Pawsitively in Love (11 page)

“Hey, Dex. You want a treat?” Dexter wasn’t very old, but he definitely knew the word
treat
already. “Let’s go outside and see if you need to use the bathroom, and then it’ll be treat time.”

He did his usual bathroom and treat routine with Dexter, then shut him in the kitchen with his bed, toys, and bowls so he could take a quick trip to the grocery store. Evan was about to run out the door when he realized he didn’t know where his phone was. He finally located it in the bag with his masking tape and drop cloth—however it had ended up in there.

The light was flashing with messages. One was from Della that simply said, “call me,” and the other was from Austin. Evan steeled himself for a rejection and then got annoyed for caring, but when he opened the message, it said, “Sounds great! What time?” Evan replied with a time and his address and tried to relax. He was making friends. Sure, it was a new thing for him, but he was going to do it. Damn it. He ignored his sister’s text for the moment, slipped outside, and locked the door. He’d have to call her back sooner rather than later, but if there was one thing he didn’t want, it was to be on the receiving end of a Della rant in the middle of the market. Later.

“EVAN IS
that you?” Her voice was already shaky. She sounded like she’d been upset for a while. Evan got that usual mix of guilt and dread, and then more guilt for feeling dread. There wasn’t anything pleasant about it.

“Hey, Sis, I got your message from earlier,” Evan said softly. He tried as much as possible to keep his voice low and calming when he was talking to his sister. It didn’t always help. “What’s up?”

“Mom.”

That was one of her usual subjects. She had a right to be upset over their mother. Anyone would be. But Evan had dealt with it by withdrawing. He hadn’t talked to his mother in months. Della didn’t seem to be able to break away mentally.

“What’s Mom doing?” He didn’t really want to ask. It was never a good scene after Della got into one of her rants about their mother. But he also didn’t know who else she had to talk to. So he listened. And she ranted. It ranged from how their mother hadn’t been around and that’s why Della never did anything with her life, to how their mother was spending all of their inheritance—which, really? Inheritance? Evan listened, which was the only thing he knew how to do. The only thing he ever could do. He made a comment here and there, but nothing really. She never seemed to require much response.

“Hey, babe?” he finally said. “Do you have your music nearby?”

Della had always had a thing for music. Old boybands, Britney, anything cheerful and not too deep. Sometimes when she was in one of her funks nothing helped like blasting a bit of bubblegum pop and dancing. She rarely thought to do it herself, but sometimes when Evan suggested it, she’d try.

“I’m not in the mood for music. I just want to
kill
her.”

Evan would be more worried if he thought Della was anything but talk. “Why don’t you just ignore her? Did you have work today?”

“I didn’t feel like going in. I cancelled my appointments.”

Evan felt the rock sink in his stomach. It had gotten worse and worse lately with her ditching well-paying customers. If she kept it up, he didn’t know how she was going to pay her bills. Including the insurance that would take care of her counseling sessions if she ever decided to go—which had been another fight Evan wasn’t sure how to win. Della hated counseling. She never understood why she had to tell some stranger personal things about her life that were none of their business.

“What’d you do?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He didn’t get it. He wanted to help his sister, he’d done hours of research, but the bottom line was he didn’t get it. Della was about to start again; he could feel her winding up, when there was a knock at the door. Dexter trotted toward the door with his entire backside wagging. Austin was there.

“Listen, Dells. I’ve gotta go. There’s someone here.”

“Can’t you tell them you’re busy and you don’t want to buy anything?”

She didn’t want to let him go. That guilty dread feeling bubbled back up. “No, hon. It’s someone I know. We’re going to grab some dinner together.”

“Fine.”

Evan was about to say good night when he realized the call had gone dead. And Della was probably angry. He was torn between canceling with Austin and calling back to make sure she was okay, and changing his number so he could live his life and not worry about her daily. Like that would work. Instead, he did neither. He pocketed his phone and walked over to let Austin and Maggie into the house.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Austin asked.

Evan plastered a happy smile on his face and gestured for Austin to come in. “Yeah. Fine. Just dealing with some paperwork stuff. Boring, really.”

Austin nodded. “You have a great place. It’s so… perfect.”

