We officially untangled ourselves from the production and walked out to the parking lot.
Drew pointed at a black sports car in the front row – of course – that was so shiny that it looked fake. “Want to carpool?”
“No thank you, I prefer to live,” I insisted even though I was sort of curious about how fast the thing could go.
I texted him the address and headed for the rear corner of the parking lot, which was far enough away that no one would see my dusty old Honda. No surprise, Drew was waiting on the bench outside the clinic when I arrived.
“I was concerned that maybe you’d broken down. Your car has clearly seen better days.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I sniped as I walked past him.
“But babe,” he called from behind me. “You’re my fiancée. All I do is worry about you.”
I whirled to face him, trying to hide the shocking tickle of warmth beneath my frustration. “Think about this bill, okay? That’s all that matters right now. Besides, we don’t need to ham it up here.”
He fell in step beside me. “I was just practicing. We need to make this look believable.”
“Don’t worry, when the time comes I’m going to be so flirty that you’ll start to believe it yourself. I’m in the wedding industry, and I’m an excellent actress. But for now? Back off, bossman.”
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath.
I was expecting a quick transaction at the desk and maybe a second of observation of Winston through a window, but the receptionist led us back to an exam room.
“They’re not quite ready for him yet so why don’t you folks have a little visit and pep talk with your baby? A tech will be right in with Mr. Winston.”
“Baby?” Drew repeated, sounding skeptical and a little judgy as he sat down in the plastic chair.
“Yeah, some people actually value animal companionship,” I shot back at him.
He started to answer but the door opened and a vet tech in blue scrubs walked in carrying Winston.
“Here’s the man of the hour!” She placed him on the ground and he immediately made a beeline for me. “Take a few minutes to love him up then we’ll get him back to prep.”
“Thank you!” I dropped down the floor. “Hey, buddy! How are you feeling?”
“Hold up,” Drew said. “Winston is aturtle?”
I looked over my shoulder at him. “No. He’s a desert tortoise. Totally different.”
“Yeah, but from the way you talked about him, I thought he was a real pet. Like a dog.”
“Good thing he’s not a dog, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You hate dogs.”
He made a frustrated noise. “No, I absolutely do not. I hate those terrorizing sausage dogs, because they’re a menace.”
“This again?” I sighed.
“I happen to love dogs,” he huffed. “If I had the time I’d adopt one just like my brother’s. Look.”
I watched him swipe at his phone screen. He held it out to me to show a photo of him with his arm draped around an adorably freakish looking dog.
“Cute,” I said. “Cutedog, I mean.”
“He’s absolutely not cute. He’s a mess—on the outside, at least. Inside, he’s one hundred percent sweet goofball. The whole family adores him.”
“Well, if you’re good with not traditionally cute creatures, get down here and meet Win. He’s incredible.”
Drew moved round so that Winston was in front of him. “He’s… something, that’s for sure.”
