“No, I’m not,” she said. “But don’t knock the discipline. Animal behaviorists play an important role in the relationship between pets and their owners. Maybe you and Puddin’ should visit one.”
Thisexpression was so much better.
“Or… maybe not,” she said, barely able to get the words out.
His brows drew inward as he stared at her with a perplexed frown.
She immediately sobered. “What’s wrong?”
After several moments passed with that frown still marring his brow, he said, “I’m not used to people laughing at me. Other than my best friend, Von, but he doesn’t count.”
It tookhera moment to realize that he was serious. She had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing again.
But then the unbelievable happened. The barely there smile she’d glimpsed earlier flourished into an all-out grin. It was beyond devastating.
“Laughing releases endorphins,” she said. “Maybe you should try to do more of it.”
“Is that why you’re still laughing at me?” he asked. “Endorphin rush?”
“I was trying not to,” Ashanti said.
He leaned over and, in a lowered voice, said, “You failed.” The amusement dancing in his eyes softened the rest of his features.
Goodness.
Her phone dinged with a text, dragging her attention away from his intensely attractive face.
Kara:Why aren’t you live? It doesn’t take that long to clean Yorkie pee.
Ashanti startled. Onstage, Colleen was with Hercules, the English mastiff, who was trying to guess which cup she’d hida rock under. She hadn’t even realized the pageant had started again.
“I need to get back to Instagram,” she said.
She pulled up the app, zeroed in on the stage, and tried her best to push the last five minutes out of her mind.
Thank goodness she had an iron-clad list of reasons why men were off the table, because Mrs. Frances’s grandson had her reconsidering her life choices.
There wasn’t a chance of it happening. Not even a small chance.
After an incident with her last boyfriend nearly jeopardized her guardianship of the girls, Ashanti had decided it wasn’t worth it to get involved with anyone until Kara and Kendra were eighteen and no longer at risk of the courts handing them over to their aunt, her father’s sister, Anita.
Anita was only part of the reason she planned to ignore the butterflies that took flight in her belly when Thad had laid that smile on her. She was just too darn busy to date right now. Raising teenaged twins, running two business, and being a devoted mother to a high-maintenance Frenchie didn’t leave time for much else.
Of course, the most obvious reason she would not allow a nice smile and five minutes of surprisingly enjoyable conversation to affect her was that the man did not like dogs. If ever there was a red flag in her book, that was it.
7
Hey, Boss Lady, you need help?”
Ashanti looked up to find Deja standing just over her shoulder, chomping on an apple.
“What are the chances that you’ve been hovering to the side, waiting until I was almost done cleaning up this mess before you came to offer help?” Ashanti asked.
“Very high,” Deja said. “But at least I offered.” She nodded to the elevated orthopedic bed that was standard in each of Barkingham Palace’s four-by-six-foot pet suites. “Lil Lulu had a rough night, huh? The good news is Dr. Williams said it doesn’t appear to be anything more than anxiety. She won’t need to bring her into the clinic for bloodwork or further testing.”
“I suspected that,” Ashanti said. “Lulu does fine in daycare, but the moment she has to stay overnight we get, well, this.” She gestured to the stained bed. It would likely have to be replaced. Ashanti had been scrubbing for at least fifteen minutes, but Lulu’s little accident wasn’t coming out.
She sat back on her heels and rested her gloved hands on her thighs. “I remember those early days when I naivelythought running a doggy daycare would mean I get to play with dogs all day.”