Evan hoped that was a compliment. “It’s really not. I promise. Why don’t you have a seat? We’re not due next door for another fifteen minutes or so, and I want to put the salad together first.”

“Sure. Can I let Maggie off her leash? She’s great indoors.”

Evan nodded. Dexter had been salivating at her since she’d walked in the door. He watched as Austin petted Maggie calmly and then unclipped her leash.

“You know, those two will be fine in the backyard too, while we’re next door. That way they won’t feel bad while everyone’s eating.”

Austin nodded. “Either is fine.” He tossed Evan a relaxed smile. Evan wanted to know how he managed to look so at home somewhere he’d never been. At home, and fresh and young and gorgeous, if Evan was being objective. Austin had that healthy-farmer’s-market, good-guy thing going on, and that was sexier than Evan had any right to think. He put his head down and started chopping lettuce.

“What’d you do on your first day off?” Austin called lightly from the couch.

“Not much.” Evan tried not to think of his aborted call with Della. “I picked a new color for my bedroom. I’ve never liked the one I chose when I first moved here, just didn’t have the time during the year to fix it.”

“Fun,” Austin chuckled. “Painting project. I am looking forward to buying eventually so I can do some more with my place.”

“Are you going to do that soon?” Evan asked.

“Nah. I figured I’d put my extra cash into a second shop before a house. Get some more revenue coming in. Maybe University Place.”

“Where is that?” Evan hadn’t explored the city much past the old part of town where he lived. “I haven’t been here long enough to get to know the entire city. Barely know this area, to be honest.”

“So this is the North End right?”

“Yeah, I got that much thanks.” Evan rolled his eyes. “The real estate lady kept that as a talking point for nearly every house we saw. I figured a while ago that ‘north end’ meant something good.”

“I’ve always thought so.” Austin grinned. “If you keep going until the end of Sixth Ave, like the top of the hill instead of my shop’s end, and then turn left and keep going for a while, you’ll eventually run into University Place. More housing plans than old blocks. It’s newer, kind of upscale. There’s a huge golf course.” Austin shrugged.

“I know we just met, but that doesn’t seem like your scene. I can’t picture you out of this part of town.”

“No, you got that right. It’s definitely not me. But I wouldn’t mind having a shop there. Put it next to Whole Foods or something.” Austin chuckled. “I already have some customers driving from that area to come to my place.”

“For your extra special surprise haircuts?” Evan couldn’t help teasing.

Austin groaned and covered his face. “I will literally never forget that as long as I live. I can’t even believe it happened.”

“Hey, it’s over with. Dex’s hair is growing back, he’s happy, I’m happy, we’re all happy.”

“My shop still shaved the wrong dog.”

Evan realized it wasn’t just about him. It was Austin’s pride on the line. Which shouldn’t have been surprising. He didn’t really get embarrassed. Of course he planned nearly everything so that emotion would never get a chance to arise, but he didn’t know what he’d feel if he were in Austin’s place. He supposed he’d never know.

“Hey, is Mac & Jack’s okay with you? I don’t have any other beers in here.”

“Yeah, that’s great. I’ll need a few to get over the memory of my humiliation.”

Evan laughed out loud at that. “You’re so dramatic. Have you really never done anything like that before?”

“
No.
Nor have I ever corrected a customer on the care of their dog. I’m still sorry about that too, by the way.” Austin shook his head. “I remember thinking the day that Russ clipped poor little Dex down to nothing that the two worst mistakes I made in business so far were both with you.”

Evan laughed. “You sure you want to be over here, then? I seem to be a bit of a bad luck charm.”

Austin grinned back, and
damn
if Evan didn’t feel something. That warm fluttery nervous belly feeling that he’d never felt before. He’d thought guys were hot before. He wasn’t blind. But it was always a nice kind of feeling. Mild. Pleasant. Easy to pick up and put away at will.

Keep it light….

“So you want to head over?” Evan asked. He probably sounded a bit manic, but apparently in his head, light and friendly had translated to talking super fast and trying to pick up the salad and beers all at once.

