She falls over laughing while Sweet Pea dances between her and Goldie, whole little long brown body wagging, petite tail wagging harder, tongue working overtime to lick both of them as much as she can.
“Aww, who’s such a sweet puppy?” Goldie croons while she sets her coat aside and lets Sweet Pea crawl into her lap. “Sweet Pea is such a sweet puppy. Yes, she is.”
“Puppy wick me too!” Hallie cries.
A familiar dark-haired woman peeks in on us from the end of the row, eyebrows raised.
The wedding.
She was at the wedding.
With the former boy band-turned-solo artist guy.
She owns the store.
And my dog is running rampant and attacking customers.
Shit.
I snag Sweet Pea and tuck her back into her sling while I try to remember her name. E-something. Eloise? Emma?
The dots didn’t connect at the wedding when she said she owned a bookstore that she ownedmybookstore.
My neighborhood bookstore.
Once Sweet Pea is tucked back in against my chest, I rise, my knees creaking and my thighs groaning. Training was brutal today.
Doesn’t matter how much you prep for it, the first few days are brutal.
Team’s doing that right at least.
“She doesn’t pee inside,” I say to the woman.
Goldie rises too, her grin getting bigger. “He’d clean it up if she did,” she tells the woman.
“This store has seen way worse than small dogs,” the woman replies. “Generally courtesy of my own children.”
Goldie laughs. “The squirrel. I remember your pet squirrel. Ingrid, did you meet Fletcher at the wedding last week?”
Ingrid. I-something. Not E-something.
Light dawns in Ingrid’s eyes. “Fletcher. Yes. Idoremember you. Pounders, right?”
“My daddy pways at da Pounders!” Hallie says.
“Yep. Your daddy and Fletcher here work together,” Goldie tells her.
I nod toward the sports section. “You should expand.”
Nothi.
Notnice to see you again.
Justme man, me want sport book.
I’ve managed to network my way into becoming acquaintances with half the professional athletes in the city, and here I’m a complete and total wanker.
“Fletcher’s trying to get more attention on rugby,” Goldie interprets for me.
