Must Love Wieners (8 page)

“Done.”

“And I’ll take her for regular grooming when I take Colin.”

“All right, but I’ll pay.”

“The owner is a volunteer from the rescue center. I get a discount because she’s my friend.”

“And Sophie is my dog. I’ll pay.”

Piper frowned but wasn’t sure how to argue that one. Sophie’s head swung back and forth as they debated, pleased to be the center of all the attention.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“If you go out of town and you need a dog sitter, you call me first and I’ll work for a substantially lower rate.” She thought Colin might like that.

“I thought you couldn’t keep pets in your apartment.”

“I’ll hide her. What’s one more?”

They had a brief staring contest while he considered all her demands. Finally, his dimple made an appearance. “You know, I’ve been running my business for a while, and this isn’t how your average negotiations are supposed to go.”

Her chin rose an inch. “Well, I’m not your average girl.”

“So I’ve noticed.” The tension broke and he stopped fighting the smile.

If Piper had a dimple, it would have been dimpling too. Okay, so he wasn’t a creep who was propositioning her. And he didn’t pity her. At least, she didn’t think so. She felt ridiculous now. But what was she supposed to think? Who offered that kind of money for dog walking?

A small crowd had formed on one side of the open space, milling about and chatting. She spotted one of them carrying a large white sheet and assumed it was for a group picnic. When they went to spread it on the grass, two people each grabbed a corner and shook it out. Big red letters were painted across it:
SFAAC
.

Others in the group started picking up boards, holding them aloft for the whole park to see.
Stop the killing
and
Put an end to puppy mills.
A retriever mix trotted through the park with a sign strung around his neck:
I can’t speak for myself. Please be my voice.

“What is this?” Aiden asked.

A jolt of anxiety shot through Piper. “San Franciscans Against Animal Cruelty.”

She wanted to duck and roll into the bushes before anyone from the group could recognize her. Most of them were pretty cool. She’d even protested with them in the past. It was one SFAAC member in particular whom she worried about running into. She’d never expected to see them there, or she would have suggested Aiden meet her somewhere else.

“A dog park seems like a strange place to protest,” Aiden said. “They’re preaching to the choir.”

“I think that’s the point.” She watched flyers being handed out. “It looks like they’re here to gain awareness and support from fellow animal lovers.” She headed for the path, counting out her steps to make it look like she wasn’t rushing. “Come on. It’s about to get too noisy for an interview.”

While Piper appreciated their cause, she hated to end the afternoon on such a sour note with Aiden. However, she felt relief as he clipped Sophie’s leash back on and followed Piper to the edge of the clearing.

“So,” she hedged. “Any hints of crazy yet? You know, besides accusing you of sexual harassment?”

“No red flags that I can see,” he teased. “Yet.”

“Tell that to my parole officer.” He glanced at her in surprise, and she threw her hands up in the air. “Just kidding.”

“You know,” Aiden said. “I think it’s generous of you to spend your spare time working with homeless dogs.”

“Not really.” Her cheeks warmed again and she turned away to hide it. “I love these guys, so it doesn’t feel like work.”

“I wish I had more time to do the same. There’s the whole time is money factor, I guess.”

Yet another thing he had in common with her brother, Piper thought.

She remembered her mother having to sell off farm equipment to pay the hospital bills and how quickly it all fell apart, especially after her father died. Even as her mother cried herself to sleep, she had to make plans for the funeral, for selling the farm, uprooting their whole lives. And where was Ethan? Sitting in on some large corporate merger in Washington. He caught a late flight the night before the funeral and left almost immediately after. Because
time is money
.

Piper fell silent, lost in thought, but when Aiden spoke again she realized so had he. “But there are some things money can’t buy.” The lightness had gone from his voice. “You know what I mean?”

He looked at her, like really looked at her, as though he wanted to know how she felt. And not just for part of the interview. It caught her off guard. For a moment, she wondered what a rich man like Aiden couldn’t buy with all his money.

She considered the question with the same seriousness with which he asked. It was easy to say money didn’t matter when you never had to worry about it.

