“You sound like you’re talking from personal experience.”
Patting my knee, she pushes herself up. “Sure am. But it led me to Rhett, so I guess I can’t complain. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Sounds good. Thanks for chatting.”
“Anytime, Charlie. And remember, you’re a babe. Don’t let anyone make you feel differently.”
I smile, trying not to let her see how quickly I brush aside her compliment. “Thanks.”
Bonnie and I take it easy on the way back from Central Park. When we reach Forever Grey, I swing open the door, and she races for the water bowl, lapping up the water like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted.
“How’d she do?” Suzette asks. She’s the only person I’ve ever dealt with when picking up and dropping off the pups, but I don’t really know her story.
“Awesome. We got a good run in.”
“Good, ‘cause she’s been going stir crazy for the past few days.”
“Aww, poor girl.” Squatting down, I give her another scratch, and she returns my affection with a slobbery kiss to my arm.
I wipe the wet kiss away on my leggings, laughing lightly as Suzette joins in.
“She likes you,” Suzette notes.
“And I like her,” I admit. “I just wish I had more time.”
“It’s the only finite thing on the planet,” Suzette murmurs. Her sage comment makes me pause as she continues, “But every little bit helps. If you have any friends who would be interested in helping, I’d love it if you’d spread the word. We recently received three more greyhounds, and we’re low on volunteers. There’s only so many miles I can walk in a day.” She heaves a dramatic sigh, which only brings a bigger grin to my face.
“I might be able to twist my best friend’s arm to tag along one of these days, but he’s been pretty busy lately. He got an internship at Montague Enterprises, and it’s…intense.”
“No freaking way.” Leaning closer, she drops her voice low as if she’s about to reveal a secret. “Did you know that the owner adopted a rescue from here once?”
“Seriously?”
She nods, and my respect for Levi’s insanely rich boss grows.
“Yeah. Him and his wife, Bianca, still try to visit on Sundays whenever they can.”
“That’s super cool,” I admit.
“I know, right? They’re the most down-to-earth couple ever, and you have to see their cute little girl. She’s absolutely adorable!”
“Aww…I love kids.”
“Me too. They’re right up there with these mongrels.” She rubs Bonnie’s head. “Now, back to the juicy gossip. You said, ‘he.’”
“Huh?” I ask, confused.
“You said you’d usually ask your best friend to come along, but he’s been really busy lately.”
Aaand, I just learned that Suzette’s not great at boundaries. Noted.
“Oh, come on,” she razzes. “Who’s he?”
Just, ya know, my everything.
I lick my lips and search for a more appropriate answer that I can tell a mere acquaintance because that’s all Suzette is. “He’s uh…he’s my best friend.”
“And?”