Page 22 of Hopeless Romantic
“Thanks for lending me your car,” Beckett said, uncomfortable with the sudden onslaught of emotions. “I can drop you off on my way.”
“Perfect. You can tell me about Gregory’s new companion. I heard he’s a military war hero.”
Beckett snorted at the idea of just who had spread that incorrect tidbit. She liked the way Levi’s dimples peeked out, even when he was trying to be a hard-ass. Liked even more how soft his touch had been when he followed her into the rain to make sure she was all right. In fact, she liked him a little too much for her own good.
“What else did you hear?” she wanted to know.
“Only that he’s former military.” Annie waggled her brows. “And I know how you have a thing for guys in uniform.”
“Had.” Beckett grimaced at the reminder of her ex. One of Rome’s finest, whose protect-and-serve mentality didn’t extend to Beckett’s heart. “You know when the uniform comes off, they’re just regular guys. With the same commitment, house training, and wandering-dick syndrome as every other man out there.”
“There are a lot of great men out there. You just need to know what to look for. And yes, some just need a little more patience than others, but look at Emmitt. All he needed was love, understanding, and someone who called him on his shit.” Annie sighed as if she’d just told Marc Antony and Cleopatra’s story. “Now, I’m the luckiest girl alive.”
“Emmitt’s transformation was all you. Ask anyone. You found the lone unicorn in a herd of jackasses.”
“All I can say is birds of a feather.”
Beckett laughed, loud and hard. “I don’t know what kind of flock you’re envisioning, but unless it’s peacocks, I don’t see Levi fitting. He’s boastful, feral, vain, and acts like Rome royalty.”
“HeisRome royalty. His family owns most of the wharf and harbor district. And he’s not bad on the eyes.”
“They call them an ostentation of peacocks for a reason. And he still doesn’t have a domesticated bone in his body.”
Annie waved a dismissive hand. “Agree to disagree. I’m more interested in Gregory’s new man. Is he single, hot? Skip to the ‘without uniform’ part. That sounds interesting.” Annie’s expression said she was expecting pictures and diagrams.
“Sheis an eight-year-old girl who suffers from a horrific stutter and acute anxiety,” Beckett corrected. “The stuttering started after her grandmother had a heart attack while babysitting her. It worsened when she was asked to read aloud to her classmates. Now, it’s reached the point that she doesn’t talk at school anymore.”
Annie’s hand covered her heart. “Poor thing. I can’t even imagine what her parents are going through.”
“No matter how hard they try, nothing has worked. Her psychologist hopes that maybe practicing on an audience who won’t judge her will help.” Beckett’s hope was that Gregory would work his magic and love all the fear and shyness right out of Katie.
Animals possessed a unique ability when it came to healing the human spirit. Beckett had seen, firsthand, the impact animal therapy had on her patients, sometimes helping patients when medication and traditional treatments alone had failed.
Many times, Beckett had taken shelter in the love of an animal when life’s storms knocked her over. She was a late bloomer in the art of winning friends and influencing people; as a child, she’d been painfully shy, making it doubly hard to form meaningful connections. In elementary school, her loneliness became so painful, it began to cause more harm than her anxiety. She was desperate to belong but lacked the skills and confidence necessary to approach people and make friends.
When she was around the age of ten, her luck changed when a five-foot-long garden snake slithered into her classroom. The girls looked on in horror, and the boys in cautious interest, as Beckett caught the snake in her backpack. Her teacher said that as long as she kept the backpack outside and promised to release the snake far from school, she could keep it. School ended, and Beckett started for home with the snake around her neck like a scarf. She hadn’t even made it to the curb before she was surrounded by her classmates. Even the scared ones wanted to pet Chewbacca—named after the best sidekick in history—or ask questions.
Instead of walking home alone as usual, Beckett laughed and joked with a group of kids from her neighborhood and had more playdate offers than days in the week. Beckett never outgrew being a quiet homebody who would rather spend time with her pets than other people, but Chewbacca gave her the foundation she needed to form friendships.
“Bring on Gregory,” Annie guessed.
“Yup. He’s the perfect companion for Katie. Patient, sweet, adores cuddles. And most importantly, he loves being talked to.”
“Sounds like the perfect match.”
“I hope so.” Beckett took a box of baby corn on the cob from the to-go bag and placed it in Gregory’s bag. It was her gift to Gregory and Katie. A little treat to help speed up the bonding process. “That’s why I need to spend as much time as I can with them tonight. Katie has gone through so much. She needs this sleepover to go smoothly.” So did Beckett. “Then Fur-Ever Friends can sign off and make it a permanent placement.”
“What project will you take on next?” Annie asked.
She stared at Gregory, cuddled on top of her foot, and her chest ached. Bringing lost animals into her home, training them, loving them, breaking down all their walls, only to send them off to live with another family, was becoming too hard. She invested all her heart into each foster she took on. The more deeply she bonded with the animal, the better companion they’d become, and the harder it was for her heart to heal. Lately, she’d begun to fear that too many pieces of her heart were floating around for it to function properly.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I can handle a ‘next.’ I’ve considered just focusing on my business after Gregory goes to Katie.” Being a personal concierge came with its own set of issues and headaches, but it left her heart in the clear.
“You know I’m here for you, right?” That was Annie, offering a compassionate ear and a helping hand to fix Beckett’s problems.
“After watching you balance a new position at work, a new fiancé at home, and a soon-to-be new stepdaughter”—who was sixteen, testing every limit, and dealing with the recent death of her mother—“I think I can handle a single chicken alone.” She glanced at the pink box. “Is that why you brought me sugar? You didn’t need to. Because you know I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. And who says sugar-parties only happen for bad reasons?” Annie slid the pastry box across the table, positioning it directly in front of Beckett. “Maybe I’m here to celebrate.”
