Luxe Glamour (The Glamour Series Book 5) (16 page)

Sophia

Ready to begin their days, volunteers filed out of the vet building, and permanent Pawtown workers scurried across the gravel paths toward the kennels. I slipped through the morning rush and headed over to the vet clinic.

“You’re here early.” Doc’s red hair was pulled into a messy bun on her head. She pulled a stethoscope away from the chest of a tiny dog, not much bigger than a squirrel. I hung back, my shoulders pressed against the wall. A cool film of sweat coated my palms.

Dogs.

The far wall was lined with silver metal cages and about half of them were filled with furry canines. I didn’t lump Estrella into the same group as all the other dogs. She was different. My gaze landed on the cage with “Estrella” written on the tag. Her kennel was empty. My heart dropped. Where was she?

“Luis has her out back.” Doc interrupted my thoughts.

My disappointment must have been obvious. One of the reasons I was good in front of the camera was also one of the reasons I had a tough time with people. I didn’t do very well at keeping my emotions off my face.

“Luis is assessing her behavior.” Doc nodded toward the back door. My gaze slipped to the wall of cages lined up on either side of the door. Fear wouldn’t stop me. I needed to exit that door and I reminded myself that all those pups were behind bars.

Estrella. How was she doing with Luis? Was she scared from last night? I pushed open the back door. Sun bit into my vision and I lifted my hand to shade my eyes. Estrella sat in the middle of the fenced dog ring and Luis slowly backed away from her with his hand held out.

“Good girl.” He stopped and put his hand down at his side. Estrella watched him and patiently waited. “Come, Estrella.” With a toss of her head and a thump of her tail she jumped up and bounded toward Luis. Her reward was the bit of kibble he held out to her.

Could dogs smile? Because Estrella looked like she was giving Luis the biggest grin.

I walked down the stairs and Estrella turned around and looked at me. Her tail wagged and she pressed the front half of her body down on her front paws and started to whine. A smile broke over my face When was the last time anyone had been that excited to see me?

“Go,” Luis said.

Estrella bolted across the yard. She bounced up and her front paw hit me in the midsection. No fear. I pet her, my fingertips slipping through the soft hair on her head. She had one black ear and one white ear and a giant black patch over her right eye.

Luis walked toward us. “You’ve got a buddy.”

I nodded.

“Best way to get over a fear is to find a way to love your way through it.”

Cryptic and yet appropriate.

“Who told you about me?”

“I had my suspicions when I saw you around the dogs the first day. There are a whole lot of things that I’m afraid of. People are just one of them. I’m in no position to judge you.” He leaned closer to me as if ready to give me a huge secret. He lowered his voice. “Once you get over this fear of dogs, you’re going to discover that they are a hundred times easier to be around than humans.”

This was not the first time I’d heard that sentiment since arriving at Pawtown. It seemed to be a common thought among the employees and volunteers. They preferred the company of four-footed animals to the two-legged kind.

“She’s super smart. She’s a green collar for sure. Kind. Well mannered. I had her with Durango for a while. They got along really well. She’s a very good dog. I’m going to put her in the Ferris Bueller Kennel.” Luis backed away from me and Estrella. “Maybe Trick and Angie will let you be her primary caregiver while you’re here.”

As her Primary, it’d be me and Estrella. I’d be responsible for her walks and checking in on her throughout the day. I stroked my hand down her back and she wiggled with excitement. Estrella seemed to like the idea too.  

“They allow overnights in the volunteer bungalow. You’d just have to clear it with Trick.”

“She’s a happy girl. That’s for sure.”

A thrill raced down my spine at the sound of Trick’s voice. My heart rate picked up and desire curled in my belly and lodged between my legs. Damn, Trick and I agreed that the kiss last night had been a bad move. Now I just needed to convince my body of that fact.

“I was just wondering if dogs could smile.” I turned toward Trick. He wore sunglasses but I knew that behind those shades were bright blue eyes. He hadn’t shaved and his whiskers were scruffy on his face. That scruff made him look way too sexy. He smelled like soap and coffee and sunshine. I fought the desire to reach up and trace his lips with my fingertips, to step forward and make the same mistake I’d made under the stars last night.

A smile lifted the corners of the mouth that I wanted to kiss. “They do smile. At least
I
think they do.”

I turned back toward Estrella. She pranced and shook her head.

