“There it is,” she says before ducking out to get the said coffee.
Adrian walks in with his dog, Sam following them in. My mood instantly gets better.
Sam flops down on one of the chairs. “Minka was brilliant. You should have seen her go,” he says to me.
Hearing her name, she pads over to Sam, demanding pats, which Sam complies with. I look up to find Adrian watching them with a small smile on his face.
Is Sam’s plan actually working? Wait, that’s not a good thing. “When did you get her, Adrian?” I ask to get his attention to me and to the reason I paid his exorbitant fees.
“Uh, my mom adopted her two years ago, but she couldn’t take care of her anymore, so I brought her here.” He checks the time on his watch. “I’ll have to get going—” he starts.
I get the puppy’s attention to lure her towards me, interrupting him. “Your mom lives in the city?” Taking out my stethoscope, I start Minka’s check-up. That should keep him distracted enough to answer a few questions.
“Nah, she’s back in Boston.” He comes around to hover over me. The hairs on the back of my neck rise at the attention.
“You lived there your entire life, right? Must be nice to grow up in a city.” I keep my tone light and friendly.
“Sure.” His voice is devoid of any friendliness.
I gaze up at him. “The weather must have been a challenge for you?” Nicholas is constantly complaining about the weather here.
“It’s the worst.” He pats Minka, who’s starting to get cranky in the small space.
“Why did you move in, though?” Sam asks, his voice casually curious.
Adrian shrugs. “Just fascinated by the city. No reason. Why did you?” he asks Sam.
“I haven’t. I’m visiting. I don’t settle for every little thing that fascinates me.”
“Maybe you’ve not found a fascinating enough thing yet,” Adrian smirks.
Sam props his elbows on his thighs and leans in. “Maybe. If any place could do it, it’d be the one where Ariana Grande lives.”
Adrian laughs. Where does all this nice-guy-ness go whenI’mtalking to him?
No. Justno. “Yep. The city is great. How long have you lived here?”
Adrian blinks at me like he forgot I was even here. Now that’s just a blow to my ego.
I walk Minka over to the examination table to continue her checkup.
“Two years. Anyway, I’m going to take off once you’re done here. Can’t bow out the whole day or my clients would realize they don’t really need me.”
What? No. He was just starting to open up. To Sam. Still. “What if Minka wins?” I blurt out.
“Give the prize to the runner-up. You’ve paid me enough to get a year's worth of check-ups for her.”
“When is Nick coming?” Sam asks abruptly.
I frown at him. “After lunch. Why?”
He shrugs. “Just thought Mickey would have enjoyed playing around with Minka. His boyfriend has the cutest Rottweiler.” He tells Adrian.
“A cute Rottweiler? Would have loved to see that. Maybe some other time?”
Fuck. What do I do? I don’t even know enough about the law to make up a legal emergency. Where is a dead body when youwantone? “Are you sure? We have a fashion show starting soon, and Minka’s bow is adorable.”
Adrian snorts. “The entertainment industry might not be the best place for her developing mind.”
