No, from the ice cream man. Who did he think?
“Yes, from you,” Ashanti said. “I was contacted by one of the local television stations. They want to do a story about Puddin’ and Duchess going viral on the livestream.”
He paused for a long, uncomfortable moment. “Okay,” he finally said.
A man of so few words.
“They’re meeting me at the daycare at six tomorrow morning. And, well, since itisa story about DuchessandPuddin’ they kinda expect…”
Another pause. “You are not asking me to bring this poodle to the daycare at six in the morning, are you?”
“Five thirty, actually. Just to be on the safe side.”
He groaned. Even that sounded nicer than it should. Low and husky and resonant.
“I know it’s asking a lot,” Ashanti said. “But…” Should she go there? Yes, of course she should go there. “But you bought my building out from under me, so you owe me one.”
She regretted the words the moment she said them. The only person responsible for her not getting her hands on that building was her. Thad had no idea she’d had her heart set on buying it, and even if he did, he was under no obligationto just sit back and let her have that gorgeous house when he wanted it for his business. He didn’t owe her anything.
Yet, instead of calling her on her outrageous take, he said, “Okay.”
“Really?” Ashanti was ready to do a backflip.
“For a price,” he added.
Nix on the backflip. She should have known it wouldn’t be this easy.
She was almost afraid to ask. “What’s the price?”
She could hear him shifting a moment before mumbling, “Move, dog.”
“You know, he may respond to you better if you used his name.”
“I hate his name,” Thad said. “And I do use it sometimes. It doesn’t make a difference. This dog is hardheaded, and he doesn’t listen. Now, about my price,” he continued. “I’m gonna have to put in some long hours at the Bywater house over the next couple of months to get it renovated in time for our grand opening. I want a week of free—what do you call it when you have to keep the dogs after six p.m.?”
“After-care,” she answered.
“That’s it. A week’s worth of free after-care. Take it or leave it.”
She did quick math. “So you’re charging me three hundred dollars to bring Puddin’ to the daycare a couple of hours early tomorrow?”
“Take it or leave it,” Thad said again. She heard the amusement in his response and hated how much shedidn’thate the sound of it. It added another layer to that already decadent voice.
“I’ll take it,” Ashanti said, as if she had a choice. Puddin’ was the other half of the story.
“I’ll make sure his rhinestone collar is nice and shiny,” Thad said. “See you in the morning.”
He disconnected the call before she could, which irritated her even more. The least he could have done was given her the satisfaction of hanging up on him.
She wished she was in the position to throw his offer back in his face, but Thad held all the cards here. She counted herself lucky he hadn’t demanded a month of free after-care. She would have agreed to it.
“He’s so annoying,” she said, setting the phone on the counter. Ashanti caught herself grinning and immediately stopped. There was no space in her life for grinning like a schoolgirl because she had just talked to Mrs. Frances’s exasperating, yet outrageously fine, grandson.
So maybe she should stop grinning and get back to baking.
14
If this interview didn’t end soon Ashanti was going to sweat through her shirt. She’d already dropped Duchess’s leash twice because her hands began shaking uncontrollably the moment the camera started rolling.
