I promised myself when I left Hollywood for college. But the one thing I swore to do was to not pursue any romantic relationships. Been there, done that. And don’t need to repeat it. Ever again.
    The smarter thing to do is insist Caleb give me my bags and head on my way—alone. My apartment isn’t that far, and I’m seizing on any excuse to stay a little longer with him. And I swore last night I wasn’t going to do that, but . . .
    But I can’t move away.
    I don’t do anything I should be doing. Instead . . .
    “Okay, that’d be great,” I find myself saying, surprising myself.
    And then I feel foolishly glad I said yes so eagerly, especially when his eyes light up in delighted surprise.
    I have a moment of doubt before Caleb says anything, where I wonder if I’d made the right choice by saying yes. But I stop second guessing when he looks over at me and smiles.
    “Let’s go then,” he says, still holding onto my bags.
    “What about your friend?”
    Caleb looks toward Nick, who’s still deep in conversation with the flower girl. “I somehow think he’ll manage.”
    I grab the now empty cup, and when we near the street corner, I dump the trash into a nearby bin. Caleb adjusts his long-legged stride to match my much shorter one, and we fall into easy silence. Butterflies perform somersaults in my stomach every time his gaze slides to mine. I keep wondering what he’s thinking and what he sees when it comes to me.
    And then I wonder why I even care.
    Perhaps this is just all a big case of lust. I comfort myself with that thought. Lust is temporary, and it doesn’t last for long. And it can also be ignored. Easily.
    This is just a big whole case of having a crazy attraction. That makes the most sense to me, the best answer. I want to bang my head against the street light for not putting it together before now.
    The big attraction for Caleb is that it’s me. The Hailey Bloom. I can’t stop focusing on that, but it’s the truth. Why should he be any different from anyone else? Sure, he might seem like a nice guy in offering to help both last night and today, but—
    Caleb stops suddenly as we cross the street. His place is just a few more doors ahead. “Are you afraid of dogs? Or allergic to them?”
    “No . . . and no.”
    “What about ferrets?”
    I raise my eyebrows. Where exactly is this going? “No.”
    “Fish?”
    “Is it a shark?”
    His lips quirk. “No. But his name is Jaws.”
    “What about the dog?”
    “Goliath is the dog. And Spartacus is the ferret.”
    We walk up the sidewalk to his front house. There are three lawn chairs, a bright blue rocking chair, and a little table with a deck of cards laid out on the front porch. Two small ferns stand on either side of the welcome mat.
    He stops at the door and drags a hand through his hair. “Goliath is mine. He’s friendly. A little too friendly.”
    “Gotcha.”
    He takes out a slim gold key and unlocks the door. We step inside, and I immediately hear a low woof, woof, woof as Caleb shuts the door behind us. With a name like Goliath, I’m preparing myself for a monstrosity. Perhaps something huge, like a German shepherd or a pit bull.
    I brace myself, but Caleb steps in front of me. “Goliath, be nice.”
    “ That’s Goliath?”
    A tiny Yorkshire terrier is jumping on its hind legs, its tail wagging furiously. He is the cutest thing I’ve ever