Page 20 of Pugs & Kisses

E vie noticed Bryson’s Jeep pull into the paid parking lot across the street from the restaurant, and her already accelerated heart rate sped up even more.

“Okay, Waffles, they’re here,” she murmured to her dog.

It had been a long time since she’d been out on a first date—this was not a date!

Damn Ridley and Ashanti for putting that in her head.

Although the semantics of whether it was a date didn’t matter.

What mattered were the butterflies flittering around her stomach as if she were a two-year-old on a sugar high.

If she didn’t get control over her nerves soon, she wouldn’t be able to eat a thing.

Her eyes tracked Bryson’s movements as he waited at the crosswalk at the corner of Magazine and St. Joseph’s Streets.

“Over here,” Evie called from underneath the pink awning that covered the restaurant’s entrance.

“This is… uh… colorful,” Bryson said as he approached her. He gestured to the mural featuring three fluorescent flamingos painted on the building’s outside wall.

“Flamingo A-Go-Go is one of the most pet-friendly restaurants in the city,” Evie said. “They even have dog entrées on the menu. I thought it was the perfect spot for these two to meet.”

Bella and Waffles had already begun the ceremonial first-meet butt sniff. Waffles moved from Bella’s rear to her left ear, then to her front paws. Evie held her breath as Bella repeated the paw sniff, then a quick sizing up of Waffles’s junk, before she went to sit at Bryson’s feet.

No growls. No yapping. No teeth baring.

Evie released her breath. “Thank God.”

“Glad that’s done,” Bryson said at the same time, letting out a huge sigh.

“Were you nervous they wouldn’t get along too?”

“Bella can be temperamental,” Bryson said, wrapping the end of her leash more securely around his hand. “But it looks as if your dog passed the sniff test, pun very much intended.”

Evie rolled her eyes. “Still with the stale jokes.”

“I am nothing if not consistent.” His grin lit up his entire face.

Two women, each carrying the newest Telfar bag, strolled past them, their gazes locked on Bryson.

Evie wanted to tell them to back the hell off, then remembered this was not a date and Bryson was not her man. She could not blame any one for looking. He was gorgeous. Always had been.

“What is he, by the way?” Bryson asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was the subject of several fantasies right now. “He looks like a pug and beagle, with a bit of something else.”

He held the door open so she and Waffles could walk in ahead of him.

“I’ve decided he has a little rat terrier in him but won’t be sure until his DNA test comes back,” Evie said.

“Interesting combo.”

“It gives him personality,” she said. “And before you ask, yes, he runs the house, even though I’ve only had him for a week.”

The restaurant’s interior was as cheerfully flamboyant as the exterior. Because the dreaded humidity New Orleans was known for hadn’t made an appearance yet, Evie requested patio seating. The hostess guided them outside to a table next to a fountain with pink flamingo metal sculptures.

Almost immediately, another woman stepped up to the table with two waters, announcing herself as their server. Evie ordered chicken, rice, and black bean dinners for the dogs and loaded French fries for her and Bryson to share.

“We must get the shrimp,” she said. “They’re fried and then drenched in this amazing sauce that has macadamia nuts. It’s ridiculously good.”

Evie looked over to find Bryson grinning at her after the server walked away with their orders.

“What?” she said.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“No, not nothing,” she said. “What is it?”

“It’s just that when I think of home, I don’t think French fries and macadamia shrimp.”

“Hey, you can get red beans and rice and shrimp étouffée whenever your little heart desires it, but you won’t get that when you’re out with me. I’ve eaten those dishes my entire life. I’m good.”

His forehead creased in confusion. “So what do you eat?”

“Everything else,” Evie said. “There’s a new restaurant representing another culture opening every week. We’ll have to go to my favorite Thai place soon. It’s even better than the one everyone used to rave about near LSU. Oh, and there’s this Haitian restaurant in Tremé that is unbelievable.”

“It sounds like I have some good meals to look forward to,” Bryson said. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Wait, I didn’t—” Evie shook her head. Thinking back to what she’d just said, she realized she had invited him. Still, she didn’t want him getting the wrong idea.

Ashanti and Ridley had joked about her dating, but she wasn’t ready to date anyone yet, even someone she’d admittedly had feelings for years ago.

Especially someone who’d had her crying and confused in her childhood bed because he wouldn’t answer her calls or texts and then left the entire state without a word to her. No thank you, sir.