“It’s true,” she said. “Money can’t make you happy. But it can sure make you miserable when you don’t have any.”

“Are you miserable?”

She thought about her friends and the things that made her happy, and she realized none of those things cost her a penny. “No, finances are just stressful sometimes.”

“Most people stress about money, no matter how much or how little they have.”

Before she could answer, he clicked his tongue and stopped. “Money can, however, buy new shoes.” He scraped his wingtips off on the cement path.

Piper pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at the mess. “I should have warned you when I suggested we meet at the park. People are supposed to pick up after their dogs, but some don’t. I like to call them dog-park
poop
etrators.”

“I should have dressed more casually, but I didn’t think the dog park had a dress code.”

“Oh yes. The uniform is strictly enforced.” She nodded gravely. “Khakis and short-sleeved plaid shirts. Wrinkled, not pressed. And I wouldn’t recommend flip-flops.”

“I’ll remember that for next time.”

A middle-aged man approached to hand Aiden a flyer. She ducked her head and fell behind. She didn’t think she recognized him, but she couldn’t be sure. When she fell into step next to Aiden again, she saw that the glimmer was back in his eyes.

“So is that your dog-park uniform?” He eyed her tank top and jean shorts—a little appreciatively, she thought. “I was expecting something more Western-style.”

“Very funny. I don’t just do cowgirl, you know. I also have a cop uniform, a cheerleading outfit, and a construction worker.”

“Wow, a couple more costumes and you could be a one-woman Village People.”

“I don’t do covers. Original material only, under the Piper Summers trademark. And those are just the popular outfits. I’ve got plenty more.”

“You know, I wouldn’t mind seeing them sometime,” he said.

“I bet you wouldn’t.” She couldn’t keep the suggestive waggle from her eyebrow. “I charge by the song.”

A few minutes earlier, she’d become livid with him because she thought he had the wrong idea. Now that she knew that wasn’t the case, the wrong idea felt a little right. She was glad they’d made it back to total Flirtville, population: two.

Her insides quivered like she’d swallowed butterflies. She hadn’t experienced them since graduate school, so she knew they weren’t merely any butterflies. They were rare ones, like morpho butterflies.

She wasn’t imagining the chemistry between them. It was as obvious to her as a Western chorus frog singing for his mate or a male peacock shaking his tail feathers for a hen. She just wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted. Well, okay, she wanted it all right, but let’s face it, she also wanted chocolate for breakfast, but that didn’t mean it was good for you. Mmmmm, chocolate.

“Slut!” someone screamed.

Piper jumped and spun toward the voice, as did Aiden, as did the whole park. The protesters’ chant broke off. A girl from within their ranks stepped forward. And her accusing finger was pointed straight at Piper.

“Whore!”

8

Dogfight

“Tramp!” the protester yelled.

Piper froze to the spot. All the eyes in the park followed the angry protester’s pointing finger. The twentysomething girl was dressed in a green bohemian maxi-dress, her wild, curly hair snaking from her head like a furious Mother Nature incarnate. And Piper was her target.

But it wasn’t Mother Nature. Just an old pain in the ass of Piper’s. The one person she dreaded running into. “Oh, good,” she muttered under her breath. “Laura.”

“Liar!” Laura screamed again.

Not exactly the glowing recommendation one hopes for during an interview. Piper tugged Aiden’s sleeve. “Let’s go.”

Colin stood his ground, ready to defend his lady’s honor. Hoping to avoid a confrontation, Piper tugged on his leash and headed for the way out. But who was she kidding? There was always a confrontation.

For the last few years, Laura’s hobby had been to harass Piper whenever possible—“stalk” was more like it. And every time Laura confronted her in public, Piper tried to extract herself from the situation with her head high and her mouth clamped shut. But no matter how many times she tried to take the high road, she always found herself getting sucked in.

Aiden hurried to keep up with Piper. “Do you know that girl?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but Laura had caught up to them. “Hey.” She gripped Piper’s arm, her fingernails digging into her flesh. “I’m talking to you.”

