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As the day waned, the landline at Furry Faces rang, startling them both. The landline hardly ever rang. Charles answered, and after a brief salutation where Abbe gleaned that he knew the caller, his eyes darted over to her.
“Yes, she’s here,” he said carefully. “I believe so,” he added after a brief pause. He listened intently and then turned away from Abbe’s questioning gaze. “I think that would be best,” he said. “You’re welcome.”
Charles hung up and turned away from Abbe. He finished up at his computer, closing it down and straightening up his area, acting far too nonchalant.
“Charles,” Abbe said, laughing with frustration. “Who was that?”
“What? Oh. You know,” he replied evasively.
She sighed. “Was that Rafe?”
Charles nearly exploded with excitement. “Yes! Now don’t try to run away from him. He’ll be here in five minutes and I have an appointment with a Shiba Inu, so you have to talk to him.” With that, he stood and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair.
Abbe let her head drop into her hands. “Charles, how could you do this to me?”
“If you never believe anything I ever say again, believe this. I’m doing you a favor,” he said. Then he placed a kiss on the top of her head and scurried out.
Five
When Rafe showed up exactly five minutes later, Abbe was stunned.
“You’re here,” she said, not believing it.
He shrugged and shoved his fists into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m here,” he replied. “Didn’t Charles tell you I was coming in five?”
“Yeah, but no one ever gets anywhereexactlyin five minutes when they say five minutes. They usually mean ten or fifteen minutes.”
“When I say five, I mean five.” His tone was firm. Not a boast, but almost a warning, like he was letting her know he was the kind of person who was never late and didn’t tolerate tardiness from others, either.
They started at each other for a bit too long. He had an easy elegance about him. Subtle things spoke volumes about him, like the fact that his shoes were from-the-box clean and his jacket fit over his shirt the same way it does on a mannequin at the mall, indicating that they were made by the same designer. This was a guy who wore complete outfits, he didn’t cobble them together. He had a different jacket for every shirt, and several different shades of jeans so that he would always wear a unified color palate. He probably had a collection of watches, each with a different tone of metal, to go with what he wore. He was naturally beautiful in his face and physique, but the way he presented himself showed a level of care that could only be considered exacting. This guy didn’t do messy. Probably anywhere in his life. She couldn’t for the life of her understand why he had picked sweet, greying Daisy of all dogs if it wasn’t to win somehow.
Despite this armor of good taste and breeding that he was clad in, Abbe noticed that he seemed subdued. He even shifted on his feet. It seemed like that massive ego of his had eased back away from the driver’s seat and another side to him was given a chance to sit up front for a change.
“How much longer do you have here?” he asked.
“Ah—none. No longer. I just have to set the cameras,” she replied, going into the back room, and grabbing the iPad that kept a continuous feed of all the animals on it.
She glanced at the screen as she started turning down the lights, making sure everything was connected and that all the cameras were pointed the right way. The animals knew what to do. As soon as it got darker, they all settled down.
“Wait, how many camerasdoyou have?” Rafe asked, taking the iPad out of her hands for a moment so he could see the feed. He looked up at her. “Eight? Isn’t that excessive?”
She took the iPad back and stowed it in her messenger bag. “I like to be able to see all of them until the night watch person comes.”
“You have a person who stays here all night?” he asked, surprised.
“Of course. They don’t have to do anything; just be here in case something happens. And if it does, then they call me, or Henry, the vet I use.” She smiled at him in a conspiratorial way. “I can’t leave my sweeties here alone.”
“I guess not,” he replied quietly. He was watching her intently but she couldn’t read him. He seemed different somehow.
“So, you came herewhy, exactly?” she said, not sure what was supposed to happen next.
“There’s a coffee shop at the end of the block. Will you sit with me for a bit?” he finally asked.
“Okay,” she replied, grabbing her coat. “But that’s it. Just coffee.”
His face broke into a wide smile, all the tension leaving him, and she realized belatedly that he had been nervous.
“Just coffee,” he agreed. “Unless you throw yourself at me again.”
