Meant For Her by Raine Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

with her that day.
    “Not just yet,” she told him, reaching down to scratch his head. “We might as well invite our new neighbor. After all, he’s friends with Cole and Everly, right?”
    A furious tail wag had Sierra grinning as she opened up the French doors leading onto her wide balcony. She stepped outside and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, then turned to see Evan sitting on his balcony only a few feet away, just as she’d expected.
    “Good morning, Evan,” she said.
    He studied her over the rim of his coffee mug. After a moment, he nodded in greeting.
    “I’m meeting with Cole and Everly at the park this morning. They’re bringing Jaws and I’m bringing Leo. I thought maybe you’d like to get out with the boys and join us.”
    “No, thanks.”
    Well, at least he was polite when he was being unsociable, she thought.
    “All right. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
    “Hey.”
    Turning back to him, she lifted an eyebrow in question.
    “Thanks for picking up the groceries for me. How much do I owe you?”
    Smiling, she said, “You’re welcome, Evan.”
    She didn’t bother commenting on the “owe you” part. He’d learn eventually that she didn’t operate that way.
    Hopefully he really would have a nice day, she mused as she prepped her camera bag and headed out. Although she thought he’d be better served out with his friends, what really mattered was that he was happy…with “happy” being relative, of course.
    Leo was beyond happy when she clipped the leash to his blue collar. His entire backside swayed back and forth from the power of his tail wag. She laughed, excited to see her canine friend so enthused.
    “All right, all right,” she said, walking him to the elevator. “Try not to mow anyone down when we get to the park, okay?”
    He did a pretty good job of behaving himself until they got to the spot in the park where she’d arranged to meet Everly and Cole. But when he saw Jaws, their Chocolate Lab, he nearly slipped his leash in his excitement to get to the other dog.
    Since Cole was the one controlling Jaws’ leash, he waited for Sierra’s nod, then let go. The two dogs ran up to each other, sniffed each other’s butts, and started jumping and prancing.
    Cole shook his head. “You know, I really think Jaws missed the memo that Leo isn’t going to get as big as he is. He’s acting like he couldn’t possibly squash Leo’s head by sitting on him.”
    Sierra laughed as Everly rolled her eyes. She walked up to the couple and hugged each of them.
    “It’s great to see you two,” she said. “You got a beautiful day for the shoot. The lighting is amazing, and it isn’t melt-your-shorts-off hot yet.”
    “More’s the pity,” Cole said soberly.
    Everly elbowed him, but her lips twitched as she fought a smile. Sierra laughed again. She enjoyed spending time with them. They made love look easy.
    Waving at the dogs, she said, “Let’s see if we can corral Tweedledee and Tweedledum over there and get some pictures taken, shall we?”
    They managed to get Leo and Jaws to listen long enough that they could secure their leashes beneath a large shade tree. As long as they were together, the dogs seemed content. Sierra led Everly and Cole over to a green patch she’d spotted a few days before. She was glad that Everly had remembered to wear the shirt she’d chosen for the progressive shoots. In each month of her pregnancy, she’d wear the same shirt. The images would show how her body changed in the shirt as their baby grew.
    Sierra also wanted to incorporate something related to the particular month of the pregnancy she was shooting. Today, she planned on having the couple sit and stand in a patch of clover, holding a four-leafed clover in a variety of poses until she captured just the right one.
    “All right, you two,” she said when she was ready to start shooting. “Remember what you did for the underwear shoot. Forget I’m even here and do what comes