“Laura,” Piper said. “So good to see you. It’s been too long.”

“How dare you show your face here,” she growled at Piper.

Piper took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, knowing it would piss Laura off more. But Piper also knew that it wouldn’t last long. Be cool, she told herself. Be cool.

“At a dog park? With my dog? Yeah, I’m pure evil.”

“What, are you stalking me?” Laura eyed her up like she was Satan’s spawn and Colin her hellhound—which, admittedly, he was at times.

Piper laughed incredulously. “
I’m
stalking
you
?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” she spat. “You’ve already won. Why won’t you just leave me alone?”

She loomed close enough that Piper could read her
I heart my dog
earrings, but she spoke loud enough for the entire park to hear. Everyone had stopped playing with their pets or reading their books to listen.

Getting the attention she wanted, Laura spun dramatically toward her captive audience. “You already lied and got me kicked out of the veterinary program. Are you trying to kick me out of my favorite park too?”

Piper’s cool turned to lukewarm. Her fists clenched at her sides. “That is not what happened and you know it.” Besides, that was
her
favorite park, and Laura knew it too.

“Are you denying that you got me expelled?”

“Your own actions got you expelled!” Okay, hot, boiling hot.

Colin and Sophie began to growl at Laura in support.
We got your back.

Laura gasped in hurt shock, a hand on her chest. “Me? What did I do? Worked hard, did the best I could? I guess you just couldn’t suppress your jealousy. You couldn’t stand that I was at the head of the class and you couldn’t even pass a pop quiz.”

Piper rubbed her temples. She could have passed that pop quiz, but she’d forgotten to set her alarm that morning and missed it altogether. She snorted. “Head of the class? You couldn’t have identified a flea if it bit you in the ass. You were only doing as well as you were because you were copying off your friends.”

“That’s the story you managed to convince our professor. I wonder how you did that?” Her eyes narrowed. “Well, I suppose lying is your specialty. Only for our professor you were lying on your back.”

“I wasn’t sleeping with the professor!” But no one heard her because Laura had turned to plead with the crowd, talking over her.

“I just want to move on with my life. She follows me everywhere I go. Someone please get her away from me. Call the cops.”

Piper was steaming. Random people started getting to their feet uncertainly. A couple of her SFAAC friends took a few steps toward Laura and Piper, as though about to intervene.

Laura turned to Piper and beamed triumphantly, speaking low enough for only Piper and Aiden to hear. “You know, if it’s in self-defense, I can’t get in trouble for hitting you.”

“I would have to attack you first,” Piper said.

“Look around.” She glanced back at the park. “All these people have witnessed that you’re here to harass me. Who knows what you’ll do when we cross paths again?”

Piper took a step forward, but Aiden spoke first. “Do it and she can press harassment charges. And lay another finger on her and I’ll call the cops. That goes for the rest of you.” He gave the advancing onlookers a threatening glance.

“This is a protest. We got a permit and everything. We’re not doing anything wrong.” Laura glared at Aiden. “But Piper here looks about ready to hit me. Are you going to hit me?” She tapped her own cheek, egging Piper on. “Come on. Do you want to punch me?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Piper’s hands balled at her sides.

Aiden’s warm hand clasped over hers. The touch was so unexpected, so gentle, that her fist relaxed in shock. His fingers interlaced with hers and he began to draw her away from the tense crowd.

All Piper could focus on was the sensation of his warm hand in hers, his own steady composure contrasting with her behavior, chastising her. She’d thrown a hissy fit like a five-year-old who hadn’t learned how to play well with others, and here was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who had probably never lost his cool in his life.

Who gave a shit about Laura, anyway? About what those people thought? About anything else but that hand in hers?

The park faded into the distance, the chanting, the yelling. She barely heard Laura call out to her back, “Maybe someone should expose you for what you really are, Piper! You hear me? Force you to confess how you cheated me out of a university education.” Because Piper couldn’t hear anything over all those morphos fluttering around inside her.

When she and Aiden had walked a little ways—she wasn’t paying any attention to how far—his hand dropped away.