Ewon

I'd had a crush on Taehyung since that day at the diner and had drooled shamelessly over him in movies and on magazine covers for the last few years. He was absurdly gorgeous and had a smile to die for, so I made no apologies for getting breathless over him.

But holy , I was not prepared for how weak my knees became as I watched him playing with Lola. Every time she came galloping back to us with her toy, he lit up like a kid on Christmas, laughing and encouraging her to hurry until she dropped the toy at his feet. Then she'd spin around, wagging her tail and woofing, and as soon as he threw her toy, she was gone again, spraying grass and dirt at us.

And I was just...mesmerized.

Taehyung could smile for a camera and look hot doing it, but this genuine, carefree smile? The way he really seemed to enjoy watching Lola tear across the park in pursuit of her toy? The way he almost doubled over laughing when she got so excited she couldn't stand still? Oh my God.

I was used to people who liked dogs and were nice to Lola, but it had been a while since someone had been truly enthusiastic about playing with her. Or about letting her come along when we went out. Or about petting her and interacting with her even if it meant drool, hair, and mud. Whenever Taehyung picked up the toy and it had mud on it, he'd throw it, and then absently brush his hand off on his jeans while he watched her run. It didn't seem to bother him at all.

It was silly to be this stupid over someone enjoying a dog, but there it was. Some guys were just sort of indifferent toward her. Some got annoyed that she went everywhere with me and that I spent so much time with her, and it didn't matter to them that she was a high-maintenance breed who needed tons of attention unless I wanted her to dismantle my house. Even the guys who really liked dogs never got excited about seeing her or playing with her. Not like this. As if I needed another reason to swoon over this man.

"She's going to sleep for days after this." he said, chuckling as she took off again "I'm not going to break your dog, am I?"

I laughed and shook my head "There's not enough daylight left for you to wear her out. Trust me. Your arm will be done long before she is."

"Oh yeah?" he turned to me, still grinning "Never runs out of steam?"

"Nope. What about you?"

Taehyung shrugged, watching Lola again "I might feel it in my shoulder tomorrow, but I'm all right." 

And you're so amazingly hot.

I muffled a cough and turned toward Lola as heat rushed into my face. It really wasn't fair how hot he was, especially when he wasn't on an airbrushed magazine cover under perfect lighting. Not that the lighting was so bad right now. The sun was starting to go down, so the light was warm, which brought out the brown of his eyes and caught some auburn highlights in his hair. Even without makeup, cameras, and the touch of a professional photographer, he was stunningly gorgeous and unmistakably Kim Taehyung. There was no looking at him and forgetting who he was.

Especially since we weren't the only ones here, and I definitely wasn't the only one who knew who he was. Nearby, a couple around our age—early thirties, I guessed—played with their speckled mutt on some agility equipment. More than once, they'd watched Taehyung while whispering behind their hands. A preteen with her mom and a Chihuahua glanced our way several times, but didn't snap any pictures or say anything.

I couldn't blame them for noticing. Even dressed down and hanging out in a dog park, he was unmistakably him.

And yet, at the same time, I could still see that flustered waiter with the dark circles under his eyes. He was the movie star, and he was the waiter, but either way he was so jaw-droppingly beautiful that I couldn't believe he was here with me and my dog. 

I cleared my throat as Lola came running back up to us, and I held out my hand "Lola, give it to me."

She started toward Taehyung, but then obeyed and dropped the toy in my hand. I held it up and said "Last throw."

Then I hurled it in the same direction Taehyung had been throwing it.

"Does she actually understand that?" he asked.

"Don't know, honestly. I think so, because she doesn't put up as much of a fuss when I put her leash back on." I shrugged "So maybe?"

"Animals are smarter than we give them credit for." he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans "Ready to take her back in?"

"The park closes at dusk, so we can't stay too much longer. If we start walking back to the car now, we'll get there in plenty of time." I crouched to pick up Lola's leash "We don't have to call it a night or anything, though. If you want to go walk by the waterfront or something, we can do that."

"Sure." Taehyung flashed another of those disarming smiles "I'm having a great time, so I'm game for anything."

My stomach was instantly full of butterflies "Okay, well, let's head back to the car, and we'll take it from there." 

"Sounds good."

Lola was almost back, so I whistled and jingled the leash. She slowed to a trot, stopped at my side, and sat down, still holding her toy.

"That's a good girl." I scratched her neck before I leaned down to clip the leash to her harness. Then I pulled a treat from my pocket, and she dropped the toy. When I tossed the treat in the air, she grabbed it with a loud snap of her jaws.

"Jesus!" Taehyung laughed "She sounds like she could take your arm off."

"She probably could. I think she likes you, though."

And dear sweet Mother of God, the man blushed, and I almost died.

I took out another treat and handed it to him "Here. You can toss it or let her take it out of your hand."

I half-expected him to be wary of handing it to her after she'd snapped her teeth like that, but he crouched in front of her and put the treat on his outstretched palm. She...well, she didn't take it delicately by any means, but there were no teeth involved. Just a lot of slobbering.

Taehyung laughed and wiped his hand on her, then on his jeans "I'll bet you sleep hard when you finally run out of juice, kiddo." 

"She really does." I gathered the slack from the leash "It takes a while to get her there, but once she drops, she's out."

We left the fenced-in dog park and started toward the footpath that would take us back to the parking lot. Lola still had her toy in , and she walked along happily between us.

"Any thoughts about what you want to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"I'm open-minded. And if she's happier coming with us than staying home, we can go someplace dog-friendly."

Be still my beating heart. Why can't I find men like this to date, for God's sake?

"Well, if you don't mind a bit of a drive, we could go out to the Olympic Peninsula." I said "There are some beaches out there that are nice this time of year, or we could go up to Hurricane Ridge and—"

Out of nowhere, Lola dropped her toy and lunged forward with a loud bark, but stopped abruptly when she hit the end of the leash. She kept barking and straining as I tried to reel her back in.

"Lola." I warned "C'mon. Calm down."

Taehyung put a hand to his chest "What the..." 

"Squirrel." I motioned toward some trees and the fat gray squirrel that Lola had apparently seen. With a long-suffering sigh, I rolled my eyes "She's well-behaved most of the time, but it all goes out the window when she sees a squirrel."

"Has she ever chased one for real?" he gestured at the taut leash "I mean, has she gotten away from you?"

"Oh yeah. Especially when I first got her. And sometimes there are brave—or stupid—squirrels in the dog park."

Taehyung grimaced "Has she ever, uh, caught one?"

"Nah. They're way too fast." I petted Lola's head and casually turned it toward me so she wasn't watching the squirrel "I don't think she'd ever hurt one, to be honest. She's done the same thing with the neighbor's cat a couple of times. Scared the out of me when she caught up with him because I thought she might eat him, but she just bounced and barked and tried to get him to play. She couldn't figure out why he'd stopped."

A relieved laugh burst out of Taehyung and he her back "So she's not a killer, just wants to play."

"Exactly." once Lola had calmed down and the squirrel was out of sight, we continued along the path. I did keep a tighter grip on the leash, Lola was going to be on high alert for more squirrels now that she'd seen one. As we walked, I said "So anyway, the Peninsula. It's an option if you want to. The drive is really pretty, but it means like three or four hours in the car each way."

"Sounds perfect. I love road trips anyway." he gestured at Lola "Does she mind being in the car that long?"

"Oh, not at all. If she needs to get out and go to the bathroom, she'll let me know, but she actually likes being in the car." I grinned "And if you think she's nuts about squirrels, wait till she sees a seagull."

Taehyung threw his head back and laughed "Okay, we're definitely going. Because this I gotta see."