“She remembers who saved her last night,” Luis said. He unwound her leash and clipped it to her collar.

My heart thumped. I felt the tiniest hints of fear, but I reached out toward Estrella. My fingertips brushed through her silky soft hair. She turned and opened her mouth. Adrenaline spiked in my chest, but I kept stroking her and instead of the sharp pain of teeth sinking into my flesh the slobbery kiss of a giant tongue slipped over my fingers and palm.

“Green collar?” Trick asked Luis.

Luis nodded. “Definitely. She did great this morning. Someone, somewhere, taught her the basics. She’s a little shell-shocked from last night. Any idea how long she was tied up at the sign?”

“It couldn’t have been long. When we left to pick up dinner she wasn’t there.”

“We?”

Pink flickered up Trick’s neck and blushed his cheeks. “Angie was supposed to fix us dinner and then she didn’t, so I took Sophia with me to grab Chinese takeout.”

Luis’s smile broadened over his face. “Oh, you did? You took Sophia to dinner?”

Trick ignored the innuendo that even I heard in Luis’s voice. “When we left for town she wasn’t at the post. We were gone for what? Forty-five minutes.”

I nodded.

Luis glanced from Estrella to Trick. “She likes people and she gets along with other dogs real well. There’s an opening in Ferris Bueller. That’s a friendly group. I’m thinking of putting her in there.”

“Go for it,” Trick said. He bent over and stroked her back. “Then why don’t you stop by admin so they can get her details up on the site.” He patted her side. “Pretty girl. I doubt she’ll be with us very long.”

The bottom dropped out of my belly. “What? Why not? You can’t just give her to a stranger.”

Luis and Trick exchanged a glance. Even with his sunglasses on I could tell that Trick was making a face. His eyebrow cocked upward and he tilted his head. “That’s what we
do
here.” A hint of sarcasm laced his voice. “You know that, right?  Our job is to find forever homes for animals.”

My jaw locked. Of course I
knew
what they did at Pawtown. The feeling in my chest changed. Instead of a hard thump of fear there was a hint of pain. Estrella sat in front of me and lifted her paw. I knelt before her, not even concerned about being so close to those long teeth.

“But Estrella needs just the right home. Don’t you girl?” Before I could even think about what I was doing, I leaned forward and pressed my face into the fur of her neck. The rich earthy scent of fur and outdoors and dog filled my nose. Her soft clean fur pressed against my cheeks and chin. I stroked my hand down her long straight back. A tiny whine came from her and she turned and I felt her wet tongue slip up my cheek.

“Or maybe she’s already found her human,” Luis said.

My brows creased and I gave Estrella another pat. “I don’t have time for a dog.” I stood. “I don’t like dogs, remember.” I crossed my arms and shook my head. “She’ll have a much happier life with someone else—with someone who can care for her all the time.” I backed away, but Estrella didn’t let me get far. She pushed her nose against my leg asking me for a pet on the head. How could I refuse?

Trick turned to me. “You’re in Puppyville today. Angie sent me over to take you there.”

“Girl, that’s the best gig at Pawtown.” Luis said.

I glanced at Estrella. The best gig at Pawtown would be spending my day with Estrella.

“Can I go with Luis first? To take Estrella to Ferris Bueller?”

“Sure. We’re not in a rush. Puppyville is just around the corner from Ferris Beuller. You go with Luis and when you’re done, he’ll point you in the right direction.” Trick looked at Luis. “You’ll need, what, maybe a half hour to get her settled?”

“If all goes well.”

“Right then. Puppyville in thirty minutes.”

Luis and I turned away from Trick and Luis handed me Estrella’s leash.

“Yo, Luis.” The three of us stopped and turned back toward Trick. “Forgot to tell you. Angie wants everyone to go to Big Daddy’s tonight. Can I tell her you’ll be there?”

Luis rolled his eyes toward the sky, but the corner of his mouth pulled upward. “That means she’s going to want to dance.”

“Probably.” Trick said. “We thought we’d get there around seven. Angie is sending out an email to everyone with all the details. The film crew and their cameras invade tomorrow. Angie thought it’d be a good idea to get everyone together tonight.”

“I hate people.” Luis kicked his boot in the gravel and settled his hand on his hip. He pulled his gaze from the horizon. “But for Angie I’ll go.”

