AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lunch would be a good time to give it back. Get that physical representation of our relationship out of my eye line.
And, as much as it rankles to admit, I kind of agree with Martin. After eight years together, I think I need more closure than just storming out on him.
“Okay. Lunch. When?”
His sigh sounds almost happy, and for the life of me I can’t fathom why.
“Tuesday at noon. Angelo’s. You remember it? We went before prom. That silky dress you had on—”
“Yeah. Got it.”
I hang up, done with his familiar voice and his manipulative trick. Dragging me down memory lane won’t erase the fact that his dick was in another woman.
Unfortunately, I won’t have the option to hang up on him at lunch.
Chapter Four
DASH
“That weird girl is back.” Kim leans her head into my office, an excited smile on her face. Unexpectedly, I catch myself grinning in return.
I didn’t think Paige would come back.
When I arrived at work this morning, there was a note on my desk saying the brindle pit bull had a clean bill of health and passed all behavioral evaluations. She’s ready to be adopted.
After closing the door to my office, I pulled the wrinkled application out of the filing cabinet and spread it out before me, trying not to wonder why I was making such a big production about this call. It was only when I got an automated voicemail that I realized I’d been eager to hear Paige’s voice again. But all I got was the slightly distracted way she stated her name for the voicemail. After leaving a message, I pushed thoughts of her far away.
Until now.
I follow Kim up to the front lobby, and there she is. Paige has her wavy blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail again and is wearing another set of those tight athletic pants, all black, paired with a loose T-Shirt with big letters that read NYU across her chest. This time my eyes stray to her left hand. I don’t spot a ring.
Okay, so maybe not a bored housewife.
I don’t let my mind linger on the other benefits of her not having a ring.
“She’s still here, right? You didn’t give my dog away?” Paige’s questions come out panicked as she rushes forward the moment I open the waiting room door. She stands close, staring up at me with hope and worry creasing shallow lines in her face.
At this proximity, I pick up more details. Though her skin is smooth and clean, the area under her eyes is shadowed, almost bruised. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t have any makeup on, which leaves her eyelashes pale golden like her hair.
She’s beautiful. And tired.
Again, I get the strange urge to draw her into my arms and run my hands down her spine in a comforting gesture. I’d pull her close, pressing our bodies together and whisper nonsense in her ear until all the tension that’s radiating off her melts away and she relaxes into me.
Stop it. She’s not for you.
Focusing on my job, I keep a distant reassuring smile on my face. “Don’t worry. She’s still here. Why don’t you come back to our meeting room, and I’ll bring her to you?”
Paige nods eagerly and follows close behind me. I leave her in a room with a low wooden bench and boxes full of a variety of toys. I check the whiteboard to see which kennel the dog is in before grabbing a leash and a handful of treats.
When I approach the enclosure, the brindle pit bull spins in excited circles before jumping at the chain-link door.
“Hey, baby girl. How you doing? Think I might be able to send you home today.” I keep my voice low and soothing as I unlatch the door and maneuver my arm inside with the slip leash dangling wide. She’s jumping around so much, it’s difficult to get the rope around her neck, so I keep up my calming murmurs. “I think you already know this girl. She’s the one who found you. You liked her right? Real pretty girl. She’s already calling you her dog.” The angle works out, and I slip the leash over her head, pulling it tight.
Once the dog is secure, I wrap the thick rope around my hand a couple of times before opening the door wider. She’s a strong one and does her best to drag me around, but I’m a pro at this by now. Keeping her bracketed between my legs, I direct both of us back to the adoption meeting room.
The moment we push through the door, Paige’s face lights up brighter than the night sky on the Fourth of July.
“Oh sweetheart! Look at you!” She’s on her knees in an instant. Too trusting for her own good. But the dog rushes up to her, sniffing and licking, its whole body wriggling in unbridled joy.
