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“Beautiful and then terrible. We had a rough night,” Barrett says, surprising me with his openness. “But we’re moving past it with a commitment to bringing our best selves to the table. Especially my best self.”
Starling’s brows lift as her focus homes in on my face. “Is that right?”
I nod. “It is. I’ll fill you in later, but I know you’re busy today with all the ball preparations.”
“I’m going to take Keanu in,” Barrett says, bending to kiss my cheek. “Let you two talk without all the racket.”
Keanu lets out a strangled screech-whine in response and Barrett rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling as he heads toward the house. “Thank you, Starling,” he calls over his shoulder, “and see you tonight.”
My sister waits until the door closes behind Barrett to turn back to me and hiss, “So how bad did he fuck up? Is he on notice? Should I keep your bedroom open just in case?”
I shake my head. “No. We’re good,” I say, believing it. “And if we struggle again, we’ll get through it. We both want it too much to give up anytime soon.” I cast a glance toward the house, my lips curving. “Honestly, I love him even more today. He was in a bad, scary place last night. It would have been so much easier for him to push me away and give up, but he didn’t. I’m taking that as a sign that I’m as special to him as he is to me.”
“Hell yes, you are,” she says. “He adores you, sis. He’s just like Keanu. Sometimes his purr sounds like a rusty chainsaw, but it’s still coming from a good place, you know?”
I laugh. “Sort of, yeah. So how did the photo shoot go last night? Get some good shots?”
Starling’s grin returns. “Oh my God, it was incredible. And one of the volunteers who was helping us set up for the shoot is a sketch artist. Take a look at this.” She whips her phone out of her pocket, pulling up an image that makes me yelp and press a hand to my heart. Starling cackles. “Isn’t it great? Keanu looks even more terrifying in colored pencil than he does in real life.”
I glance back at her screen, taking in the artist’s rendering of Keanu in all his grinny, toothy, bare-tailed glory. “Wow. He’s really talented.”
“She,” Starling corrects. “Her name is Kaps, and she asked if she could use Keanu on the label for her new Pale Ale. She owns Ugly Dog Brewery, that place that just opened downtown.”
I smile. “Really? Keanu’s going to be on a beer label?”
“He is,” Starling confirms. “Isn’t that cool? Your hideous baby is going to be a star.”
I laugh. “I’m so proud. I can’t wait to tell Barrett that his ward is famous.”
“Don’t tell him yet,” she says. “Kaps is going to print up a test batch of labels today and sell Keanu Pale Ale at the ball tonight. You guys are still going, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, wouldn’t miss it. I just need a nap first. I didn’t sleep much last night.”
Starling claps her hands. “Oh good. The board is announcing their choice for the full-time fundraising position, and I really wanted you to be there. If they give the job to someone else, I may need to cry in the bathroom with you.”
I pull her in for a hug. “Of course, but they have to give it to you. You’re a perfect fit for the job and have done so much for them in just a few weeks. They’d be idiots to go with anyone else.”
She pulls back, wrinkling her nose down at me. “Even Christian? Who’s been leading their spring fundraising push as a loyal volunteer for years? Apparently, he applied for the job a few days ago, when he found out Theo withdrew his application.”
I frown. “How’s he going to manage that when he’s already working full-time at his repair shop?”
Starling shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s thinking of hiring people to take over at the shop. Maybe he wants a career change. Maybe he just really wants control of the Furry Friends social media account so he can take down that bulldog picture himself. Who knows. The man is a mystery to me.”
“But one you’d kind of like to figure out?” I ask.
She makes a gagging sound. “Ew, no. I mean, maybe before he came at my job, I thought there were some sexy things about him. But now he can crawl into a hole filled with flesh-eating termites for all I care.”
“I didn’t realize flesh-eating termites were a thing.”
“I’m not sure if they are, honestly,” she says. “I couldn’t tell if the article was real or a weird promo for a horror movie, but either way, I wish them upon Christian. He’s a thorn in my side that I’ll be grateful to have removed tonight. One way or another, our working relationship is coming to an end. If he gets the position, I’m quitting. And if I get it, he’s fired as a volunteer.” She rubs her hands together. “It’ll be my first order of business.”