Trick’s eyes roamed over me. Even at this distance, and behind his sunglasses, I could feel his eyes on me.

I caught his gaze and held it. Heat flashed between us. Damn. Did he really think we could fight this? He’d said we should, but I wasn’t so sure. What would be wrong with a little fun in Pawtown? I didn’t want a forever-type guy and even if I did, Trick Williams wouldn’t be the man for me. I didn’t want anything in my life right now that could be described as permanent. Pawtown was a brief pit stop on my road back to the top. Besides, if everything went well here I could still catch Paris Fashion Week. Fingers crossed. Estrella whined. I pulled my gaze from Trick’s.

“Let’s go get her settled,” Luis said to me. Then he called over his shoulder to Trick, “Tell Angie I’ll be at Big Daddy’s.”

I walked beside Luis, the gravel crunching under my boots. Estrella trotted beside us. “What’s Big Daddy’s?”

“It’s a local bar with burgers. I’m sure you’ll get the email invite, too. Angie includes everyone at Pawtown at these events.”

I might get the invite from Angie, but it was pretty obvious that I definitely wasn’t getting an invitation to Big Daddy’s from Trick.

Trick

Big Daddy’s always smelled like French fries, burgers, and beer. The bar suited Idyllwild as much as it suited me. They had a super-cool vintage pool table and three video games. Golden Tee was one of my favorites, and I rarely left Big Daddy’s without leaving behind a couple of tens in that machine. The flat screen over the bar remained muted tonight because the Kings weren’t playing. Across the room, long wooden tables with red chairs lined the dance floor. A big old jukebox sat against the wall and belted out tunes from Patsy Cline to Michael Jackson to Green Day. The clientele was as eclectic as the songs. A mix of Los Angeles ex-pats, cowboys, and motorcyclists made Big Daddy’s the only place to be on a Friday night.

Tonight a honky-tonk band with a rockabilly-meets-pop-meets-country-music sound was onstage. They were trying to entice the patrons with an old Shania Twain song, hoping to get them up and get their booty out on the dance floor. Through the crowd I spotted the Pawtown crew, and sitting with them were Sophia and Choo.

Filming.

Already.

Pressure tightened in my chest. Why the fuck had I agreed to this? My gaze slid down the table to the far end where Angie laughed at something Luis had just said. These guys were the reasons why I was here. Luis, and Doc, and Angie. Plus the dogs. They were my life. The new life I definitely didn’t deserve, but desperately wanted to keep.

Fine. Fuck it. I could be “The Trick Williams” for a while, but only for a while. That former persona had almost destroyed the real me, and I didn’t want that to happen again. I walked toward the table and Choo turned his iPhone toward me.

“And there he is, Mr. Heartthrob-I-Was-A-Teen-Star himself, Trick Williams.”

I lifted my hand and waved. I even gave him a smile. I dug Choo; he was my buddy and his brother was too, but with that iPhone in his hand, filming me, a huge churning in my belly made me want to grab the phone, throw it to the ground, and squash it under the heel of my boot.

“About time you showed up,” Angie called from the far end of the table. “I ordered you a burger.”

Choo set the phone on the table and stood. “Man, it’s always good to see you.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a man-hug.

“You too, brother. Glad you came up early.”

We both sat down. Sophia was across from me now. Her hair was thick and lush and her lips were glossy and slick with that gloss that women liked to wear. Her big brown eyes were circled with loads of makeup. She didn’t need a bit of that. I’d seen her without anything on her face and she was a pure beauty either way. My eyes trailed from her face and down her neck. She wore a tight T-shirt that said Guns N’ Roses. The V- neck revealed the swell of her breasts. Those two beautiful pieces of flesh popped up high. That should be illegal.

I pulled my gaze from Sophia’s body. Tabitha, a waitress at Big Daddy’s, set a basket with a burger and fries before me and gave me her killer smile. “Hey, Trick. Good to see you.”

“Hey, Tabby.” I nodded and pretended not to notice the thin tight set of Sophia’s lips. Tabby set my beer on the table and turned back toward the bar.

“Can you turn that thing off?” I jerked my head toward Choo’s iPhone and picked up a catsup bottle.

Choo glanced at his phone and put it down. The grip on my chest loosened. “For now,” he said with a coy note in his voice.

“Have you eaten today?” I looked at Sophia, who took a long pull on her drink. Brown liquid. Whiskey.