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“I can help,” I jump in. “You know, if you need help. I know you’ve got it covered, but we have practice in the morning only, and I’m free after.”

Scarlett’s body tenses up, and her reply is delayed.

Shit.

This is why I never offer or spend too much time with her. She’s always so uncomfortable around me, even after five years. I know we could never date because of the whole best friend sister thing, but I thought we could at least be friends.

“Um.” Scarlett clears her throat.

“Never mind.” I take my words back, not ready to be rejected by her. “I forgot I have something tomorrow.”

“Oh” is all she says in return, making me regret taking those words back.

Would she have said yes?

Should I have waited longer?

“I’ll leave you boys to it. Sebastian, I’ll talk to you soon,” she says as she clicks her heels toward the door.

“You’re welcome to join us for dinner,” Sebastian says, mirroring my own thoughts and doing the legwork, not afraid of the rejection as I am.

“Oh, thank you. I’m not hungry, but thank you,” she repeats before her exit.

“Ready?” Sebastian asks a moment later with his keys in hand.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

I may be ready for a lot of things, but she’s not. That’s okay. I can wait.

Chapter Seven

Scarlett

“Sit. Sit. Siiiitttt,” I draw out the word for the third time to see if this crazy dog will adhere to my command. Nope. Nothing. He won’t listen to me at all, which is why I know this dog is definitely male.

He’s not my dog, and I know nothing about them, clearly, but I am doing a favor for a woman in a tight spot. Our women’s shelter, which is one part of the foundation, allows women and children, but no dogs. It’s been somewhat easy to find temporary places for animals to stay in the past, but not in this case. That should have been my first clue that this dog is insane, or just high-energy.

“Okay, maybe we should go for a walk. Yeah?” I say more to myself than anything. I don’t really mean those words. It’s barely six in the morning. However, at the sound of a walk, the dog, Panda, runs to me and starts panting uncontrollably in front of me.

“Walk,” I repeat, and Panda jumps up and places his paws on my upper thighs. Panda is a giant dog: part Husky and part Great Dane.

“Okay. Walk it is.” I grab his leash by the door, my purse, and my phone before turning off the lights in my studio apartment and making my way down to my compact sedan.

Ten minutes later, I open the back door of my car and snap the leash onto Panda before he charges out into the parking lot. I inhale a deep breath to enjoy the smell of the salt air before this dog is on the move.

And yes, he’s walking me. He pulls me closer to the sidewalk path that overlooks the sandy beach.

I figured if I was up for the day and forced into exercise, I’d at least visit one of my favorite places in the city: Castle Island.

Castle Island is a peninsula in South Boston that has everything. Beach, walking trails, a playground, picnic areas, and a giant fort perched on top of a hill.

Panda pulls me, faster and faster, away from the parking lot and the beaches, until we hit the paths heading around the peninsula. There are ocean views from every angle, reminding me why this is one of my favorite places.

An airplane flies overhead, which is a common occurrence here, being near the airport. It serves as a glorious reminder of one of the best things I ever did: getting on a plane for a fresh start in Boston.

I’m in my own world, getting dragged by Panda until—bang. I collide right into a sweaty runner.

Crap.