Page 39 of Must Love Dogs… and Hockey

“Oh! I have a new client!”

“Great! Congratulations.” My happiness is genuine. “Hey, my teammate Gunner mentioned the other day he could use someone to walk his dog. I gave him your name.”

“Oh, thank you!” She beams a smile at me.

“He lives a few blocks away from me, also on Riverside.”

She nods. “That’s good. And his schedule is probably the same as yours.”

“Yeah, except he has a girlfriend who helps, but she’s busy too. She’s a model.”

“Of course she is,” she mutters under her breath.

“So that’s great you’re getting more business.”

“Well, one client isn’t a lot.” She makes a face. “I need more.”

“What if…you used my name?” I ask. “I’m not super famous, but if you put my recommendation in your ads, maybe that would get some attention.”

She turns to me, her indigo eyes wide. “Really?”

“Yeah, sure. I gave you a recommendation.”

She blinks rapidly and sucks on her bottom lip. “Um.”

I tip my head. “Why not?”

She looks away. “I feel I need to do this on my own.”

I frown. “That’s crazy.”

She frowns back at me. “Why is that crazy?”

“Nobody starts a business on their own. You need other people. Like, businesses have employees. Contractors.”

Her pretty lips compress. “I guess that’s true.”

“I’m not even doing anything.” I hitch one shoulder. “Just letting you use my name.”

She nods slowly.

“It’s kind of like Coach benching the best player. It doesn’t make sense to hurt your business just because you don’t want a little help.”

Her mouth softens and goddamn, I really want to kiss that plump pout. “When you put it that way…”

“Go for it.”

“Okay.” She lifts her chin. “I will. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We’re silent for a moment, watching the dogs play. We laugh when Otis gets going so fast he blows a tire and rolls in the dirt. “He’s going to need a bath when I get home,” I say. “I haven’t attempted that yet.”

“That should be fun.” She pulls out her phone and checks the time. “I better get going. After I drop off Lola, I have to pick up Apollo. Lola! Lola, come!”

Lola, well-trained girl that she is, trots over immediately. Luckily, Otis follows, because I doubt he’d come if I called him.

“I need to watch some YouTube videos about obedience training,” I say, as we each clip the leashes back on the dogs’ collars.

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