Page 12 of Hate You Later
“Georgia, honey, how are you at making flyers?” Angie asks. “We gotta get the word out and put together a planning committee ASAP if we’re going to target the week before Halloween.”
“But we don’t even have a venue!” I protest. “Where are we going to hold a party that size with people and their pets?”
Angie waves a hand, shuffling off this concern as if it’s nothing. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Something will turn up!”
“So, it’s settled, then.” Xander winks at me. “We’re throwing a Pet Masquerade!” He looks genuinely excited.
“Let’s do the planning meeting on Friday. We can meet at the diner,” Kenna suggests.
“Sure.” I take a deep breath and exhale, smiling politely until Angie leaves the shop and we can talk more reasonably.
“It’s not charity,” Kenna blurts out the minute Angie is out the door. “We all want to do this AND it could really help.”
“C’mon. This could really be good for my grooming biz too. Don’t be a spoilsport, G,” Xander cajoles.
I can’t help but think that this might keep them busy and out of my hair while I figure out a real solution. I throw my hands up in mock surrender.
“Fine. I’m not entirely convinced that this will be the answer to our prayers, and I’m not sure how you think we are going to pull this off without a venue, but I won’t stand in your way.”
Kenna and Xander exchange a look and a fist bump.
“You two are the worst,” I say.
“And by the worst, I know you actually mean the best.” Kenna grins.
Abruptly, and probably wisely while they have me where they want me, Xander changes the subject.
“Hey! Did you two catchLit Loversyet? The ‘Enemies to Lovers’ episode is out.”
Xander is the one who got us all hooked on the local podcast that is about all things romance related. He started listening to the show in the van while he was working, and now he’s fairly obsessed.
“I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet,” I say. “I never know where they’re going to go with stuff. It gets pretty colorful at times. I can’t safely listen when there are customers in the shop.”
“You know,” Kenna says, “that episode a made me think about you, Georgia. They were talking aboutcatpeople anddogpeople.” Kenna snickers, and I’ve got a bad feeling about where she’s going with this.
“Wait, what? What’s up?” Xander asks, looking from me to Kenna. “Spill.”
“She hasn’t told you?” Kenna asks Xander. I set down the coffee cup and shoot Kenna a warning look. It doesn’t faze her in the least.
“As you know, my big sister tends to tell me nothing.”
“I tell you what you need to know,” I defend myself. “And this isn’t something you need to know about.”
“Oh, I definitely need to know now,” Xander says, leaning in and urging Kenna to continue.
“So, you know the Petfluencer Challenge Georgia signed up for with her dog?”
“You signed up for a Petfluencer Challenge? With Cookie? And you didn’t tell me?” Xander looks incredulous. “Is there a prize or something? Can I give you a shout out?”
“No, Xan. There’s no prize, and I don’t need your help. See! This is exactly why I didn’t want you to know. I’m just doing it to learn the ropes. I thought it would be good for the shop and my clothing line.”
“She’s burying the lede.” Kenna laughs. “She has apen pal. Georgia’s got a whole pervy, private chat going on between her dog and some cat in the group. It’s just like something off theLitLovers’podcast.”
“Ooh, now that does sound spicy! Totally enemies to lovers!” Xander teases, reaching for my phone. I pivot, holding it out of his reach.
“Lies!” I protest, feeling myself blush. “Please, Xander … I don’t have any enemies OR lovers. Who has the time for relationships?”
“He does, apparently.” Kenna jerks a thumb at Xander, who smiles and nods like the cat who swallowed the canary. If he wasn’t my brother, I would probably want to strangle him. He makes falling in love look so easy.
