The Lady Is a Vamp by Lynsay Sands Read Free Book Online Page B

she saw the small mountain of potato chips on her plate next to the sandwich she’d unwrapped.
    “Thank you,” she murmured and picked up a chip to pop in her mouth. The explosion of flavor on her tongue this time made her eyes close. Dear God, she’d forgotten how good these were. Or perhaps they just hadn’t tasted that good for a while. Her taste had been fading, Jeanne Louise realized. But it was definitely back. That thought made her open her eyes again and peer at Paul. He was definitely a possible mate for her then. She didn’t know whether to be glad or dismayed. This was not going to be easy, any way she looked at it. The chances were better that everything would go sideways and she would lose Paul than that it would work out.
    Realizing Paul was peering at her in question, she forced herself to chew and swallow the now soggy chip in her mouth and then picked up her sandwich.
    “Ah ah ah,” Paul said suddenly, and Jeanne Louise glanced to him to realize he was speaking to Livy. The girl had picked up her photo album again and was moving closer to Jeanne Louise with it. “Let Jeanne Louise eat first.”
    “But—” Livy began in protest.
    “Why don’t you go let Boomer out of the garage?” Paul interrupted. “I put him in there while Mrs. Stuart was here and forgot to let him out again when I got back. He’s probably crazy for a run around the yard.”
    Livy was on her feet and skipping toward the house at once. Jeanne Louise watched her go with a smile and then glanced to Paul with a raised eyebrow. “Boomer?”
    “Shih tzu,” he said with a faint smile. “I bought him for Livy when Jer—her mother died. She was only three. Shortly after the last picture she showed you. Livy kept screeching ‘boom boom’ when she chased him around the night I brought him home, so I named him Boomer.”
    Jeanne Louise grinned at the words, and then gave a startled gasp as a small furry power ball lunged at her, startling and tumbling her backward on the gazebo floor. The fur ball followed, landing on her chest, front paws on her chin as it licked madly at her face with its little pink tongue.
    “He likes you! I knew he would!” Livy squealed with delight and Jeanne Louise burst out laughing, and then quickly cut herself off and closed her mouth as the dog immediately turned his attention there.
    “Boomer!” Paul said in a voice she suspected was supposed to be firm. However, the effect was somewhat ruined by his laughter.
    Realizing it was up to her, she clasped the squirming little body in her hands and eased him gently down to her lap as she sat back up. Boomer wasn’t having any of that, however, but kept trying to squirm out of her hold and up to lick her face again. She was vaguely aware of Paul standing and moving off, but he was back quickly and waving a small pink ball in front of the dog’s face.
    “Fetch,” Paul said and then tossed the ball.
    Jeanne Louise instinctively released the animal as he launched after it.
    “Sorry about that,” Paul said wryly, handing her a napkin. “He’s an affectionate little thing.”
    Jeanne Louise chuckled at the words and quickly wiped her face, then glanced around for her sandwich, relieved to see that it still sat where she’d set it at her side, undisturbed by Boomer’s arrival. She picked it up, her gaze seeking out Boomer and Livy to see that the girl was throwing the ball for the dog and cooing happily as he fetched it back to her.
    “Livy hasn’t been this lively for a while. She hasn’t eaten much the last week or so either,” Paul said quietly, watching his daughter play.
    The young girl wasn’t exactly jumping around, she was simply standing and throwing the ball, but Jeanne Louise wasn’t surprised to hear this was active for the child. If Livy hadn’t felt like eating than she wouldn’t have had the energy to play at all. They had to get her to eat more.
    “She likes you.”
    Jeanne Louise glanced to Paul at that comment and noted the