About ten minutes later, they were out the door, though not without what seemed like half the staff coming out to say goodbye to Hope. Cherise came around from the other side of her desk to kneel and give Hope’s ears a good scrub. The huge blue fabric cone around her neck made it a little more difficult, but not impossible. The dog panted happily, though she was definitely a little out of it. She was able to walk, so Zeus didn’t have to carry her to the car, though he did have to lift her into the backseat. She lay down easily, and Yas clambered into the backseat with her, buckling herself in and lifting Hope’s head so it could rest on her lap.
Hope’s tail thumped up and down as Zeus carefully maneuvered it so he could close the car door without closing it on her tail.
“Good girl,” Yas crooned, running her fingers over Hope’s body. With the cone on, she couldn’t possibly see Hope’s head without craning to the right. Zeus couldn’t see anything but Hope’s body and the blue cone resting on Yas’ lap, which was fairly hilarious looking. Yas sighed. “I wanted to go get her a big stuffed animal to come home with.”
“I have to go back to work after we get her settled in. I’ve got a big event tomorrow, but we could do that this evening if you want to,” he offered.
“Thanks. I might take you up on that.” Yas fell silent for a moment. “Tomorrow’s event… is that the one at Naomi’s shelter?”
“Yeah.” Zeus’ shoulders tensed. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yas; it was just that it was not supposed to be a publicized event.
“Naomi told me about it when I called her today. She knows I’m a huge fan of Senator Marlin. She’s going to try to make it so I can meet her tomorrow.”
“Ah. Well, as I’m the one who will be running your background check, that shouldn’t be too difficult. Is that why you’ll need your car tomorrow?”
“Yes. Unless you can take me.”
“I can’t.” Which was probably for the best. “We’ll be getting into place before the senator’s arrival, coming straight from the office. I don’t even know if I’ll be driving my own car; we may go over as a team.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Yas looked out the window. “I promise I’m not just trying to invade your space. If you want me to go?—”
“I don’t,” Zeus said quickly. Was he still struggling with what he wanted from her? Yes. But he did know he didn’t want her to go.
Chapter 37
Yasmine
Spending the afternoon with Sarah and Hope, who were so happy to be reunited that it brought tears to her eyes, and she was pretty sure she saw Zeus wipe his eyes too, Yasmine texted Claudia that she would not be coming to game night tonight. Not just because she wanted to stay at Zeus’, but also because she wasn’t ready for the onslaught of questions she knew would be coming her way.
Tomorrow she was going to have to face Naomi, but Naomi would be distracted by the senator’s visit, and she didn’t know about Zeus and Yasmine. Though it was possible, she’d find out tonight from one of their other friends. Still, if Yasmine wasn’t there, they couldn’t ask her anything, and Naomi likely wouldn’t be able to tomorrow, either.
After leaving Sarah’s and armed with some very important information, Yasmine set about her first step toward fighting for Zeus.
Since Sarah had spent time with him before, she knew which of the local delivery places were his favorites to order from and what his favorite things to order were. Yasmine settled on the Greek place and got them both gyro meals, as well as an order of dolmades, extra tzatziki, and peach melba for dessert. Well, peach melba for him. Chocolate cake for her.
It was not lost on her that, overall, they liked the same meal.
Zeus had texted to let her know that he’d be home by six thirty, so she had the delivery scheduled for six fifteen. Thankfully, it was right on time, though she still might have gotten nervous when there was a knock at the door if Tiger hadn’t alerted her to the incoming arrival by barking his head off.
“You’re a good guard dog,” she murmured as she maneuvered around him after accepting the delivery through the thinnest opening of the door that was possible. The delivery guy had not seemed sad not to be able to greet the fierce-sounding dog. His bark was definitely intimidating, even though he was such a sweet dog. “Yes, you are. Such a good guard dog.”
Wagging his tail furiously, Tiger planted his butt on the ground and looked up at her, mouth hanging open, tongue lolling. His gaze flitted between her and the bag of food in her hand, making Yasmine laugh.
“Oh, no. You do not get people food. Do not try that with me.” She made her way to the dining area to put the bag of boxes on the table and start unloading them. She’d already set the table.
Not a minute too soon, either, because suddenly Tiger went nuts again, running for the door. His bark was different, though. Not nearly as aggressive and with more of a whine. Sitting down about a foot away from the door, his ears were perked up, and his tail was going a mile a minute as he kept bark-whining.
Yasmine picked up the pace of getting the boxes out of the bag at the very clear indication that Zeus was home. A little earlier than six thirty, too. Early was better than late, but she’d hoped to be a bit more set up.
She was just getting the glasses of water on the table when he walked through the door and immediately bent down to greet Tiger, who jumped up and started licking his ear.
“Ack, ew, Tiger. Love me with less tongue.” Zeus chuckled, pushing Tiger back and roughly rubbing his head. As soon as he let go, Tiger spun in circles while Zeus got to his feet. His head lifted, and he sniffed, looking an awful lot like his dog. His gaze moved to meet hers, and his eyebrows went up as he glanced at the table beside her. “What smells so good?”
“Um, well, I thought since you’re letting me stay here, I’d get dinner for us.” Yasmine stepped forward, gesturing nervously at boxes. “Sarah said gyros from the Big Greek Café were your favorite. And dolmades. And I got extra tzatziki.”
Walking towards her, Tiger trotting eagerly beside him, Zeus looked at the table. He wasn’t smiling, but he looked like he almost was.
“That is my favorite.”
