“Shit,” he said, starting into the second half. “What did you do?”
“I left. That’s when Alfie texted his apology. Had his best friend pick up the dog while he brought me a coffee.”
“He went to your house?”
I bit my lip and nodded, my cheeks heating.
“What’s this look?” he asked, gesturing at me with the shake.
“He sincerely apologized. Again. Like,reallysincerely.”
“And…?”
“And, uh, we hooked up.”
Jackson’s eyes widened. “Youwhat?”
I groaned. “You’re going to tell the other therapists about this, aren’t you?”
“Oh, one hundred percent,” he snarked, leaning in. “Which is why I hafta ask—how was it?”
“Best sex I’ve ever had.” I fake-sobbed. “We both wanted it so much, you know?”
With a small chuckle, he shook his head. “Man, are you in trouble.”
“Oh God, why?” I asked, panicking.
“I hate to tell you…” he said, not looking sorry in the least.
“What?”
“You’ve got it bad.”
I chucked my pickle spear at his head. “Shut up.”
He caught it easily and took a big bite out of it.
See?Asshole.
“So, talk to me about why you resent this dog. I mean, obviously, she’s not well trained.”
I scrunched my nose. “I don’t think it was a training issue. I mean, Alfie felt really awful about the whole thing and said she was trying to play with me. My biggest worry is that the dog is a big part of his life. I mean, he uses her in his therapy sessions.”
“Wait.” Jackson put down his sandwich. “Alfie, as in Dr. Alfie Fellows?”
“Uh, yeah. I mean, I didn’t know about the Ph.D., but that’s him.” A thought occurred to me, and I dropped my chin to my chest. “Please don’t say anything to him.”
When Jackson didn’t answer, I looked up and found him staring at me with his arms crossed. “Do you really think I would say something to him without your permission?”
“No?”
“I promise, I would never actually do that,” he said, uncharacteristically serious.
“Thank you.”
He plucked a chip from the bag and crunched on it, looking thoughtful. “Alfie’s got an excellent family practice and is particularly good with children. He wouldn’t use an unstable dog. This is very strange.”
“I think she was more excited than unstable,” I admitted. “I just wasn’t prepared forhowexcited she got.”
