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The main phone line rang, and Lydia stretched across the mountain of paper debt to answer it. “Covington Falls Veterinary Clinic. How can we help?” Her blue eyes lit up. “Oh hey, Mrs. Valentine. Merry Christmas.”
Everyone in town adored Mrs. Valentine—the whole damn family, for that matter. A retired schoolteacher, Mrs. Valentine practically raised half the people still living here. She and her husband had been incredibly kind to me. Too bad that I get to see them so often on account of the waning health of Maggie, their golden retriever.
Lydia carried on the conversation with one of Covington Falls’ matriarchs—perhaps it’s most important now, given the new ten-story structure being built on the far edge of Main Street. There was a lot of fanfare when Mayor Briggs announced that V-Sparks would be opening its second location in Covington Falls. Based on the stories Lydia told me, people were initially cynical.
In fact, Dr Anderson, the previous owner of the clinic, blamed the giant software firm for ruining the culture of the town and he put his business up for sale soon after the mayor’s announcement. But apparently, the allure of having two famous self-made billionaire brothers returning home convinced everyone that the influx of newcomers would be good for the local economy and Covington Falls in the long run. As a newcomer myself, I hoped they were right, but even I had to admit to seeing worrying signs up and down Main Street—actually, Valentine Street, come next week.
“Okay, we’ll see Maggie when he gets here. Buh-bye.” Lydia ended the call and looked up at me. “You may want to put on some lip gloss. We are about to receive Covington Falls royalty.”
Chuckling, I said, “Excuse me?”
“A Valentine son is on his way over here with Maggie.”
Immediately my heart broke. “What’s wrong with Maggie?”
“Same symptoms as last time.”
I sighed. Maggie had been sluggish. She’d gained a few pounds. I had hoped that the new diet I had prescribed for her would help with her other symptoms.
“Lip. Gloss. Now,” Lydia said.
I giggled. “You are a terrible influence, you know that.”
Tenacious, Lydia stood, rounded the desk, and pulled back on the handle of the top drawer. She spotted the tube of lip gloss sitting on top of my open purse and handed it to me.
As I smeared the jelly-like substance on my lips, I thought about the Valentine brothers. They were hard to miss around here because they were a topic of much debate. I had seen them both on TV. I understood why all the single women—and some of the married ones—gushed over them. Men who looked as good as they did would have been hard to miss anywhere.
“Happy now?” I asked Lydia.
She nodded with a near manic grin plastered on her face. With her blonde ponytails, she was a dead ringer for Harley Quinn from those Batman cartoons. The only thing missing was a carnival style sledgehammer, short shorts, and an outrageous top.
“So, wait. Which one of them is coming?”
“Momma Valentine didn’t say, but does it really matter? The pair of them are fiiiine.” Lydia dragged out the word. She took a breath then continued, “I could eat them up. Or better yet, I would be the meat in a Valentine siblings sex sandwich.”
My eyes went wide. I stifled a laugh. Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms across my chest and asked, “And what would your boyfriend think about that?”
Lydia mimicked a thoughtful face, full of innocence. “You know, I really think Zeke would understand my need to get stuffed between their muscular bread.”
We chuckled.
“We could share them,” Lydia said. “I’ll take Leo and you can have Lucas. And then I can have Lucas and you can have Leo.”
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “I’m so glad our patients aren’t human because if any of them could hear you right now.”
“Suit yourself,” she said. “But I’m warning you, I saw them up close and in person when they laid the cornerstone at the construction site two years ago and I…” Lydia bit her bottom lip. “I just want a taste. So fiiiiiiinnnne.”
The chime from the front door sounded through the clinic. Lydia bolted for the door. “I bet that’s him. Come on.”
Reluctantly, I got out of my seat. Pressing my lips together and smearing the gloss over them again, I trailed behind her. As we walked towards the reception area, I fussed with my hair—it was never a bad idea to make a good first impression with a patient’s owner.
Our momentary descent into shallowness was quickly halted when we entered behind the reception desk and found the Gordons and their new Bichon Frisé puppy.
“Oh,” Lydia said, unable to mask her disappointment.
I shot her a disapproving glance, and she hurried to greet the couple. Not a moment later, the chime went off again. Lydia and I exchanged another look. A tall, smoking hot Lucas Valentine walked in with the family’s golden retriever.Whoa.Right at that moment, I considered replacing Lydia with myself in that sibling sex sandwich idea she had.
Lucas held Maggie on the leash. He led the auburn-hair dog through the waiting room to the counter, stopping directly in front of me. “Hello, you must be Doctor Marshall.”
