Anyone but You Read Online Free PDF

climb inside.
    No Fred.
    The back gate was still locked, and the fence was too high for any dog to have jumped over, let alone the aerodynamically challenged Fred.
    Nina climbed back up the fire escape, her throat tight with fear and loss, and crawled through the window, not sure what she was going to do next. She sank into her big armchair and tried to think.
    Call the pound. Call the police. "I've lost my dog. He's part basset, part beagle, part darling."
    "Oh, Fred," Nina mourned out loud, and then jumped when someone knocked on her door.
    The guy at the door was tall, blond, broad-shouldered and boyishly good-looking, and when she blinked up at him and said, "Yes?" he leaned against the doorjamb, loose-limbed, careless and confident. He nodded at her. "Would you be Fred Askew's mother?" he asked, and then she looked down and saw Fred sitting bored at his feet, his little silver ID tag glinting in the light from the hall.
    "Fred!" Nina shrieked and dropped to her knees to gather him into her arms. "Oh, Fred, I thought I'd lost you forever."
    Fred slurped his tongue over her face and then struggled to get free of her. Nina let him go and stood up, wiping her hand across her face to get rid of most of Fred's spit. "Thank you." She beamed at Fred's rescuer. "Thank you so much. Where did you find him?"
    "He was sitting on my couch when I woke up." He held out his hand. "I'm Alex Moore. I live in the apartment below you."
    Nina wiped her fingers on her skirt and shook his hand, a little dazed. "On your couch? He was sitting on your couch?"
    "Surprised me, too." Alex grinned at her. "I think he came in from the fire escape."
    His grin was a killer, broad and friendly and a little evil, and Nina felt her pulse flutter in response. No, she told her pulse and turned to frown down at Fred. "I told you, it's two flights. You have to climb all the way to the third floor, Fred. You can't just pick any window and climb in."
    Fred did the dog equivalent of a shrug and walked away.
    Alex raised his eyebrows. "You trained him to climb the fire escape?"
    Nina bit her lip. "I was hoping no one would notice. I'm sorry. I—"
    "No, I think it's great. Weird, but great." He grinned at her again, and Nina was struck once more by how attractive he was. Not handsome or distinguished like Guy. Just comfortably good-looking.
    Warmly good-looking. Stirringly good-looking.
    And he couldn't possibly be thirty yet.
    This was a bad sign. It was also understandable since she'd been celibate for a year, but it was still a bad sign. This guy was a child. If she kept this up, she'd be buying a Porsche and cruising the local high schools.
    "I can't thank you enough, Mr. Moore," she began and stopped when he shook his head.
    "Alex." His eyes went back to Fred. "How long has he been climbing the fire escape?"
    "Just since this afternoon," Nina said. "I'm sorry."
    "Don't be." His eyes came back to hers, brown and kind and alive with intelligence and humor, and she clamped down on any strange thoughts she might be having. "If Fred hadn't climbed in my window, I wouldn't have met you," he said, "and I think knowing your neighbors is important. Of course, I haven't met you yet. Let's try this again." He held out his hand again. "I'm Alex Moore."
    "Oh." Nina took his hand, flustered. "I'm Nina Askew.
    "Hello, Nina Askew." His hand was large and warm, and he had lovely long fingers, and Nina pulled her hand away as soon as she realized she was having thoughts about his fingers.
    "Hey!" he said, and Nina flinched before she realized that he was looking beyond her. She turned just in time to see Fred fling himself out the window, and she said, "No, Fred!" as Alex moved past her.
    She followed him to the window and watched with him as Fred waddled down two flights of stairs to the backyard where he promptly watered the Dumpster.
    "Smart dog." Alex quirked an eyebrow at Nina. "Did you teach him to do that?"
    "I taught him the stairs," Nina said. "He already knew how to