“Sure. You want me to let the dogs out into the backyard first?” Austin’s smile was understanding. Like maybe he got how Evan felt and maybe felt it a little bit too.

“Of course.” He gestured at the glass door that opened out onto a patio and a small but neat backyard. “The door is unlocked.”

Dexter and Maggie sprinted outside happily. Austin filled Dexter’s water bowl and sat it out for them in case they got thirsty. Then he shut the door and followed Evan to the front.

“Who am I meeting again?” he asked.

“Jeff and Peggy and their daughter, Scout. Super friendly. Scout’s a little rambunctious, but she’s sweet, and she means well.”

“She’s the one who colored all over Dex, right?”

Evan had to admit he liked when Austin used his nickname for Dexter. It brought that funny flutter back to his stomach. “Yeah. She thought he could use some decoration, and they’d been learning about blue and purple in art class or something.” Evan shrugged. “She’s three.”

“I haven’t had much experience with children, but I’m sure it’ll work out fine.”

IT WORKED
out more than fine. Jeff and Peggy
loved
Austin. They also gave him a bit of a ribbing for the dog shaving. Austin took it in stride with an embarrassed laugh and a headshake. After that, they chatted and ate barbecue. Scout got sauce all over her face, and the cookies Evan brought from the market were a huge hit.

By the time he and Austin were walking back to his house a couple of hours later, his cheeks were sore from smiling, usually an unpleasant sensation paired with having to be “on” at a staff function. He’d laughed for real, smiled at Scout, and chuckled at Jeff and Austin’s battle over the superior football team—
Jeff, how could you possibly say the Steelers are better than the Seahawks? That’s goddamn sacrilege.
It had honestly been one of the best nights Evan had ever had. He wished he knew a good way to make it go on.

“I had a great time tonight,” Austin said after he’d collected Maggie from the backyard and given Dexter a scratch on the ears to say good night.

“Me too. Jeff and Peggy seemed to love you.” Evan nearly caught his voice on the word
love
. Which was ridiculous, of course. He gritted his teeth. “I’m glad you came.”

Austin gave him a light punch on the shoulder. All friendly like, of course. “I’ll talk to you later, Ev.”

“Yeah. Drive safe on the way home.”

Evan watched Austin drive away and then clicked the door shut behind him.

“I’m not a relationship guy, Dex. It never works. Me and Austin are better off as friends.” He sank onto the couch, and Dexter wriggled his way into Evan’s lap as usual, then rolled onto his back for his nightly tummy rub.

“I know you like him too, buddy.” Dexter made a snorty little snoring noise. Evan looked down. In the past thirty seconds, his worn-out puppy had managed to completely pass out. Evan chuckled and grabbed his television remote. He didn’t really feel like doing anything else anyway. Might as well be a puppy bed for a little while.

“HEY.” EVAN
liked that he and Austin had a typical greeting for each other.

“Hey yourself,” he replied. “What’s up? Shave someone else’s dog by mistake?”

“When are we going to let that go?” Austin asked.

“Never. You get so embarrassed every time. I can’t help it.” Evan realized he was
teasing
Austin. It was an unusual feeling, but not unwelcome.

“I was
going
to invite you to poker-and-movie night at Cole’s, which is usually super fun, but maybe you can’t come anymore.”

Evan laughed. “Please? I want to go.”

“Fine. Although you’re going to have to meet my sister. Are you up for hanging out with the she demon?”

Actually Evan couldn’t wait to see what Austin’s twin was like. He’d been intrigued when he’d found out Austin had one. “I’m definitely up for it.”

MARY BETH
couldn’t be trusted. She was nearly guaranteed to embarrass Austin. He knew that going in, and still he hoped she’d keep her mouth shut and smile and nod. Probably not much of a chance of that, was there? He gingerly hit the buzzer on Cole and Peter’s building. Cole kept telling him he was going to give him the building door code, but he also kept forgetting. Austin was okay with that.

“This is a nice place,” Evan said. He sounded suitably impressed. He had every right to be. The building was impressive. The few times Austin had been there already hadn’t lessened its effect.

“It is. Cole’s had some pretty amazing luck selling his paintings. Of course, we all think he’s a genius—even if I don’t exactly get art.”