Rushing around wasn't something Hayze did often, but today he was. He had woken up eighteen minutes later than usual and to make matters worse, River had decided to be an early bird and go out and play in the garden. Now there was a chance he'd run into her while he went out to walk his dog, Blue.

Blue was an all white husky with blue eyes similar to his own. His dog was also slightly intimidating just as he was. Blue acted as guard dog and alerted Hayze whenever there was someone foreign on his property. Blue was mostly bark rather than bite. And usually when he did bark it was because he was defending Hayze or he was just being playful.

Suddenly, loud barking and then a scream had Hayze scrambling down the stairs half-dressed in his suit. The last top three buttons of his white dress shirt were undone and his tie was hanging limply over one shoulder. The right side of his dress shirt wasn't tucked into his black dress pants and he hadn't yet put on his belt.

Hayze ran outside, only socks covering his feet, towards the garden with the fountain where the sound of the barking was coming from.

"Blue here, now!" he called as he stepped into the garden. He watched as his big pup trotted over to him and stood protectively at his hips.

Slowly, Hayze lifted his gaze from his dog up to River who was looking at him with wide honey-green eyes. Her eyes didn't blink and her chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths. She looked nervous and he couldn't blame her because they hadn't seen each other face to face for six whole days.

He let his eyes shamelessly trail over her petite figure. He took in her dark hair that contrasted deeply against her light skin. He couldn't get over how silky and long it looked. He then scanned her outfit which consisted of a white t-shirt, a high-waisted black shirt, fishnet knee highs and simple slip on sneakers. He adored how cute she looked in her outfit but he probably wouldn't allow her to go out in public wearing that because she'd be getting a lot of attention. The attention only he was supposed to be giving her. So far he'd done a pretty bad job.

Despite her outfit, she somehow managed to look unbelievably innocent.

River shifted nervously, her mouth opening and closing. "Hi." Was all she was able to squeak out.

"Good morning River." He noticed her smile down at her shoes when he said her name.

"Morning." She looked up at him with a small, hesitant smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scream so loud. I just didn't know you had a dog."

"It's okay." He reached down and scratched behind his dogs ears. "His name is Blue. Eventually he'll get used to you being around and then you'll be fine. I apologize for not warning you in advance. You're not allergic right?"

She shook her head. Her face looked shocked but he didn't ask why. "No, i'm not allergic. Blue. That's a cool name for your dog," she said with an excited smile. "Can I pet him?"

Hayze nodded. "Let him smell you first."

River hesitantly neared blue with her hand held out but stopped abruptly when Blue growled protectively. Hayze stroked Blue's coat and shushed him before nodding for her to continue.

She nervously held her hand out but Hayze could see her flinch back every time Blue leaned forward to have a sniff. Out of no where, Hayze grabbed her wrist making her yelp.

"Don't be nervous," he said quietly, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin of her wrist subtly.

She looked up at him through her lashes and blushed as he led her hand to the front of Blue's nose. He studied her as River smiled down at Blue, her eyes lit with happiness and curiousness. When she was finally petting Blue's large head, he reluctantly let go of her wrist.

She giggled when Blue licked her hand and he shook his head at how easily entertained she was.

"Make sure to eat all of your breakfast," he said before he turned around to make his way back inside the house to finish getting ready for work.

"Wait!" He could have sworn she sounded disappointed. "Where are you going?" She sounded nervous now.

"To work." I wish I could be here with you instead.

"Oh." He couldn't tell if she really did sound disappointed or if it was just wishful thinking. "What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" she asked quietly.

"I see you like being in the gardens. I can have Vito bring you any seeds and flowers that you want. And... you don't have to stay here all the time. You can go out and be with friends." Hopefully none of them boys.

"Friends?"

He spun around and looked at her. Really looked at her. Her eyes were wide and she rocked slightly, heel-to-toe.

He furrowed his brows as she looked down at her hands. Did she not have friends? How could such a sweet girl not have friends?

"Do you not have friends from school that you can spend your time with?"

He noticed her cheeks flush out of pure embarrassment and he realized he'd rather she'd be blushing because he called her beautiful or something like that.

"Um... no not really. I used to." He wondered why but he didn't ask because it was clear to see she felt uncomfortable.

"Oh okay. Then what do you like to do? Any hobbies?" He couldn't help but notice her smile down at the ground again. She looked mildly surprised that he was showing interest in her.

"I like... art and painting. I also like being outside, swimming." She looked around in thought. "Oh! I also like snakes."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Snakes?" She didn't look like the type of girl to even dare look at a snake from even its enclosures.

"Yeah," she grinned. "Snakes. I wanted one. I begged my papa for a small one after I'd done tons of research and he almost got me one but then my mama stopped him before he did. My mama likes to spoil the fun," she said through a pout.

He shook his head in amusement but he didn't smile. He couldn't because that would give him away. She would know he liked her... a lot. He rarely ever smiled so that would be a dead giveaway.

"Okay. I'll have Vito bring you the seeds and art supplies. As for the snake... you'll have to wait and see. I don't want you getting bit or anything."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He nodded and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" He stopped immediately. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful but it still does get lonely around here." He could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Blue can keep you company."

"Bu- okay, sure." He felt bad when she didn't argue, the guilt weighed heavily on him.

He sighed. "You have my permission to see... Nico, if he is still a friend to you." That sentence seemed to be one of the hardest things he'd had to say in months.

"Really!?" He could hear the excitement in her voice and he was glad he was turned around so she couldn't see the disappointment on his face. He wished to be the one making her that happy.

He only nodded his head in reply and exited the garden. Just before he got out of earshot he heard a faint 'thank you for the breakfast Hayze' and he suddenly felt his heart beat frantically in his chest; not just because of the way his name sounded coming from her mouth but...

she'd known the whole time