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Charles tapped the red button.
“You’re a natural!” he exclaimed after the first take.
“Really?” Abbe said, nervous again now that she wasn’t talking about animals. It was strange, but as soon as she started talking about what she loved—placing unwanted animals in loving homes—she completely forgot about the fact that she was terrified of social media.
“Ugh, you are so beautiful. You’re going to get a million dates from this. Dates youshouldgo on, by the way. It’s time you got over what’s-his-butt,” he scolded.
“I have,” Abbe said, stopping him right there. He hadn’t said the name, but she didn’t even like to think about Danny. “Besides, I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”
“How about just sex?” he said. “Because, honey, I love you but you’ve been so damn grouchy lately. You could use a good lay.”
Abbe stuck her fingers in her ears. “Just post that before I have a chance to change my mind!” she said, blushing furiously, and hearing her giggle echo in her head.
“Okay, okay,” Charles said, his fingers flying over the screen of her phone. He looked up at her and smiled. “Done.”
Out back, Abbe heard the sound of voices as the two high school kids, Maria and Steven, who worked at the shelter, showed up and started playing with the dogs out back.
Maria poked her head in. “I’m going to walk the big dogs and then come back and do litter boxes!” she called into the house.
“Okay! See you in a bit!” Abbe called back before turning to Charles. “I hope we’re right about this,” she said, suddenly worried again. What if Arc A Enterprises got offended? She had been a little bit harsh when she’d called them out by name like that. Biting the hand that fed you was never a good idea, but she was backed into a corner here.
All she wanted was to be able to take care of these animals, maintain the shelter, and pay her staff what little she could.
“We are,” he said, “you’ll see!” He looked at his phone, watching their post-replay. “And if you do get dropped by Arc A you’re definitely going to get someone’s attention. Alotof someones, if you ask me. I’m so glad you wore a tight top this morning.”
Abbe made a scandalized sound, playing along, but she was aware of the fact that she had a great figure. She was curvy with a tiny waist and long, lean limbs. Her figure got her more attention than she liked sometimes, especially in the past year when she was determined to focus on herself and not a physical relationship.
“You’re leading me down the path of sin,” she joked, putting her cardigan back on primly.
“Can’t lead someone who’s running ahead of ya!” he joked back.
They had a great laugh, got back to work, and Abbe basically forgot all about her post.
Two
The next day Abbe didn’t even get to check her social media to see if there was a response to her post. It was Saturday and she had to hit the ground running at seven a.m.
Unfortunately, she woke up late. She left the guest house she rented from an elderly woman down the street and rode her bike the short distance to Furry Faces to open up, already feeling like she was two steps behind on her day. Weekends were usually the busiest days of the week for Abbe, as most families could only take their days off from school and work to find a new pet. Saturday and Sunday were when she set most of her adoption appointments, but she also had to deal with the lookie-loos who dreamed of having pets but weren’t really serious about owning one. She tried to discourage the lookie-loos, as they caused more commotion than they were worth, but occasionally one or two of them would go home with a new pet.
This particular Saturday was busier than usual. Charles had a dog show, and Maria had begged off work last second when she’d awoken with a sore throat and a fever. Abbe had no one to help her that day, and she had spent all morning and half the afternoon supervising the visits of prospective families and hadn’t had much time to clean up. She was considering canceling the last two adoption visits she had scheduled just to give herself a minute to catch up when the door opened and someone came inwithoutan appointment.
Abbe had always believed that dogs had an uncanny ability to judge people, and when a tall, broad-shouldered man, with a shock of black hair and electric blue eyes sauntered into Furry Faces late Saturday afternoon, she was convinced the dogs were spot on about him. Jinx was gnawing on a rawhide chew toy that he had stolen from one of the other dogs, when he suddenly stopped enjoying his prize to growl malevolently at the man.
With every lithe step this specimen took, he exuded an air of arrogance that practically screamed, "I own the world." His chiseled features and Greek nose might have made him handsome, but Abbe wasn't one to be swayed by looks alone.
He was somewhere in his early thirties she guessed, and casually but well-dressed in a tight t-shirt and light jacket that was achingly simple, but probably cost more than Abbe’s wardrobe. He wore a pair of jeans that hugged him a little too well to be anything less than designer. This guy had that picky, overprivileged air scrawled all over him.
“Do you have an appointment?” Abbe asked tightly as he strode in.
He looked surprised. “An appointment? No.” The way he said it made it clear that he thought she should be thanking him that he had spared enough of his precious time to grace her shelter with his presence.
“We only do adoptions by appointment here,” she informed him, stooping down to pick up some toys that were strewn across the rag carpet in the reception room.
“Oh, then I’d like an appointment for now,” he said, his bright eyes twinkling with a cross between amusement and malice. Obviously, he was baiting her.
Abbe gathered the dog toys in her arms tightly, only a little chuffed when one of them squeaked so loud she jumped a little. “Sorry, but the soonest I have would be next Sunday.”
He threw out his arms to indicate that they were alone. “Yes, because I can see that you arecompletelyoverwhelmed,” he said sarcastically. “Are the dogs back there?” he said, already moving across the entrance room and into the back area where the kennels were.
