Page 40 of Betting on Lizzie

She told him to lie down while she cleaned up the mess. Tuckered out, he laid quietly while she finished mopping. It wasn’t worth a trip to the vet yet. But she couldn’t have him at work.

“You okay without me tonight?” she asked Brett. “Charlie’s not feeling well. I’m gonna take him home and stay with him.”

“We’ll be fine,” Brett said. “Get better soon, boy.” He patted Charlie’s head.

When they got back to her condo, she searched the internet for things that could be wrong—a huge mistake. Every other thing she clicked on made it sound like death was imminent. She called Kate. She and Adam both had dogs and would know what to do.

“Wait and see,” Kate said. “Sometimes they just get into something and are fine once they barf. If he won’t eat dinner or isn’t better by morning, then worry.”

“Okay,” Lizzie said. “He’s sleeping now. I’m staying home from work to keep an eye on him. Thanks.”

She filled Charlie’s food dish, but he didn’t touch it. That was totally unlike him and stressed her out even more. If he hadn’t eaten by breakfast, she’d call the vet.

Out the window, fat fluffy snowflakes fell. She opened the slider and walked onto the balcony. The condos with balconies were almost twice the price of the others, but on nights like this, it was worth it. Her view overlooked the marina and the river. She could see the boardwalk and short fishing pier. A man was walking his dog and taking pictures. After watching him for a minute, she realized it was Ben and Jasper. They were the only two out, and the dog was unleashed, running circles around Ben’s legs as he snapped a photo here and there.

What the hell, she thought. She picked up her phone and texted him.

Startin’ a new hobby in the dead of winter?

His head swiveled, searching for her. She put a thumb and a finger in her mouth and whistled, causing him to look up and wave.

Wanna come in and get warm?

Where had that come from? Normally, she never made the first move. But when it came to Ben, she’d taken to breaking all her rules. Initiating the dance and the kiss last weekend still had her perplexed and wondering what had gotten into her.

From four stories below, Ben gave her a thumbs up and started toward her building. She sprinted to the bathroom, ran a comb through her hair, and brushed her teeth. Just as she came out, he knocked.

His face was red from the cold, but he wore a huge smile.

“Hey,” he said. “I figured you’d be at work tonight but was gonna text you anyway. See when you’d be available to hang out again.”

“I’m free right now.”

“Perfect. Maya is officially ungrounded and spending the night at a friend’s house.”

Lizzie kept her reaction cool but was inwardly relieved. His delayed communication had been about Maya. Not that he didn’t like her.

Jasper waddled over to sniff Charlie, who was lying in front of the fireplace. They did the dog greeting thing, and then Jasper walked a circle before plopping down next to Charlie. Too cute.

“Taking up photography?” she asked, nodding to the camera hanging from his neck.

“Better than skydiving.” He shrugged. “My folks gave me a halfway decent camera a few years back, and I’ve only used it twice.”

“Nice. Well on your way to ‘getting a life,’” she said with a teasing smile.

“Hey, I’m also going to play in the Fire and Ice game this year. And Noah invited me to play poker with him, your dad, and your in-laws.”

“Oh, yeah. I should have thought of that. They’re always looking for a sixth.”

“My calendar’s really filling up fast. So, if you want in…”

She smiled. “Well, come on in. I don’t have much in the fridge. We could order a pizza.”

“So, how come you aren’t at work?” he asked, laying the camera on an end table and hanging his coat on the rack by the door.

“Charlie’s sick. It didn’t seem right to have him at the bar.”

In the two minutes they’d been talking, Charlie had gone to his bowl and was scarfing down dinner.

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