I looked up. “I’m looking at you, Bear.”
“Stop worrying. We’ll talk every day, and we’ll see how it goes, all right?” His gaze locked with mine.
I nodded. “Yeah. I guess it’s time for a new plan, since the original plan really went to shit.”
He laughed, and Meatball made a weird howling sound as if he were trying to mimic Cutler. “The plan is that we don’t have a plan. We just roll with it, Jeege. It’ll be okay.”
“Okay. Sometimes no plan is a plan.” I shrugged.
He kissed the top of my head. “So do we know what Meatball needs to have at the house?”
“Does this mean you’re taking him home?”
“I mean, he’s a slobbery fucker, and there’s a very foul smell coming from him, so I’m guessing he’s also gassy.”
“Like father, like son,” I said, and he cackled before pushing to his feet.
He offered me a hand and pulled me up. “I’m doing this for you.”
Jeanette came around the corner. “What do we think?”
“We think whoever left him behind was an asshole,” Cutler said. “We’ll take him.”
“Meatball is a lucky boy, I can tell.” She walked us to the front and set us up with all sorts of stuff: a crate, dog treats, a week’s worth of dog food, and a booklet about being a new pet owner.
We piled into Cutler’s truck, and Meatball sat between us, as if he’d done it a hundred times before. Cutler turned on the radio, and we sang along with Benson Boone all the way home.
And I’d never been happier than right here in this moment. Completely content.
When we got home, we set up the crate and took Meatball out in his new yard.
“Do you think I can take him out on the boat?” Cutler asked.
“I don’t know, do all dogs know how to swim?”
“These are probably things we should have found out before adopting a dog.” He looked at me as my phone vibrated in my back pocket again.
I pulled it out and glanced down to see four missed calls from Johnny. “Johnny’s called a bunch of times. Let me try him back real quick.”
He nodded as he sat in an Adirondack chair, watching Meatball wander around the yard. I stepped inside and dialed Johnny’s number.
“Finally,” he said, his voice sounding even more enthusiastic than usual. “I’ve called you multiple times.”
“I’m so sorry. Cutler just got a dog, so we were distracted.”
“Damn. A sexy man with a dog is even more attractive,” he said, his voice laced with humor. “I digress. I have news.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Well, you know our firm is very well known, and has been written up in many design magazines over the years.”
“Yes. It’s the best. That’s why I want to work there,” I said, chuckling.
“Let’s just say our website gets a lot of exposure.” He paused, and I could tell he was drinking something. “I just received a call fromDesign & Décormagazine. You know, only the top design magazine out there.”
“Yes. I’m a subscriber. It’s my favorite.”
“Well, buckle up, darling. They want to feature you because they fell in love with the photos of the Chadwick home. They’ll fly out to New York and interview you, and if the Chadwicks are okay with it, they’d like to schedule a shoot at their home.”
