My phone buzzes.
Philip:did the dog fix you
Me:no but she helped
Philip:you're still gonna ask him out right
Me:absolutely not
Philip:coward
He's right, but I'm not telling him that.
CHAPTER 10
ACE
"WHAT DO YOU mean, gone?" My voice comes out three octaves higher than normal, and I sound like I'm auditioning for a boy band while about to go into a full-on cardiac arrest. "Gone where? When? How?"
Mama Paws blinks at me from behind the front desk. "She's on a walk, dear."
"A walk." I press my palm against the desk, trying to remember how breathing works. "She's on a walk. Not dead. Not kidnapped by a dog-fighting ring. On a walk."
She smiles. "Yes. She's very popular today."
My heart rate starts returning to something resembling normal. Candy's fine. Everything's fine. I didn't just have a complete meltdown over a dog I've known for a week.
"Sorry, I just—when you said gone, I thought—"
The front door opens, and… Alright So I'm going to have that heart attack after all.
Devon walks in with Candy on a leash, snowflakes melting in his hair, cheeks flushed from the cold, and he's laughing at something, talking to Candy like she's his best friend.
So much for trying to avoid him.
Devon spots me and his face lights up. "Well, well. What do we have here?"
"I came to see Candy." The words tumble out too fast. "The dog. I came to see the dog."
"I figured." He's grinning now, and I'm trying not to notice how nice his teeth are. "Well, she's all yours. We just had the best walk." He crouches down, unclipping her leash, scratching behind her ears. "Didn't we, gorgeous?"
Candy's tail is wagging so hard her entire body's moving.
I know how she feels. If I had a tail right now, it'd be doing the same thing.
Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?
"So, umm. Should we take her back?" I manage.
"Yeah, probably. Come on, girl."
We walk down to Candy's kennel, and the hallway has definitely shrunk since the last time I was here. There's no other explanation for why Devon keeps bumping into me. His shoulder hits mine. His arm brushes my arm. At one point he stumbles slightly and his hand lands on my lower back to steady himself, and I nearly walk into a wall.
"Sorry," he says, but he doesn't sound sorry. He sounds amused.
"It's fine."
"You okay? You seem tense."
