Page 19 of Heart Me Up
“So neutering,” Greg went on. “Doesn’t affect their ability to get hard, or even ejaculate. The balls just control sperm production and hormones. Anyway.” He then went into way too much graphic detail about why a dog might not be able to retract its penis back into its sheath on its own and how when that happened the pet resort employees had to attempt to help the situation. Otherwise the dog might have to have surgery.
Greg finished with a flourish, and I blinked at him. “So you use the lube to….”
“Try to manipulate the penis back into its sheath, yes.”
I blinked again. “Whatever the pet owners are paying you, it’s not enough.”
Greg clapped his hands together and laughed. “And here I was prepared not to like you.”
I tapped Craig’s pen on the sheet of letterhead. “Because I left him without saying goodbye last night?” Maybe Greg would give me an idea of Craig’s state of mind.
But Greg smirked again and stood up. “No, Detective. Just showing up to write him a note redeems you for that.” Then his face got serious. “I didn’t want to like you because it makes it harder to kill you and hide your body if you ever hurt Craig.”
My mouth hung open in disbelief as he walked to the office door. “That’s a pretty brave thing to say to a police officer,” I responded lamely.
“Leave your note on Craig’s chair. I’ll make sure he sees it.” He winked and left, shutting the door behind him.
* * *
Iwaved to Melanie but didn’t run into Greg when I walked through the lobby and outside into the late summer air. As I got into Amy’s car, she put her phone down and turned to me expectantly. “Well? What did that Greg guy say?”
“Um, he let me leave a note and he gave me the shovel talk.”
Amy’s eyes lit up. “You got the shovel talk? That’s great!”
I regarded her blankly. “It is? Because Greg’s version felt like it was borderline threatening a police officer.”
“No, dummy!” She took her hand off the gearshift to slap my chest with the back of it. “Greg’s the best friend. The shovel talk means Craig told Greg he likes you. You have a chance!”
I digested this while she steered the car out of the parking lot and onto the street. Greg was a weird guy, but I hoped Amy was right. I’d find out once Craig contacted me.Ifhe contacted me.
Amy asked, “So what romantic thing did you say to Craig in your note?”
“Umm.” My shoulders tightened and a pang of queasiness shot through my belly. “I mean, I apologized and gave him my phone number.”
Craig didn’t need hearts and flowers, did he?
Shit,did he?
Amy sighed and massaged her right temple. We were both silent the rest of the drive.
Chapter9
Craig
“Invite me in.”
I squinted at Greg under the glaring front porch light. “Have you become a vampire since I saw you last? You usually just walk in on your own.”
He pouted. “I didn’t want to get my key out.”
I rolled my eyes and stood back so he could come inside. “By all means.”
“Also,” he told me as he sauntered past, “Most modern books state that vampires don’t actually need an invitation to enter someone’s home. It’s merely a myth.”
I snorted as I shut the door behind him. “You’re using gay romance novels as reference material for the accuracy of vampire myths?”
“Duh.”
