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I rummage through it. Luckily, fifty percent of it is junk mail, but then a beautiful, handwritten envelope catches my attention. I open it and find an invitation to a fundraiser for this weekend from The Pet Coalition, a charity that we give ten percent of all sales to. Fancy plated dinner. An auction. They want Athena and me to attend as special guests of honor.
“Look at you, you local celebrity!” Tab calls from the back.
“You got the invitation, too?”
“Yeah, I’ll close up that day, then meet you guys there. But we need an employee!”
“Isn’t there some website where you can look at résumés and contact them? Or do we have to do the whole job-posting thing?”
The bell above the door sounds, and I peer up and smile. “Welcome to Pet Th?—”
The rest of the words die in my throat.
It’s Micah Freeman. He’s walking into my store.
“Did you choke?” Tab calls out, laughing.
“No, she’s just struck silent again,” Micah answers. He struts inside, taking off a pair of designer sunglasses and revealing his golden-brown eyes. A plain white T-shirt hugs his biceps. Paired with jeans, he should be a normal guy off the street, but instead, he looks like a movie star walking down Hollywood Boulevard.
It only takes a few seconds for Tab to appear at my back, and Athena also rises to her feet for almost the first time today. She jumps on Micah, stretching while her paws grip his chest. He gives her a good head rub, getting that spot behind her ears, before she jumps off and goes back to her afternoon nap.
“Are you going to say anything?”
I blink a few times to make sure movement is actually possible, then I try my mouth next. “Hi.” It comes out bland and cautionary instead of any sort of excited or happy.
He frowns a little.
“Hi, I’m Tabitha, but everyone calls me Tab.”
He shakes Tab’s offered hand, not taking his eyes off me but for a moment to thank her for giving him my number.
“She thinks I’m a traitor,” Tab responds.
I press my foot onto hers, not above maiming her in this instant.
“I just wanted to come by to see your place.”
“You should give him a tour!” Tab suggests, pulling her foot out from under mine so I can’t press down any harder than I already am. She then gives me a slight push, and I stumble toward the end of the counter.
I clear my throat and start walking Micah around. He’s as handsome in person as I remember. His hair isn’t as styled, just messy and sexy. This close, the veins in his arm muscles pop, and I have to drag my gaze away before I start drooling.
We pause in the teacup dog section when I realize I still haven’t said anything yet. “I don’t remember telling you where my shop was.”
“It wasn’t hard to look up. Pet Threads and Nashville did the trick.”
I nod slowly while I give him the spiel about the different store sections like I would if a new customer walked in.
He waits and smiles good-naturedly. “This is a nice place, Raeann.”
“Thanks. We worked really hard,” I admit. “New flooring, painting, décor.” I let my eyes wander around the store, imagining what it used to look like.
“I hope the interview with Paula increased sales.”
“Maybe…a little,” I answer offhandedly. I get distrusting when talking about money with people I don’t know.
“She’s being modest. We’re fucking killing it,” Tab shouts from the back.
Micah grins, the gold in his eyes nearly glittering. “I’m proud of you.”