Luxe Glamour (The Glamour Series Book 5) (14 page)

“Nope,” I said already opening the door on my side. “Put her in the front seat. I’ll sit in the back seat.”

“Really?” I took two fingers and pointed at my eyes and then pointed toward Trick’s.

“Oh, right, you want to be able to see her.”

I nodded. I slid from the truck and took the bag of Chinese food with me. Trick walked around to the passenger side. “Throw me that blanket.”

I slid a soft blanket over the seat and Trick placed it on the floorboard. “She’ll be more comfortable down here. I don’t think anything’s broken but she sure is scared.”

She tilted her head at me and her sad brown eyes looked as if she carried the weight of the world. An urge to reach forward and place my hand on her forehead and stroke her pulsed through me. The need to tell her that she would be okay, and that she was in the best place in the world that any homeless pup could be. I might be terrified of dogs, but every other human that worked at Pawtown was absolutely mad for animals. In fact, most of the people at Pawtown seemed to prefer animals to people. 

I climbed into the back seat of the cab of the truck and Trick slid behind the steering wheel. Before he started to drive he slipped his phone from his pocket. “I want to let Doc know we’ve got an admission.” He nodded toward the dog. “She’ll need an exam and a bath. Plus we’ll want to keep her separate from all the other dogs until we can assess her tomorrow.”

“Poor girl.” I clutched the seatback and looked over at her curled up on the floorboard.

Trick tilted his head and looked at me.

“What? I have a heart, even for dogs.”

He put the truck into drive and slowly pulled down the driveway to the front gate of Pawtown.

“Does that happen a lot? People just dumping off dogs at the sign?”

“More than I’d like,” Trick said. “It’s better than finding them just wandering along the highway. I mean, we’re a safe place for them and I’d rather have them come here than a high-kill shelter. Here they have good chance at a forever home and they’ll always have a place to live at Pawtown.”

Trick pulled to a stop in front of the clinic building. He turned off the truck and looked at me over the seatback. “I’m gonna be at least a half hour, maybe longer. You’re welcome to take your food and go on back to your place. Just leave me my box of takeout and I’ll have it once I get home.”

“First your sister passes out and doesn’t feed me, and now I have to eat my Chinese food alone? What kind of people are you?” I was going for funny sarcastic, but Trick’s eyes widened.

“Sophia, I’m sorry, but I really have to take care of this dog and—”

“Oh my God, what kind of heartless bitch do you think I am? Of course we have to take care of this dog, and then we’re going to eat our Chinese food together and drink our six-pack of beer. I’m not going back to the bungalow to eat my Chinese food in front of Lisel, okay? She just grunts at me. Between Lisel and the dogs, you’re the best human interaction I’ve had in days.”

A smile slowly widened over Trick’s face. “Sounds good. Come in with me. Don’t sit out here in the truck.”

Trick got out and walked around to the passenger side and opened the front door.  Slowly, carefully, as though he were lifting the most fragile and the most precious thing he’d ever carried, he lifted the poor trembling pup from the floorboard.

A whimper burst from her throat. For the tiniest second my heart hurt. The poor thing. Sadness filled her eyes. She looked so lost and that sound … My heart nearly cracked in half. I jumped from the backseat, ran ahead of Trick, and pulled open the clinic door. As Trick passed by me with the sad pup in his arms, I again fought the urge to reach out and pet her and tell her she’d be okay. Her eyes met mine, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, I wasn’t scared.

Sophia

“Nothing’s broken. Everything looks good. She seems a little dazed and maybe a bit dehydrated, but I think she’ll be fine. We’ll keep her in here until tomorrow when Luis comes by to assess her behavior. Jill’s going to give her a bath and a trim now.”

I looked toward Jill, a tiny fireplug of a girl with long blonde hair and tattoos up and down both arms. Jill buzzed with energy. She walked over and took the pup into her arms. “Come on, pretty girl, let’s see what we’ve got under there once we get you clean. Bet you’re a beauty.”

“I bet she is,” I said.

Trick and Doc looked at me.

“You want to eat here and see her once she’s all cleaned up?” Trick asked.

“I do.” Heat flamed up my neck and into my face. I did. I definitely wanted to see what pup 3479 looked like once Jill had finished with her beauty treatments.

