But this is a donor dinner and I need to give Tom my full attention. Once our conversation is wrapped up and I’ve promised to let him meet Rex next time he’s near the farm, I excuse myself and walk toward Charlotte. The slideshow dings with a new text message. Since it’s connected to her phone, it’s basically a big phone screen projected on the wall.
“Whoops,” she says, taking her phone off the podium. “Let’s put you in Do Not Disturb mode.” She chuckles, swiping away the text notification, but not before I saw it.
“What’s up” was all the text said. The sender? Someone saved into her phone as “Love of my life.”
chapter eleven
Charlotte
The donor dinner goes so amazingly well, I worry I’ll be buzzing with excitement all night and won’t be able to sleep. Luckily, once I get home at the end of the night, I barely have time to take a quick shower before adrenaline wears off, exhaustion takes over, and I pass out. I wake up still feeling high on the good vibes of that dinner. I can’t believe I never thought of doing something like this for other events. Most of my portfolio to date has been weddings, retirement parties, corporate events, and random silly stuff like the cat wedding. Now that I think about it, I haven’t ever planned something as important as nonprofit work. I like this type of gig. It makes me feel like I’m doing more than just scheduling vendors and putting out fires and learning how to talk to bridezillas. I was upset when Jenny first assigned me to the Alden gig, but now I’m grateful for this event.
And not just because the proprietor is gorgeous.
I giggle at my reflection as I brush my teeth. I do not have a crush on Caleb. Maybe if I say it a million more times I’ll believe it.
Regardless, he’s not the type of man I could ever consider dating anyhow because he’s not a man who settles down with one woman. I’ve got real work to do, anyhow. There’s no space in my life to settle down.
A bright, beautiful new addition to the Alden K9 facility greets me when I arrive. I’m so blown away, I pull over on the side of the road. Right at the entrance to their long, winding driveway is a stunning new sign, painted a crisp white with a dark blue ALDEN BROTHERS K9 logo across the front. Underneath it in smaller font reads: Home of the Alden K9 Foundation.
I get out of my car and take a picture of it. I’m no photographer, but I angle the phone camera to capture the sign with the sun shining on the giant wooden barn in the distance. It looks amazing. I’ll add this to our social media for sure.
I park at the admin building and enter the front doors. Ethan is on the phone so he gives me a pinky-finger wave while holding the phone to his ear. Down the hallway, Caleb’s office is empty. I check the other offices and no one else is here, but I’m dying to tell the guys how beautiful and perfect their new sign is. It’s just in time for the gala in a week and will also help everyone even find the place since it’s so far off the main road.
I head outside toward the kennels, which is usually the best place to find Caleb Alden. Sure enough, a wheelbarrow filled with various tools sits outside the first kennel building. I walk toward it, peering inside the open door to the inside part. He’s not there, so I walk around the back.
“She can’t be your girlfriend, bro.”
I stop, wondering who he’s talking to. And who he’s talking about.
“You keep acting like a big scary dog, but all you want to do is be friends,” Caleb says over the sounds of metal. “You can’t just break stuff to get your way.”
I peer around the kennel. He’s kneeling on the grass, back facing toward me, fixing a hole in the chain link fencing of Rex’s outdoor kennel run.
“Rain doesn’t want to be your girlfriend. She’s a sophisticated lady, got it? You can’t go breaking fences and sneaking into her place. She’s got her own kennel and it’s her space, not yours.” He tugs on the fencing, pulling both sides together and securing them with a metal clasp. Behind the fence, K9 Rex smiles, tongue hanging out like he’s proud of his handiwork in destroying the fence.
“Plus, she’ll be going to live with Max soon, and you’ll get adopted before the gala, so you’ll probably never see her again, okay? No point in trying to start a relationship with a girl you won’t see again.” He wipes sweat off his forehead and reaches for a pair of pliers. “This is Alden Brothers K9. This isn’t Alden Brothers Matchmaking Service. You’re not here for a girlfriend.”
He yanks on the fencing a little harder than necessary and secures the final section. “I promised you a safe retirement, buddy. I never promised you a soul mate. Stop trying to break into Rain’s kennel.”
The tone of his voice has changed into something more sincere. I swallow, but my breath catches and I instinctively clear my throat. Caleb whips around.
“Hey,” he says, turning back to the kennel fencing. “What’s up?”
“What happened here?” I ask, keeping my voice lighthearted.
“The big bad K9 ripped a hole in the fence trying to get to Rain,” he says, standing up and tossing the tools and extra bits of old fencing into the wheelbarrow. “He wasn’t trying to hurt her, luckily. I think he just wanted to play.”
“Are they allowed to play?” I ask.
“Yeah… but not at their own leisure and at the expense ofdestroying my property,” he says, doing the point to his eyes and then pointing to Rex hand movement.
“Bad boy,” I tell Rex, but my voice is anything but chastising. “You’re a cutie pie, though.”
Rex smiles at me from his kennel.
“So what can I help you with?” Caleb says. I stiffen. It’s such a business-like thing to say. His words hang in the air in a way that makes me feel unwelcome. It’s like I need a specific business reason to be here, when I’m used to just hanging out and working without a problem.
“Oh, um,” I say, struggling to come up with what to say. “The new sign on the road is perfection.”
