Page 24 of Single Girl in the City
“Anyway, I posted that I was walking dogs on Thursdays and the response was so great I added another day.”
“On top of working at the tea shop and the senior center? That must make for some long days.”
She shrugged as if to say,So what?“Not any longer than yours.” Then Littleshit pulled a total Littleshit move and dropped another nugget.
“Are you kidding me?” she scolded, then looked up at Owen. “What am I doing wrong?”
She sounded so genuinely upset by Fancy’s outburst, he brushed his knuckles over hers, careful of her injured arm, in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture between friends. But the second he made contact, friendly was the last thing he felt.
She jerked her hand away as if jolted by 300 million volts of electricity.
“If it makes you feel better, he doesn’t listen to anyone. Not even his parents,” he assured her.
“Now you tell me.” She looked at Fancy’s gift and pushed out a breath. “Do you know how much shit I’ve had to deal with in the past twenty-four hours?” she asked, but she didn’t seem to expect an answer since she went on. “Sister shit, kid shit, dog shit, all kinds and flavors of bullshit.”
She sounded exhausted.
“That’s a big list.”
“And it’s growing by the second.” She pulled a doodie bag out of her pack and, plugging her nose, bent down and nearly toppled over from the strength of the dogs.
“Maybe I can lighten your load a little.”
Her smile was chock full of mischief. “Only if I can return the favor.”
Without asking, he unhooked her belt and tied it around himself, which was difficult since it was made for a regular-sized person and he was built like Paul Bunyan, but he worked it out.
“Okay, going in.” She plugged her nose, gagged a little, then, with the tips of her fingers, tossed the bag into the trash. She shuffled through her pack as if her life depended on it, located and pulled out sanitizing gel, and doused her hands.
“I take it you’re not a dog person.”
“What makes you say that? Just because I’ve never had a dog doesn’t make me anti-dog. I’m as pro-dog as someone who has never owned one can get.” Her face lit in a light-bulb moment. “You should get a dog!”
“Absolutely, positively not happening. I barely have time to run a bar, let alone take care of a dog.” Or help pretty women walk through town for no other reason than the fact that he couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
“That is the exact reason you need one.” She put a little skip in her step. “Yup, you need a dog.” She waved a hand toward the dogs heeling by his side. “What’s your secret?”
“It’s called taking the lead. Letting them know who’s the boss.”
She snorted. “Says the guy who is hiring inept.”
“More choosy than inept. And back to the dog, it isn’t practical.”
“Studies show that people with pets have a lower stress level and are happier.”
He looked over at her and what he saw looking back had him pausing. She wasn’t teasing or giving him a hard time, she was serious. “You don’t think I’m happy?”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
He had to think about it. Besides poker night with his brothers, when was the last time he’d really had fun? Or been on an actual date? Hell, his own mother thought his game was lacking enough that she’d taken to setting him up.
He looked down at the stunning siren next to him and realized that this was the closest thing he’d had to a date in months. “Anyone I know on your list?”
She looked away. “I thought my privacy is my privacy?”
He tilted her chin so she was looking at him. “I’m not prying, Angel. I’m simply curious. Plus, I already know what’s on it.”
“You do? … Wait up.” She sped up since he’d started walking again. “You aren’t going to pressure me?”
