Page 12 of Worst in Show

“I guess.”

“Hey, didn’t you say Leo needs help in his store?” Micki asks me.

I give her a death stare in response.

Jaz grabs a handful of fries and shoves them in her mouth. “He does?”

“I’m joking, sis. Although…” Micki gets something calculating in her features. “In a way, wouldn’t it be… Hmm…”

I toss a burnt fry at her. “Finish the sentence, please.”

Micki leans in over the table and lowers her voice, so Jaz and I are forced to do the same. “Say that you wanted to get a leg up on him—wouldn’t it be sort of helpful to have a woman on the inside so to speak?”

“Ooh, that’s not a bad idea,” Jaz agrees.

They both turn their attention to me, and as much as I don’t want anything to do with Canine King, I must admit that Micki might be onto something here. “Did you see the A-frame he put out today?” I ask. “Talk to me about how I can fulfill your unmet canine needs.” My tongue curls around the words he’d written in blocky chalk lettering. “Happy Paws is literally right across the street. There are no unmet needs here. So basically, he’s not just rude. He’s rude and presumptuous.”

I have a sip of beer and go to continue my rant when the front door opens to let in a few more patrons. Among them, a familiar blond head stands out. “Speak of the devil,” I mumble.

“Where?” Micki and Jaz turn as one, and right then, Leo looks our way.

I can only imagine how we must appear—three deer in headlights ogling him. Of course, he’s here. Invading all my spaces.

“That’s him?” Micki asks.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ll take the job,” Jaz says, still staring.

Micki slaps her on the arm. “Repeat after me: we do not get involved with our friends’ enemies.” She spins my way. “That said, you never told me he was hot. Like…” She bites her lip and nods in approval. “And isn’t it interesting that you chose to leave that detail out while you’ve been bitching about him?”

“Hot people can be asses.”

“Hot people have fine asses,” she counters, eyes twinkling. “Why is your face turning red?”

It isn’t, but her saying so makes me flush hot. She’s infuriating.

“Leave Cora alone, Mick,” Jaz says, before addressing me. “But seriously, I’ll apply if you want me to. And I’ll tell you any secrets I find out.”

Leo and his friend have made it to the bar now. There’s a lot of back slapping and laughter. I vaguely recognize the other guy from high school, too. His face and gut are fuller than I remember, but it must be Marcus Kapperling. He and Leo were the hottest commodity jocks back then. Good buds. Bros.

“Blech.” I wrinkle my nose.

“What’s that now?” Micki asks.

“Is this what it’s going to be like from now on? Everywhere I go, he’ll be there, ruining things?”

“You want to know what I think?” Jaz asks. “I think you should let him know you can’t be messed with. This is your pub. It doesn’t bother you that he’s here because you don’t care. He means nothing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I look Leo’s way again. Who wears a button-down and a sport coat to a pub? It’s probably tailored to better fit those wide shoulders, too. His friend, who hasn’t aged half as gracefully, is in a flannel and blue jeans. My attention returns to Leo, but this time he’s watching me. He raises his beer in greeting and nods.

“Fuck.” I sink lower in my seat and pretend to be searching for something in my purse, but then I stop. Jaz is right. If I back down now, he’s already won.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, draining the rest of my glass.

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