Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
He huffs and slowly hefts himself up. I pee quickly while he makes his way to the door that leads out to the backyard. My coat is hanging over the back of a kitchen chair, where I left it when I got here yesterday, so I slide it on and walk outside with him.
It’s freezing. My breath clouds in front of my mouth as Darling meanders around the yard.
He’s walking fine and acting like himself, but I’m still worried about him. He lost a lot of fluids overnight. After a couple of minutes, he walks back up the deck ramp that leads him to me. He snuffles at the bottom of my black wool peacoat while I scratch his ears and enjoy a few more breaths of fresh air.
“You be good today,” I tell him.
Leo comes out the door to the yard, brows lowered. He’s holding Noodle out in front of him with both hands like the puppy is a bomb.
“You okay?” I ask.
He glowers at me. “This dipshit slipped in his own shit. I swear to God I’ll pay whatever I have to for someone else to do this next time.”
I don’t let my amusement show, but I’m not not enjoying this. Leo’s always cool and collected. It takes a lot to get him going, but this situation is sapping his sanity.
Which I get. It’s a lot. I want nothing more than to take a shower, crawl into my own bed and sleep all day.
“Darling didn’t potty, but he’s acting fine.”
Leo sets Noodle down on the frost-covered grass and turns to face me. “Good. I’ll ask Caroline to come by and take a look at him.”
“I have to go get ready for work.” I close the sides of my coat to ward off the cold, tucking my hands beneath my arms. “I’ll be back after work, though.”
Leo’s only wearing dark-gray sweats, a T-shirt, a flannel, and tennis shoes, but he doesn’t seem as cold as I am.
“You sure? You already helped a lot.”
I nod, my nose turning into an ice cube. “It’s not benevolence. I don’t trust you alone with Darling.”
“Right. Because I should’ve known the plant that’s been sitting in the living room forever was toxic to pigs.”
It’s a fair point, but rather than concede it, I move on. “No one’s coming over later or anything, right?”
He furrows his brow, puzzled. “Caroline will be. Why?”
“I meant like a hookup. I don’t want to deal with any of that.”
He bursts out laughing. “You think I’d invite a woman over here? Try to seduce her with the smell of shit?”
I shrug. “I don’t know anything about your game, and I don’t want to. If you’ll be on your own, I’ll help.”
“Saint Mara to the rescue.”
“Don’t be such an asshole.”
“Said the asshole.”
Rolling my eyes, I open the door and let Darling inside. “My phone number is on Suki’s emergency contact list. Call me if anything changes with Darling.”
He flashes a smile. “If you wanted me to call you, you should’ve just said so.”
I gape at him, then school my features into a neutral expression. “Not falling for it.”
“Falling for what? We just spent the night together.”
“Good one.” I don’t look at him as I walk into the house. “I’ll see you later. See if Darling and Birdie can teach you how to spell pig.”
“GFY, Mara. Go bust people over parking tickets.”
I’m almost all the way in the house when I turn to glare at him. “Don’t make fun of my job. You get paid to ice-skate.”
“Good boy, Noodle!” He picks up the puppy and carries him into the house.
Once he closes the door, the smell of freshly brewed coffee makes me forget my anger. My nose latches onto the heavenly scent, drawing me into the kitchen like a cartoon character with heart eyes.
“You made coffee.” I give Leo an imploring look.
“Yep.”
“Any chance I could take a cup?”
“If it’ll put you in a better mood, take the whole damn pot.”
I go to Suki’s mug cabinet and pull out her favorite travel mug, which has Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s face on it. I’m so fucking tired, and not at all excited about an entire day of court hearings.
“You know I walked in on you by accident, right?” Leo asks as I fill the stainless cup.
Here we go again. We’ve litigated my humiliation in Carter and Suki’s bathroom to death already, but he won’t let it drop.
“By careless accident, yes. You were so drunk that you didn’t pay attention to the sound of the shower running.”
He’s standing with his back to the kitchen counter, and he puts his hands on the counter on either side of himself. “The music was loud. I knocked.”
It’s still fresh in my mind, though if I could take an amnesia pill to forget it, I would. Carter and Suki had just had a new hot tub put in, and we all decided to get in it. Suki loaned me a swimsuit and I realized I needed to shave my legs and bikini area. Back then, I thought Leo was hot and I was excited about sitting next to him in a hot tub.