The Wrong Man (Alpha Men 3)

“. . . but I told that bitch, I told her, if she takes the dog, I’d take her to court so fast her head would spin. No, seriously, she thinks she can cheat on me with that Neanderthal and then get the dog? She can fucking think again!” Yes, what Lia couldn’t quite handle was the conversation.

“You must really love the dog.” Lia managed to get a word in edgewise. He liked animals—that was something, wasn’t it? Plus, he was a good dresser: nice tie and jacket. Passably good-looking. But—

“I fucking hate that little psychotic mutt. He bites any chance he gets. No, he’s headed for the pound.”

“But then why do you want him?” Lia was appalled and he shrugged, shoveling another forkful of food into his open mouth. He then started talking with his mouth full . . . ugh.

“Because she wants him, and she wants him because I want him. In truth, neither of us really wants the little bastard.” The poor dog. Lia felt sorry for it, having two such selfish individuals for owners. “I have him at the moment. She had to get away for the weekend, she said. Told me if I was so desperate for the dog, I could keep him for a couple of days. But he’s done nothing but whine and bark since I got him.”

“Where is he now?”

“In the car.”

“What? You can’t leave a dog in the car for hours at a time.”

“Yeah, maybe not in summer, but come on, it’s not like he’s going to die out there in this cool weather.”

“Yes, but . . .”

“Don’t tell me how to take care of my own dog, sister. Now, are we going to screw tonight or what?”

“Hey, Brand,” Lia answered her phone with a despondent sigh an hour later.

“Bad?”

“Unbelievably bad. I didn’t think they could get worse than the guy with the Oedipal thing going on, but this one . . . what a horrid individual. Hates his ex-wife but couldn’t stop talking about her at all.”

“Yeah?”

“And . . .” A whine interrupted what she’d been about to say, and she stared down into a pair of concerned eyes looking up at her from her lap.

“What’s that sound?”

“That’s Yappy the yorkie.”

“What?”

“He asked me to look after his dog.”

Well, his exact words had been “If you’re so fucking worried about the mongrel, you take him. I can’t wait to tell that bitch I gave the little asshole away.”

“Wait, what? Your date asked you to look after his dog?”

“Well, he kind of stormed out, then came back in, said ‘good riddance,’ and dumped the dog in my arms before storming back out. Leaving me to take care of both the bill and Yappy.”

“Jesus, Lia!”

“Tonight was a bit of a low point,” she confessed on a whisper, her voice hitching as a tear trickled down her cheek.

“Oh, sunshine, I’m so sorry,” he groaned. “Please don’t cry, okay? This motherfucker isn’t worth it.”

“It’s not that, it’s just . . . I don’t understand why I can’t meet someone nice. It shouldn’t be this hard. It was so easy before Clayton—I had so many romantic opportunities with lovely men. After three years away from the dating scene, it feels like the viable prospects in the pool of single men have mostly disappeared. Probably all happily married by now. And the only ones left are these horrible . . .” She stopped, shaking her head, and impatiently swiping at the tears with the heel of her free hand. She was annoyed with herself for allowing this to affect her so strongly. “I’m sorry. I’m being silly.”

He groaned again.

“Please come over,” he said, his voice raw.

“It’s not a good idea. Good night, Brand.”

“Lia . . .” She hung up on him before he could complete his sentence. Her phone buzzed seconds later, and she smiled when she looked at the screen and saw the kissy face emoji. She didn’t reply, but for some reason, the silly little emoji made her feel slightly better.

Yappy was an instant hit with Lia’s mother and became a welcome and immediately loved addition to the family’s always-growing menagerie. Millicent McGregor hadn’t had a special fur baby of her own in many years, but she and Yappy adopted each other at first sight. When Lia called Billie and told her what happened, her friend was both apologetic and livid at the same time.

Brand had sent her an early-morning text, asking if she was okay, and Lia had responded with just a thumbs-up emoji. After three embarrassing and disastrous dates in three nights, she was starting to miss her former arrangement with Brand. At least there was no uncertainty there. She knew what to expect from him and vice versa.

She sighed and got ready for dinner at Daisy and Mason’s. The couple would be leaving in two days’ time, and they were cramming as much family time in as they could.