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August cocked her head, a little confused by the direction of the conversation. “What does any of this have to do with you?”
“I’m taking Molly to the competition.”
It probably wasn’t the best response she could have had, but August burst out laughing. “You...Molly...a team? Oh come on, you’ve got to be joking.”
But when he didn’t laugh, a stone settled into the pit of her stomach. Because if he was being serious, then...
“Leah is fine,” he said, as if reading her mind. “She’s having a flare-up and doesn’t have the energy to take Molly herself. The drive is a few hours and she needs a lot of rest right now.”
“So you’re taking Molly in her place?” She shouldn’t feel anything, but the devotion Keaton had to his sister really was the sweetest thing ever.
But the thought of him and the husky having to not only spend a weekend together, but work as a team...
Oh boy. That’s a failure waiting to happen.
“Yes. I don’t want Leah to miss out on this opportunity.” He cleared his throat and then took a big glug of his wine. Okay, so at least heknewit was going to be a failure. “Obviously, she knows not to expect amazing results given how Molly and I...”
“Hate each other,” August supplied.
“Yeah.”
“And you want me to do what, exactly? Give you a crash course in how to get a dog to follow instructions?”
“I was hoping you’d come with me.”
She blinked. “Oh.”
“I know you’re busy with work, of course. It’s a last-minute request, but it really would mean a lot to me and to Leah.”
The words were so sincere that August had to stop herself from throwing her arms around his neck. No doubt, cocky, teasing Keaton would be back in a heartbeat and those green eyes and perfect features would go back to being a thorn in her side.
She sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face. Would it be pathetic to admit that she’d kept those days entirely free in case the producer had a change of heart and Isla was allowed to have August come along? She’d have to stay behind the scenes, of course, so as not to get in the way of Isla’s big opportunity by pissing off the producer. But she had the timeandshe wanted to help Leah.
Not to mention spending all that time with Keaton.
That was an item firmly in the “con” column.
“Please,” he said, looking her right in the eye. “I forgot to add that.”
Jeez. How was the guy so arrogant and yet so freaking sincere at the same time?
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll help out. I’ll come with you.”
“You won’t regret it!” he said with a beaming smile.
But August had a niggling suspicion that she would.
The following Thursday August and Keaton got a late start heading upstate for the weekend, because he was stuck at work trying to finish something. Now they were going to arrive at the venue sometime around 11:30 p.m. August, who prided herself on punctuality, looked as though she was trying not to be irritated.
She was not doing a very good job.
“The competition officially starts tomorrow morning at eight,” she said, after they were on the road and out of the city. It was dark out and the flashes of light from oncoming vehicles lit up her red hair, making the edges glow like fire. “So, we’ll need to make sure we don’t screw around too much when we arrive. We want Molly settled in and feeling rested.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Keaton nodded, his hands resting on the steering wheel as they headed north along I-81.
“I would suggest we get up early so I can run you through some basic things with her. Maybe six.”
Keaton glanced over at her, eyebrows raised.