“We can eat in the lounge. Bet we get done about the same time Jill does. Doc, we’ve got plenty if you want to join us.”

“Smells great, but I was just in the middle of dinner when you texted. Think I’ll head on back to my salmon and my documentary. Another time.”

I followed Trick to the lounge. Two well-worn but comfy couches were in the room as well as a stove, a refrigerator, and a flat screen TV. I set the bag of Chinese food on the table in front of the couch and Trick headed toward the drawers. He pulled out plates and a bottle opener. He popped open two Stellas and handed one to me.

“You like that dog.” Trick lifted a box from the takeout bag.

I shrugged. Maybe I did. I hadn’t felt like this about a dog before. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d ever liked dogs. After all, I’d been bitten when I was five.

“She just seems so helpless and then someone just dumped her. Who
does
that? I may not like being around dogs, but I don’t wish anything bad on them.”

Trick nodded. “You’d be shocked at what some people do to animals.”

I opened a carton of rice and he handed me a pair of chopsticks. I put the rice onto my plate and then poured the Kung Pao scallops on top of the rice. My stomach growled.

“Eat, eat!” Trick said. He seemed thrilled with the idea of me eating. He didn’t have to tell me twice. After plowing through two plates of Chinese food I fell back against the couch cushions and pressed my hand to my stomach.

“I am so full.”

Trick grabbed the two fortune cookies from the table. “Pick one.” He held both in the palm of his hand. I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath. The cookie was crisp under my finger and I snapped it open. I pulled out the long strip of paper caught in half of the cookie.

“What’s yours say?” Trick leaned close and he smelled like soap and the outdoors. An electric thrill shimmered over my skin with his nearness. I fought the urge to tilt my head just slightly and feel those beautiful lips on mine.

He pulled back the tiniest bit. “Sophia? What does it say?”

I jerked my head back. Wow, did I look like a lovestruck girl? “Oh, right.” I plucked the fortune from my palm. The words … oh my, the words. How come sometimes the fortunes we got just seemed too true?

“Confronting your fears can lead to a bright future.”

“That seems applicable,” Trick said.

“Okay, okay.” I folded the fortune into a little square and tucked it into my jeans pocket. “What about yours, smart guy?

He glanced at the strip of paper he held between his fingers. Was that a blush in his cheeks? “Mine says ‘love appears in a familiar place.’”

My heart bounced in my chest. Love, huh? In a familiar place? Like Pawtown, like here, like … my breathing slowed and my eyes focused on Trick and his were focused on mine … was he leaning in … was I leaning in … damn, those lips. His lips were so close and his breath was sweet and my heart thumped in my chest and—

“Come and see our beautiful princess!” Jill called.

I slammed myself back and away from Trick. I jumped up from the couch. “Oh, I can’t wait to see her,” I said as I moved toward the door.

What the hell?

Had we been about to kiss? I looked over my shoulder at Trick. He scrubbed his hand over his head and down the back of his neck. His eyes met mine.

I couldn’t. I wanted that kiss. My body wanted Trick. This man. That man sitting on the couch. Instead I turned toward the door and walked into the hall. I followed Jill toward the giant scrub area where there were three stainless steel tubs, a grooming table, and all kinds of tools that she used to groom the dogs.

There she was. The pup we’d found. Like any girl, after a good bath and a great haircut, she not only looked good, but she seemed to feel prettier. She stood taller and her tail thumped for me when I entered the room.

Oh my goodness. That sound. Her thumping tail. Was she smiling at me?

Conflict, confusion pulsed through me. I wanted to walk right over and give this good-looking girl a giant pet and yet … and yet … I stood in the doorway unable to move. I couldn’t help but smile. She was happy to see me. This pup was happy to see me. My heart bounced against my ribs and fear careened through my belly. She looked beautiful. She had gorgeous black and white fur. How had Jill managed to get the tangles out and make her so beautiful? 

“I think she’s got some spaniel and some collie in her,” Jill said.

 “She looks good, doesn’t she? All cleaned up.” Trick’s voice was like a caress down the back of my neck. My whole body alerted to the fact that he stood just behind me. My nipples tightened against the fabric of my bra. My sex clenched. I stroked my tongue over my lower lip. “Want to pet her?” His body was so close he nearly pressed into me. 

