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“I notice Daisy is not back in the sunroom,” he said leadingly. “Did you meet up with Rafe yesterday?”
“Yes,” Abbe replied, trying to look innocent.
“And?” he said, smacking her arm again, this time for purposely being obtuse. “What happened?”
There was no point in hiding it. It’s not like Charles was the judgy type. She gave him a weak smile. “We kind of… made out?”
Charles gasped and hit her arm again. “Shut up! No, don’t shut up, tell meeverything!”
“There’s nothing to tell!” Abbe insisted. “One second we were arguing and the next second we were kissing, and then he was carrying me behind a tree…”
Charles screamed and put a hand over his chest. “Shutup!” he screamed again. “Did you two—”
“No!” Abbe replied, still cracking up over Charles’ overly dramatic reaction. “We were right in the middle of Boston Commons!” He gave her a pointed look. “We made out. Nothing serious.”
“Who ended it?”
“Me. I sort of, like,ran,” she admitted.
“Ooh,” he said, cringing. “Not the best look. When are you seeing him again?”
“Ah-never? Or at least not until he returns Daisy. But even then,neverbecause I’m going to make Maria or Steven do the hand-over,” she said. “Or you.”
Charles looked at her like he was trying to figure something out. “Bad kisser?”
“Unbelievably good. Amazing, in fact. Probably the best kiss of my entire life, to be honest.”
“Really?” Charles asked, intrigued.
Abbe nodded, trying not to think about it. “Oh yeah.”
“Then, what’s the problem?” he asked like she’d lost her mind. “And why are you still making him give back the dog?”
“I’m not going to make him give back Daisy,” she said, holding her hands up in a surrendering gesture. “I just have a feeling he’ll be back here in a week to return her, once he realizes how much care she needs. Trust me. He’s not the kind of guy to stick it out.”
Charles gave her a sympathetic look. “Honey, just because some men can’t handle a little bit of sickness and hardship doesn’t mean they’re all that way. He’s not Danny.”
“O-kay,” she said, turning away and going back to her desk. She wasn’t having this conversation with Charles, or with anyone for that matter. She changed the subject. “I don’t know if this whole unfreezing of the assets thing was an accounting error or what, but if it is a mistake, I’d like to start spending some of that money before somebody catches wise.”
“Fine. You don’t want to talk about it. Shocker,” Charles said, sitting down at the other desk in the office that he used but refused to call his. “You just spend that money, girl, and see if you can forget the gorgeous guy with the blue eyes.”
“Already on it,” she said, grinning as her finger clicked and the mouse. “Now help me pick out backdrops and lighting equipment so we can get good shots of the black dogs.”
“Photoshoot! My favorite,” he replied happily.
They huddled over their respective computers, their fingers flying across the keyboards as they scheduled appointments, and paid outstanding bills. Abbe called Henry, the vet she trusted, to schedule one of his visits to check all the animals.
“Abbe!” Henry said, happy to hear from her. “Yes, I’ll definitely come by this week. I’ll have my receptionist clear my schedule.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Abbe said, feeling uncomfortable. Henry was a little too nice to her. He had asked her out once, but she’d sidestepped it by saying she wasn’t ready to date yet after her last relationship—which was true. She liked Henry and they shared a huge common interest, of course, but her feelings didn’t run any deeper than that.
“No, no, it’s no trouble!” Henry insisted. “I’ll try to get something for you early in the week. I’d love to see you.” There was an uncomfortable pause. “And the animals, of course.”
“Of course. It’ll be great to see you too,” she said, hoping she wasn’t giving him too much. Just then, Steven and Maria came in the back after school. Abbe was grateful for the interruption. “I have to go,” she said just as Henry started to ask how she was doing, trying to make the call more personal and less professional. “Steven and Maria just got here.”
“Sure, sure,” Henry replied, sounding disappointed. “I’ll see you later in the week.”
Abbe let out a breath and went to walk Steven and Maria through their chores for the day, and then Abbe went back to the office with Charles until they got every last bit of red out of the ledgers.