“Um, just so we’re clear, these are strategy sessions,” Evie said. “Nothing more.”

There was a hint of disappointment in the rueful tilt of his lips.

He nodded. “I understand, Ev.”

Did he?

She didn’t owe Bryson a single thing after the way he’d ghosted her. In fact, she had every right to shut him out completely.

Except she couldn’t.

In the few days since he’d barreled back into her life, she’d been mired in this jumbled cloud of resentment, confusion, and nostalgia over how things ended that summer.

She had no doubt her anger at Cameron played a part in just how intensely she was leaning into that nostalgia, but this wasn’t about Cam.

This was about Bryson, and how despite being engaged to another man for the past four years, there had always been a tiny piece of her that thought, What if?

She pressed a hand to her stomach.

Acknowledging that she’d felt something for him—even a tiny bit—while she was with Cameron triggered an uneasy feeling in her gut.

“Stop overthinking,” Bryson said.

She jerked back. “What? I’m not,” Evie said.

“Yes, you are,” he said. “I told you, I understand. I keep thinking of you in terms of the Evie from that summer, but that isn’t who you are. I’m not the same person I was back then either, thank God. I’m trying to remember and respect that things are different. Forgive me if I slip up.”

Evie’s eyes softened as a gentle warmth spread throughout her.

This. This is what was so unique about him. Other men, including the one she’d been engaged to, would try to gaslight her into thinking she was being ridiculous. This is why it had been so easy to fall for him that summer. It’s why she had to be careful right now.

The server arrived with the dogs’ meals first, each delivered in pink dog dishes with water on one side and the chicken, rice, and veggies on the other. She also set two plates on the table and let them know their meal would be out soon.

The growls Evie had expected when Bella and Waffles first met emerged.

“Aht, aht!” she reprimanded. “You each have your own. No need to get territorial.”

Waffles and Bella both quieted and started in on their respective bowls.

“So, what magic potion did you slip the dogs?” Bryson asked. “It took months before I could get Bella to obey.”

“No magic,” Evie replied with a laugh. “Waffles and I quickly came to an understanding regarding temper tantrums. We both agreed not to have any.” She scrunched up her mouth.

“I kinda had a screaming fit the other day and it scared him.

He ran behind the couch and I had to coax him out with rotisserie chicken.

“I felt horrible, of course. I promised him that I would not rant at the air again. When I took him to the park and he started barking at a group of kids playing Frisbee, I made him promise the same.”

Bryson grinned. “And did he?”

“In my mind he did,” Evie said.

The deep timbre of his laugh reverberated along her skin. It caused those earlier butterflies to take flight again in the pit of her stomach.

The server arrived then with their food, setting the oval plate in the center of the table. Evie started dishing the loaded fries and shrimp onto the smaller plates, grateful for something to do with her hands.

“So, how recently did you lose your last dog?” Bryson asked as he stabbed his fries with a fork.

Evie tipped her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“You adopted Waffles from The Sanctuary the day I was there with Doc, right?”

“Oh, yes. Um, my last dog died about twelve years ago, back when I was an undergrad.”

He stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Cameron never wanted a dog,” Evie explained with a shrug. “He didn’t want pets of any kind. Not even a goldfish. He said we saw enough animals at work; we shouldn’t need them in our home.”

“Talk about a fucking red flag,” Bryson muttered.

“I said the same thing after I kicked him out,” she exclaimed. “I’m not sure how I didn’t see it.”

“Does Cameron even like being a veterinarian?” Bryson asked. “Back when we were lab partners, I always got the sense that he was there because it’s what was expected of him. You know, because it was the family business. I’m not sure he ever really wanted to be there.”

Evie took a sip of her water. “It’s what I’ve suspected for a long time.

But then, I went through something similar with my family, so I didn’t want to examine Cameron’s motivations too closely.

He’s a good vet—I’m not defending him or anything, just stating a fact.

He is good at his job—but he’s not a loving vet.

Everything is always straightforward and no-nonsense for him. ”

“I have different pet voices for different breeds, even though the pets are under anesthesia for ninety percent of the time we’re together,” Bryson said.

Why did that not surprise her?

“Because there is no question that you love your job,” Evie said. “I hope that surgical hospital knows how lucky they are to have you.”

He smiled that smile again, the one she wished she could see on a continual loop.