“I was just getting ready to feed her a little something. You want to do it?” Jill stood beside the pup that was still standing on the grooming table. Jill grasped her leash and helped her down. I stepped backward and pressed to Trick. I felt him. I felt all of him. The hard angles of his chest against my back, the scent of the mint of his breath, the hardness of him, his erection pressed against me.

There was so much I wanted in this moment.

I pressed my lips together. Jill led the dog toward two bowls, one filled with water and the other empty. She bent down and grabbed the empty bowl. “Here,” Jill said. “Go on and give her two cups. The food is in the cupboard.”

An unfamiliar mix of arousal and fear pressed along my insides. A tiny drop of sweat trickled under my arm. I glanced over my shoulder at Trick. Those damn blue eyes. Those damn lips. He gave me a tiny smile and then he nodded at me. I walked across the room and grasped the food bowl. I didn’t look at the dog, who kept her gaze on me. I turned my back on her and Jill and went to the food bin and scooped out two heaping cups.

“Put a cup of water on it.” Jill called.

I turned on the tap. My heart thumped against my ribs. How would I put this bowl in front of that dog? Sure, she looked cute. But we didn’t know her, I didn’t know her. She might take off my fingers, or bite my face. I turned off the water and pivoted around. She thumped her tail at me and what looked like a smile came my way.

“Great. Just put it down right here,” Jill instructed.

I glanced at Trick and again he nodded. I could do this. Right? I could do this. Slowly I walked toward Jill and the dog. I made a wide circle and set the food down. Jill held her tight, but the pretty girl stayed on her tush and didn’t jump or lunge or bark. Her tail just kept thumping away on the ground.

“Hey girl,” I breathed out. Damn. I knelt down beside her and a dizziness clutched my head. She was so close. She smelled fresh and clean. I set the bowl in front of her. She didn’t rush toward her food. A giant breath of air burst from my lungs as I released the bowl of dog food. She looked at me with those big brown eyes that made me want to kiss her snout. I reached out and then stopped. 

Oh my God, I was about to pet her. My hand hung in the air. She ducked her head down as though she’d meet me halfway and then pressed the top of her head up and into my palm. She was so soft. And so gentle. My hand stroked down the back of her neck and a tiny little whine of happiness came from her throat.

“Eat, sweet girl, eat.”

She went to the bowl as though she’d simply been waiting for my words. My heart filled and I looked at Trick. Suddenly, what he did and why all made sense. I got it. Finally, with this one dog, I understood.

Jill’s gaze went to Trick. “She must have had some type of training. Look how good she is with her food.”

I walked quickly to the doorway where Trick now leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his chest. He leaned forward and I could feel his breath. “Nice job,” he said, his voice low.

A tingle rushed up my spine.

“What’s her name?” he asked.

My eyes were locked on the pup as she wolfed down her food. Her teeth were big, they were long, but they didn’t seem vicious. Trick pressed a little closer. So easy to lean back and rest my head against his chest. If Jill weren’t here it would be easy to turn and tilt my head, an invitation to a kiss I’d thought about all night.

“I think she should be called Estrella.” I turned my head to get Trick’s reaction.

“As in Star?” He nodded. “That’s a good name. Especially on a night like this.”

The name wasn’t just for the night sky filled with little bright lights. I turned back to Estrella, who now licked the bottom of her empty bowl. The name was a reminder. For me. Every time I saw this dog, every time I called her name, every time I thought of Trick, I wanted to be reminded why I was at Pawtown. I wasn’t here because I loved dogs. I barely even liked dogs aside from the one I’d met tonight. And I wasn’t here to meet and become involved with a former actor.

No, my time here was for one reason and one reason only—to get my own star back. The star that had been rising like a rocket through the stratosphere. I needed my star to be rising again. Estrella and her name would be a constant reminder of this goal while I remained here at Pawtown. 

“Then that’s her name.” Trick rocked back onto the heels of his boots. “And I think you just found your first charge.”

Yeah, it was obvious; Estrella was definitely meant for me.

Trick

I pushed open the front door of the vet bungalow and stepped aside to let Sophia exit first. Oranges and mint wafted behind her. Her hair a silky mass of lush black. Trouble was dogging me and its name was Sophia Delgado Legend.