She looked down at the pup. “What if I wanted to keep her?”
“You want to foster her?”
“No. I want to keep her. Adopt her. Make her part of my family forever.”
Oh, crap. He was already in dangerous territory with Erin as it was. And now she wanted to keep this dog?
“You can definitely do that, but she’ll require some extra care. You sure you’re up for that?”
“I’m absolutely up for it. You tell me what I need to do and I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay. First, she probably needs a name.”
“Agatha.”
He laughed. “That was quick.”
“Come on, look at her face. Doesn’t she look like an Agatha?”
He looked at the pup, who had fallen asleep cradled in Erin’s arms. “Sure. We’ll note it on her chart. Agatha Bellini.”
Erin grinned. “Perfect. Hey, what do you think her breed is?”
“Let me see her.” He went over and Erin handed the puppy over to Jason. The puppy yawned and opened its eyes. It had distinctive coloring and fur, but he couldn’t be certain of all of its origins. Some were clear though.
“For sure it’s part Goldendoodle.”
“What’s that?”
“Golden retriever and poodle. It’s a very popular mixed breed. But there’s something else mixed with it and I can’t say for certain what that is. She sure is cute, though.”
“Exactly. So why would anyone dump her? She’s adorable. A little filthy and she smells, but she’s adorable.”
“No clue why some people are dicks. But you’re right. She’s very cute. We’ll get her cleaned up before we give her back to you, and we’ll give her all the vaccinations she needs to have at this age.”
She smiled, and her face lit up. “Thank you. I know you’ll take good care of her.”
“I’ll do the surgery this afternoon, and I’ll call you once it’s done.”
“When can I take her home?”
“Probably tomorrow.”
“Okay. I’ll get things ready for her.” She stood. “Oh, food and toys and things. I’ve never had a dog, Jason. I don’t know anything.”
“I can help you with that. Want me to take you shopping tonight?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
He nodded. “No problem. I’ll text you once I get home.”
“Sure. I’ll let you get to work.”
She started to turn, then went over to him and flung her arms around him. “Thank you.”
He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her again, absorbing the feel of her body pressed to his. “You’re welcome. I’ve . . . got to go.”
He took a quick step back, needing the distance from her to gather his bearings.
“Oh, right. You go work. I’ll wait to hear from you. See you later, Jason.”
She looked nervous, but there was a small twinkle of joy in her eyes.
The puppy put that there. Not him.
And he needed to remember that.
CHAPTER
eight
ERIN TOLD HER parents about the incident with the puppy that day, and also that she’d be bringing it home with her, bracing herself for the potential blowup.
Surprisingly, it didn’t happen. Her mother—who was not an animal lover—told her she would be fully responsible for the pup, and her father’s eyes twinkled as he nodded in agreement. After that, the subject was closed.
That had gone better than she’d expected.
Maybe her parents figured she’d had enough crushing disappointment and they were giving her a break. She certainly hadn’t intended to use being left at the altar as a way to finagle puppy acceptance out of her parents, but hey, whatever worked, right?
Besides, she wouldn’t be staying with them forever. She was going to move out, get her own place and carve out some independence. After all, she was supposed to be moving into the condo next week.
After the honeymoon that she didn’t get to have.
I hope you choke on a piña colada, Owen. You bastard.
She wondered what Owen was doing right now. Swimming in that amazing blue water? Sunning himself on the beach? Did he take someone with him?
Was that why he had left her? Did he have another someone, and he hadn’t had the guts to tell her about it?
Wouldn’t that just add salt to the wound? It would be bad enough having to live in the same vicinity as him when he got back. But knowing he had a girlfriend? That he’d left her for another woman? She’d never live that down.
“You look like you might kill someone.”
She’d come back home to finish working on a financial project, figuring keeping herself busy would help pass the time while Agatha was in surgery. Instead, she was sitting at her desk fuming about Owen.
She looked up at Brenna. “Owen.”
“Oh.” Brenna came in and sat in the chair, then frowned. “He didn’t contact you, did he?”
“Of course not. That would be kind. No, I’m just making up ‘what if’ scenarios in my head and driving myself crazy in the process.”
“Don’t do that, Erin. There’s no sense in trying to figure out why he did it until he explains it himself.”
She snorted. “Right. Like he’s going to show up all tanned from his trip and this will be his first stop when he gets off the plane.”
“He might,” Honor said, coming into the room to take the other chair next to Brenna. “He’s always been an honorable guy.”
“Correction,” Erin said. “He was an honorable man. Until he ran right before the wedding.”
“Why are we even talking about him?” Brenna asked. “I want to know about the new puppy.”
“Mom told you?” Erin asked.
“Yes.”
“Wait,” Honor said, looking from Brenna to Erin. “What puppy?”
Erin filled them in on what had happened when she left the house for her massage appointment, and how she took Agatha into Jason’s clinic.
“Aww,” Honor said. “When does she get to come home?”
“I don’t know. Jason said probably tomorrow.”
Her phone buzzed and her heart thudded when she saw it was the clinic. She pushed the button.
“Jason?”
“Miss Bellini, it’s Joe from the Well Pet Clinic.”
“Oh, hi, Joe. Is Agatha all right?”
“She’s fine.
