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Jay stared into the dog’s soulful brown eyes. Then the dog put out his paws and lowered his body, his eyes never leaving Jay’s. She practically felt the dog saying,Come on, give me a break, please.
Jay let out a sigh. “Somebody gave me a chance when I had no hope,” he told the dog, “and it turned out pretty well. Let’s you and me take a chance on each other.” The dog licked his face and let out a little yip. Jay laughed and said, “I’ll take him.”
Erin watched as Jay paid the fee and filled out the forms to adopt a mongrel of unspecified origin that Emilia told him was mostly border terrier.
Emilia was pretty matter of fact through the whole process—she did, after all, do this every day—but Erin was impressed and wasn’t going to hold back. As they were leaving, she said, “Jay, you saved his life.”
But Jay only looked worried. He turned to her. “You have to help me. I don’t know how I’m going to find the time this little guy deserves.”
As though she could sense his buyer’s remorse, she said, “YouknowI will. It’s going to be okay.”
Jay seemed to relax a little. A warm feeling suffused her body and she realized that he trusted her. Really, truly trusted her. It felt good.
He said, “I guess living with me can’t be worse than getting yapped at by a hundred other homeless dogs every day.”
She laughed. “Definitely not. He’ll be living in the finest house in all of Carmel-by-the-Sea.” Without thinking, she added, “I’m jealous.”
Jay gave her a look she couldn’t read and she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. She hoped he didn’t think she wanted to live with him. It was just that his house was incredible. She decided to say nothing further, in case she dug an even deeper hole for herself.
Jay lifted the dog and tucked him under one arm. One well-muscled arm, she couldn’t help but notice, and while he was searching his pockets for his car keys, the dog licked his neck and then his ear. Her heart melted. Just melted.
“Are you going to keep his name?” Erin asked. Secretly, she thought Rocco didn’t suit the poor dog at all. “The shelter people give the dogs names if they come in as strays.”
“I don’t think so,” Jay replied. “It doesn’t suit him.” He looked down at the dog. “Is your name Rocco?” The dog sneezed.
Glad they were on the same page, Erin helped put the dog in the car. He immediately pushed his head between the seats. A little dog drool dripped on the butter-soft leather and there were a few strands of hair left behind on Jay’s designer polo shirt. He didn’t seem to mind, and she suspected that both these things would do him good.
“We need to pick up supplies,” Erin said as she settled into the passenger seat with the dog now on her lap. She directed him to her favorite pet store and he bought the fanciest dog food, the fanciest bed, the most ridiculously expensive leash and harness, and some complicated gizmo that kept the dog safely strapped in the car, as well as some chew toys and treats. This dog’s life was about to get a whole lot better—all his doggie dreams were coming true.
With the car fully loaded, Jay turned to Erin. “Will you come with me while I take him for his first walk?”
She’d been having a hard time keeping herself from turning into a puddle of goo watching Jay spoil his new pet, and this request didn’t help matters. He seemed surprisingly nervous, a quality she’d never encountered in him before. Frankly, it was endearing. As tactfully as possible, she asked whether he’d ever had a dog before. He shook his head and looked a little ashamed. She found it adorable, but wasn’t about to let him know. Instead, she agreed to accompany the two new best friends on their first walk. She didn’t even suggest that they pick up Buzzy first, who was waiting patiently for her at home. She suspected that for this first walk, it was important that Jay and the dog have some time to bond without distraction. She could stand well back.
Jay parked in his drive and as soon as he opened the car’s door, the dog bounded straight out and Jay had to chase him.
“He might need a bit of training,” Erin called, trying not to laugh. She watched Jay as he quickly caught up. It was turning out to be the cutest—and most unexpected—evening with Jay. He’d been a goner as soon as the dog leaned against him, as if he were saying, “I’m yours. And you’re mine.”
For a second, a thought flashed through her mind about saying that exact thing to Jay, but then she forced it away. Yes, they were getting closer, but they were far frombelongingto one another.
Besides, the two of them could never be.
Jay motioned for Erin to catch up and she joined them as they crossed the road, then took their first steps together on the white sand. There were quite a few other dog owners on the beach, catching the last of the light. Jay was hypervigilant, sweetly protective, keeping the dog on the leash and poised at the ready with the poop bags he’d bought at the store. The dog was utterly delighted, trotting alongside Jay and yipping at the water. Those two were going to get on just fine, she thought. Shedefinitely liked this softer side of Jay a lot better than the brash hustler.
They stayed silent, taking in the beauty of the beach and watching the dog absorb it all. But as they were walking, Jay suddenly stopped and banged his fist against his forehead.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“I’m going to LA for two days. I’ve just adopted a dog and I have to leave. What am I going to do?”
Erin tried to look reassuring. She knew what it was like to get carried away falling in love with a dog and forget all about practicalities. It was easily done. But maybe not for Jay, who was used to being the one pulling the puppet strings in Hollywood and keeping track of every deal and detail with his clients. He must be kicking himself.
She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Calm down. We’ll figure it out. When do you have to leave?”
“Tomorrow!” he groaned. “I never do stuff like this. I wasn’t thinking. I’m going to have to take him back to the shelter.”
“You’re just panicking,” she said in as soothing a voice she could muster. “You’ve taken on a big responsibility, but you’re ready for it. I can help you.”
He said, “Obviously, if I had more time I’d hire the best dog-sitter in town, but I don’t have the time to vet somebody. And besides, it’s such short notice.”