Ashanti yelped, clamping her hand to her chest and spinning around to find Thad just a few inches away.
“Whoa, whoa,” he said, steadying her with his hands on her shoulders. “No more coffee for you.” He frowned, his eyes narrowing as they zeroed in on her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Ashanti said. She shook her head and blew out a calming breath. “It’s fine. I thought there was a mini disaster happening with one of the twins, but all seems to be okay.”
He nodded. “Good. Well, our car is here,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to check your email—”
“Ridley told me about the photo shoot,” she said. She glanced up at him. “Are you on board with this?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Of course. All choices come with consequences, though.”
“Yeah, I’m not about to face the wrath of Ridley or Dominique.”
“Forget about them. Can you imagine what Mrs. Frances would say if she found out Puddin’ had the chance to be Dog of the Month in some big, fancy calendar and you turned it down?”
Thad closed his eyes and shook his shoulders in a pretend shiver. Ashanti laughed.
“Let’s go,” he said. “I’ve already talked to the driver. He’s going to bring us straight to where the photo shoot is taking place. Oh, and here’s a bonus. It’s only two blocks from the Empire State Building. We won’t be able to go up there with the dogs, but at least you’ll get to see it up close. Maybe we can snap a few pictures of them walking around Manhattan for Barkingham Palace’s social media.”
“Watch out there,” she said with a grin. “You’re starting to sound like a dog person.”
27
Thad wedged his finger between the bow tie and his neck while he silently cursed whoever had come up with the idea that dogs deserved to be on calendars.
Why had he agreed to do this photo shoot?
He felt like every kind of fool known to man, standing under these hot-as-hell lights dressed in a top hat and bow tie. His only consolation was that Puddin’ was stuck wearing the same, and he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself either.
Ashanti, on the other hand, was living this up, snapping pictures with her phone and shouting out words of encouragement to Puddin’. Seeing the smile on her face as he and the dog were instructed to strike pose after ridiculous pose was the only reason Thad hadn’t thrown this stupid hat and tie in the trash and hauled ass out of here.
And his grandmother, of course. He couldn’t help but think about how much Grams would love these pictures when they were done. She would probably buy a calendar for every resident of the assisted living facility.
“Smile, Thad,” Ashanti called out to him. “Not everyonegets to be the very first month in the calendar. You should feel like a rock star.”
“Every rock star I’ve ever seen has had sweat dripping down their faces like a waterfall, so in a way, you’re right.”
“Just a few more shots,” the photographer said. “I want you to hold up Puddin’s paw so that it looks as if you two are high-fiving.”
Thad barely managed to hold in his groan.
Of course, Puddin’ didn’t cooperate. It took another ten minutes before the photographer was able to get the shot she wanted.
“We’re done with January,” the woman called. “Now it’s time formybirthday month: May! Ashanti, your costumes are behind the curtain. You and Duchess can get ready while I replace the backdrop and props.”
Ten minutes later, Thad’s attitude about today’s photo shoot had taken a complete one-eighty.
He stood to the side, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Ashanti pose in an airy, soft peach dress with a crown of colorful flowers propped on her head. Duchess looked as if she had been made for the camera in her matching peach tutu. Even a non–dog lover like him couldn’t deny that she was cute with her flower crown askew on her head and her stubby tail wagging like a flag in a windstorm.
“I have to stop snapping, but I can’t,” the photographer said. “These are just too adorable.”
“Well, if you don’t stop soon both me and Duchess will probably have an accident,” Ashanti said.
“Okay, okay.” The photographer lowered her camera. “Both dogs probably need a potty break, but I would like toget a few shots with both of them together before we wrap up.”
Thad took Duchess and Puddin’ out to the tiny six-by-eight patio that was conveniently equipped with a couple of squares of landscaping sod for the dogs to use to relieve themselves. He returned to find the photographer up on a ladder, unclipping the spring meadow backdrop from the rod that held it up. Ashanti was scrolling through her phone, a smile brightening her face.
