QUOTE : You have quite a way with animals.”<br /><br />“They’re my business,” she said, as if she needed to explain her delight.<br /><br />“You’re good at it. That’s obvious.”<br /><br />“I like helping animals. It makes me feel . . . useful, I guess.”<br /><br />“Maybe you could show me what you do sometime.”<br /><br />Tess cocked her head at him. “Do you have a pet?”<br /><br />Dante should have said no, but he was still picturing her with those two ridiculous furballs and wishing that he could bring her some of that same joy. “I keep a dog. Like those.”<br /><br />“You do? What’s its name?”<br /><br />Dante cleared his throat, mentally casting about for what he might call a useless creature that depended on him for survival. “Harvard,” he drawled, his lips curving with private humor. “I call it Harvard.”<br /><br />“Well, I’d love to meet him sometime, Dante.” A chilly breeze kicked up, and Tess shivered, rubbing her arms. “It’s getting kind of late. I should probably think about heading home.”<br /><br />“Yeah, sure.” Dante nodded, kicking himself for making up a pet, for God’s sake, just because it might win him some favor with Tess.