The receptionist—Deja, if he remembered correctly—nodded. “You can access it through our website.”
Another woman in line turned to look over her shoulder and gasped. “That’s him!” she said.
Thad took a step back as the women in the lobby converged on him.
Wait. It wasn’thimthey were after. They all hunched down and crowded around Puddin’.
“Watch it, ladies,” Deja called from behind the desk. “He’s taken.”
“Where’s his girlfriend?” asked a woman trying to wrestle two medium-size dogs on leashes.
“In the back with her mama,” Deja answered. “Let me call her to come get Puddin’.”
Deja summoned Ashanti through the intercom system.A minute later, the door leading to the back of the daycare opened and Ashanti walked in, holding a leash with her French bulldog on the other end of it.
Thad fully acknowledged the heat that spread throughout his chest at the sight of her. She glanced his way, and it was as if she’d looked straight through him.
Damn, this one-sided attraction thing was brutal.
He had to remind himself that it was for the best that Ashanti Wright thought he was an asshole.
“There’s my boy,” Ashanti said. She knelt on one knee and rubbed Puddin’ behind the ear. “Aht, aht,” she said, turning her face away when the dog’s snout got too close. “You know I don’t play that.”
Thank you, sweet baby Jesus. She didn’t kiss dogs on the mouth. His attraction to her grew exponentially.
Puddin’ turned his attention to Duchess. The two performed their usual greeting, sniffing each other’s butts, then Puddin’ leaned forward so Duchess could snuggle against his neck.
“Oh, my word! They are just too precious together,” one of the women said.
“Aren’t they?” Ashanti said. She tugged on Puddin’s leash and glanced at Thad. “I’ll take him. You can leave his food with Deja.” Then she addressed the others in the lobby. “I’m sorry we don’t have room. We are trying to secure a bigger location. I almost had one, but…” She looked directly at Thad this time. “It fell through.”
“Oh no,” the woman with the brown fur ball said. “I hope you can find a new one soon. Betty Boop would love it here.”
Thad shook his head. He was convinced if any of thesedogs could talk, they would curse their owners out over these stupid-ass names.
“You can still watch the Barkingham Palace webcam,” Ashanti said. “We’re going to have two streams open to the public soon, the one we have now and one that showcases our outdoor space.”
With that, Ashanti left the lobby without so much as another glance his way. Thad managed to hide his disappointment.
Betty Boop’s mom walked up to him. “Are you Puddin’s owner?”
“Um, I guess you can say that,” Thad said.
“He is the cutest. You must be so proud.”
Of what? That Puddin’ had only spent ten minutes licking his own balls this morning instead of twenty?
“Uh, sure,” Thad said.
He waited until the women left the daycare before approaching Deja. He nodded toward the door as she set Puddin’s food on the counter.
“What was that all about?” he asked.
“You don’t know about the viral livestream video?” she asked. She picked up a cell phone and, after a few swipes at the screen, turned it to face Thad. He snorted a laugh when the guy on the video lifted the tent and discovered the two dogs together.
“Damn, Puddin’ really is getting more action than I am,” Thad said. He shrugged. “I guess I should try to find those dog biscuits.”
Deja stooped down and came up with a basket of cellophane-wrapped treats.
