Sloane
Iwag my finger at Boozer. “Don’t you dare give me those puppy dog eyes. I have to work. I can’t skip another day or Harper will fire me.”
His big, brown eyes are hard to resist. Unlike a particular man’s deep blue eyes. Those are easy to resist, considering Zane Raider is a player.
I can’t believe he has a baby. Correction – I can believe the player impregnated a woman. What I can’t believe is how a woman left a baby with him. Zane and the word ‘responsible’ do not belong in the same sentence.
And yet somehow my entire body lit up when I saw him holding the baby. No, no, no. I am not interested in Zane. I don’t care how much those bedroom eyes promise. The man’s a player. He can’t commit to anyone or anything.
Boozer whines again and I force thoughts of Zane away. I check the time. I need to be atRumrunnerin ten minutes. It’s a five-minute walk. I have a bit of time.
“Okay. Fine. We’ll play with the ball for a few minutes. But then I really do need to go.”
He barks before running to the corner where all his toys are gathered. He picks up his ratty stuffed animal before running back to me.
“Give it to me.”
Of course, he doesn’t give me the stuffed rabbit. He wants me to ‘steal’ it from him.
“Fine.”
I play tug of war with my dog until he releases the stuffed rabbit with a bark.
“No barking.”
His response? Another bark.
“I’m serious, Boozer. You can’t bark.”
I throw the rabbit and he runs after it – barking the entire time. I sigh. This is why we don’t play inside my apartment.
Someone knocks on my door and I groan. Great. Another neighbor coming to complain about my dog.
When did everyone on this island become such rule followers? When we were teenagers, we never followed the rules. We sent tourists on wild goose chases and teased them about mermaid sightings. And we never came home before it was dark.
I blame Melanie. No one else on this island is a prude. While the rest of us were skinny dipping in the ocean, she was tattling to our parents. Spoiler alert. Our parents didn’t care.
My mom certainly didn’t.
There’s another knock on the door. Good timing. Thoughts of my mother never lead to anywhere happy.
I start for the door but then I remember – Boozer can’t be here!
“Come on, boy.” I grab his collar and drag him toward the bathroom. He must realize how urgent the situation is since he doesn’t fight me.
I shut him inside and hurry toward the front door – and nearly trip on his stuffed rabbit. I snatch it from the floor but what should I do with it? I can hardly open the door with a dog toy in my hands. I stuff it down the sofa cushions.
There’s another knock on the door. Someone’s impatient.
“Coming!”
I make sure I’m wearing my bartender smile – the one that gets me all the tips – before opening the door. My stomach falls to the floor. It’s my landlord, Sheena.
“Good morning.”
She scowls at me.
“Do you want to come inside?” I motion her in.
