Cringing, I take a step away from my friend.
“What?” Rusti laughs. “It’s brilliant. You could call it … Pawtography.”
“Somehow, that actually seems to be less desirable than babies.”
She gasps.
“I know. I’m shocked that something can be more off-putting than a tiny human who spits up sour milk, but facts are facts.”
We sidestep a butterfly on the path and come together on the other side.
“I did get an email this morning from a stock photography site that I reached out to last week,” I tell her. “They’re launching next month, and the submission portal will open in a few days.”
“That’s … good. I think?”
I grin at her. “Well, I don’t know if I’d call it good quite yet, but I’m going to give it a try. I have so many pictures of random things that I might as well see if I can make some money off them.”
We stop at a bench when Cleo pops a squat to pee.
“She’s so immodest,” I say, nodding toward the terrier.
Rusti’s jaw drops as though she’s offended.
“She is,” I say, standing firm in my observation. “She has no couth.”
“My little baby has couth! Where else is she supposed to pee?”
I shrug. “Behind a tree?”
Rusti grins. “She wasn’t the one fawning all over a hot architect a couple of days ago.”
“Of course she wasn’t. We know what she would’ve done.”
We look at each other and try not to laugh.
“I mean, I’ve never heard of a dog trying to hump a man’s leg—who was it? Zack?” I point my finger at Rusti. “Yes. Zack. Cleo humped Zack’s leg while he humped you.”
Rusti’s face turns red.
“I can only imagine what she would’ve done in Catnip’s office,” I joke.
She tugs on Cleo’s leash. “You’re such a little hussy.” Then she looks back up at me. “But a hussy with good taste because that man was honestly … I would’ve married Zack had he asked.”
“He must not have been into threesomes.” I wink at my friend as we start walking again. “In reality, he was overrated.”
“Eh …”
We walk a little farther down the path, stopping momentarily at a fountain for Cleo to check out her reflection in the water. Rusti and I move in silence as she undoubtedly thinks about Zack and my mind drifts to Wade.
Rusti was right when she said he’s my catnip. She doesn’t realize how true that is. I don’t think I fully understood the truth of her words until I sat at the kitchen table at two this morning and talked it out with a brownie.
My weakness has always started with tall, dark, and handsome. It’s the trifecta that captures my attention out of a sea of men. Add in a sharp jawline, dazzling eyes, and a smirk? I’m ready to dip my toe into the proverbial pool.
Usually, it stops there. The water will get murky. He’ll have the brains of a jackass or the attention of a gnat. He’ll talk out of both sides of his mouth. He’ll be too sweet. Something typically causes me to drag myself away from him as fast as I was initially intrigued.
But of the men who manage to hold my interest? The ones who exude intelligence? The few who have wit and class? The men who present themselves as a bit of a challenge with an aura of mystery?
Wade checks those boxes, making them fall like dominos. I get a rush of energy, of excitement, every time I think about him.
And this can’t be about him.
I don’t have the space in my life for anything to be about anyone but me, and I definitely don’t have time to deal with entangling myself in any way with a man who would surely do little more than disappoint me on some level.
Or break my heart.
“I don’t think I’m going to work with Catnip.” The words streaming from my mouth take me by surprise as much as they do Rusti.
She lifts a brow. “Really? Okay. Not what I was expecting, but …”
“It wasn’t what I was expecting either.” Especially because I didn’t know that I’d made this decision until now. “I’ve been thinking about it.” About him. “And you were absolutely right when you said he was my type.”
Rusti tugs at Cleo’s leash to stop her from barking at a tree. “So you aren’t working with anyone you find attractive now? What if you find the unicorn hot firefighter and he books a photo sesh?”
I grin and ignore her. I need to talk through this—realistically.
“This house is going to change my life—either because I have an amazing place to live in for the rest of my life or it’s something that I can sell later on and be set. But getting to that point …” I sigh. “As much as I absolutely hate crying, this might get emotional.”
“I know.” Rusti frowns. “You have every right to be emotional about it.”