“Aww, that’s too bad,” I said, trying to sound convincing.
“Maybe we can get together soon,” she said, walking up and kissing my lips before moving toward the door.
“Yeah,” I said, following behind her and handing her my card. “Here’s my card. Just give me a call.”
“Cool,” she said, opening the door and turning back. “Maybe I can bring my dog, and we can go to the park or something.”
I grimaced at the word “dog,” and my entire body immediately went on edge. Me and dogs did not go well together after being attacked by one when I was a kid. Just those words were a sincere deal breaker.
“Yeah, probably not,” I said, shaking my head. “For you or your dog. But it was fun!”
I shut the door before she could even process what I said. I wasn’t doing the whole dog thing, no matter who the woman was. She was just the same old, typical woman.
Chapter 2
Reese
I opened the back door to my office and walked inside, smiling as a small puppy trotted forward to greet me. I bent down, laughing as he tripped over one of his big ears and stumbled into my foot. I reached over and patted his head, wrapping my hand around him and picking him up into my arms.
“Now where did you come from little guy?”
I owned an animal care center that mostly focused on boarding, cleaning, grooming, and minor care that didn’t require a vet’s attention. We held spay and neuter clinics once a month, took in strays that the pound didn’t have room for, and most importantly, got to hang out with all of the furry and feathery friends that came by to visit. I walked over to the pen that housed the new puppies that we had taken in and set the pup down with the others, pulling the gate closed. I put my bags down on the grooming table and walked into the boarding area where I was greeted with a chorus of barking. Every single one of those dogs was in my care in one form or another, whether their family was on a trip, they needed a new home, or they were there because they had grown old and needed someone to look after them. The older dogs were the hardest on me. Not because of their care, but because I fell in love with every dog that came through, and these guys were usually only there for a short while as their lives had come to the final few years. Either way, I always treated every single one of them like family.
“Well, good morning, my friends,” I said, running my hand down the cages. “It’s finally Friday. Hope you guys made plans already!”
I walked through and greeted each dog. Then, I moved to the next room and did the same with the cats. We didn’t have any other animals in there at that time, so I skipped the rabbit, guinea pig, and reptile room completely. When I got back to the grooming station, Lenna was walking in the door looking more tired than usual. She was my best friend, and we had started this business together right after high school, both of us knowing we had no college ambitions at that point. I had to admit it was pretty awesome working with my closest friend. She and I had never had a fight over anything, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect business partner. We both loved animals, we both worked really hard to keep the place going, and we complemented each other. Where I was weak, she was strong, and vice versa. She was also the vet tech and could give shots and such when it was needed.
“Mister Floppy got out again,” I said, laughing. “He greeted me at the door, so be careful where you step. I haven’t looked for poop bombs yet.”
“Oh, joy,” Leena said through a yawn. “It is much too early for this.”
“Start your weekend early?”
“Sure did,” she said with a sleepy smile. “And I met a really hot guy who I have a date with again Saturday night.”
“Look at you, always on the go.” I laughed.
“What did you do last night?”
“Took a bath, watched a movie, and crashed.” I smiled.
“Wow,” she said in a monotone voice. “Thrilling. How about this weekend? You have any awesome plans?”
“Do I ever?”
“No, but I will keep asking every week in the hopes that one day you will shock me with something outrageous, like, oh, I don’t know, a date or something,” she said, hip-checking me as she walked past.
I was perfectly content with continuin
g to work on the business, focus on growing and learning, and all the while, keeping my eyes open for that guy. That guy that makes everything fall into place, the one that every girl dreams of meeting one day. Leena however, thinks that I am insane for having that fairy tale and is more than willing to get me out, get me laid, and move me on a different path. I wasn’t a virgin because I was waiting for Mr. Right. I just hadn’t found any Mr. Right now that could actually fit the bill. In fact, there hadn’t been any mister anything’s for quite a while, and I was okay with that, even if it seemed to bother everyone else around me.
“I do have that wedding this upcoming weekend,” I said, pulling out my supplies and lining them up on the table.
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Who is getting married again?”
“Caroline Haynes,” I said. “She was a girl I hung out with when we were kids.”
“Oh, yeah, at the club that your dad was a member of,” she replied. “I still think it’s so weird that you came from a family of money.”