I shrug, playing with the rim of my cup. “I guess I didn’t realize how much I was ... I don’t know, shrinking myself to fit what Garrett wanted.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. “Sorry. You don’t want to hear about my ex-boyfriend drama at a Christmas party.”
“Hey.” Dylan’s voice is soft. “I want to hear whatever you want to tell me.”
“Well, in that case,” I breathe out. “What I really want to talk about is what I’m getting Jhett for Christmas. I found this ridiculous dog advent calendar filled with treats, and a sweater that matches mine.” I tap the reindeer nose on my chest. “Only his actually lights up when he barks.”
Dylan laughs. “Of course it does. I swear your dog lives better than most people I know.”
“He deserves it,” I defend, but I’m smiling too. “He’s had a rough year. His person kept coming home and crying all over him.”
“Poor Jhett. All that emotional labor and he doesn’t even have opposable thumbs to pour himself a drink.”
I snort, nearly choking on my eggnog. “Don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s getting a memory foam bed for Christmas.”
“Memory foam?” Dylan’s eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?Idon’t even have a memory foam mattress.”
“That’s because you haven’t been a good boy this year,” I say without thinking, then feel heat rush to my face. But Dylan just laughs again.
“Fair point. So, Jhett gets an advent calendar, a light-up sweater,anda memory foam bed? At this rate, you’ll have to get a second job to fund his lifestyle.”
“I know, I know.” I shake my head. “I’mthatdog mom. The one who buys nicer things for her pet than for herself.”
“Please tell me you’re at least getting yourself something nice for Christmas.”
I think about my own list—practical items like new boots for winter and a replacement for our ancient coffee maker. Nothing frivolous or special.
“Define ‘nice,’” I hedge.
“Chey.” His tone is gently scolding. “What happened to the girl who used to make elaborate Christmas lists with color-coding and priority rankings?”
“She grew up and started paying her own bills.” I laugh. “Besides, Jhett appreciates his presents more than I would. You should see him with a new toy—it’s like watching a toddler on Christmas morning.”
“Now that I’d pay to see.” Dylan’s smile softens. “You really love that dog.”
“He’s the most consistent relationship in my life,” I admit. “Always happy to see me, never criticizes my outfit choices, and is perfectly content to spend Friday nights watching cheesy movies.”
“The perfect man, except for the whole drinking-from-the-toilet thing.”
I laugh, feeling lighter than I have in weeks. “There is that. But I’ve trained him to at least not try to kiss me afterward.”
“More than I can say for some guys I know,” Dylan quips.
“You know what’s funny?” I swirl the last of my eggnog. “At work, I always find myself watching how people interact withproducts meant for their pets. People will literally agonize over safety ratings for pet toys and pet food ingredient lists, but go on to grab whatever human food is on sale, including me, if I’m honest.”
Dylan’s expression shifts to genuine interest. “That’s actually really interesting. Is that a topic you’ve explored in your market research?”
“Not officially,” I admit. “Just something I’ve noticed. But I’ve thought about trying to convince my boss to let me do a study on how people’s purchasing behaviors change when they’re buying for their pets versus for themselves. There’s something so revealing about what we prioritize.”
“You should do it,” Dylan says immediately.
“What?”
“The study.” His enthusiasm catches me off guard. “You’ve been wanting to do more creative research projects, and this sounds perfect. It’s something you care about, and I bet companies would pay good money for that data.”
I blink at him, surprised not just by his encouragement but by the fact that he remembers my career ambitions. I don’t recall ever discussing them with him in any depth.
“How did you know I want to do more creative research?”
He shrugs, looking almost embarrassed. “You mentioned it at Thanksgiving last year. You were talking about how your company mostly has you working on boring consumer product stuff when you really want to design your own studies.”
