Page 35 of Worst in Show

How does he know that? Has he been net stalking me? I don’t have time to consider this further. He’s getting away. “If not for me then for Harvey.” It’s a shot in the dark, but the two of them did seem to hit it off.

Leo slows. “Oh, that’s playing dirty.”

I take a couple of steps closer. “Please. I need a way to get to the nursing home or Pop will be all alone there. A few lessons are all I ask. It’s not like I’m starting from scratch.”

His expression says he begs to differ, but to his credit, he doesn’t spell it out.

I go in for the kill. “Unless you don’t trust your teaching skills, of course.”

He squares his shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with my teaching skills. I’ll have you driving that thing in no ti—” His eyes widen. “Ah, very clever, I see what you did there.”

I smile. “So you’ll help? He wants me to bring him a few things tonight.”

Leo runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “Fine.” He puts a finger up to stop me from responding. “On one condition.”

My stomach dips. If he asks me to let Canine King best Happy Paws, I—

“Look, I know you’re feeling a little territorial perhaps and protective of Harvey and his pet shop, but—”

I cross my arms. “With all due respect, you don’t know anything about me.”

He mimics my stance and considers me for a long moment. “Debate team, art club, volleyball… Parents’ names are Martin and Lynda, and apparently you hold a twenty-year town record for most money made off a lemonade stand in one day.”

I gape at him. “You looked me up?”

“You had the advantage of knowing me. It didn’t seem fair. What was in that lemonade?”

“I’m getting light serial-killer vibes here.”

“Well, being forced to listen to incessant meowing in the store for three days admittedly made me feel a little stabby.” He raises an eyebrow.

I could deny it was me, but what’s the point? “Okay, that’s fair.”

“Besides, it was hardly a deep dive into your personal vaults,” he says. “I checked my yearbook and talked to my aunts. Over five hundred dollars in a day?”

“They knew about that?”

“They remember standing in line for it. Come on, tell me. What was your secret?” His eyes glitter as he tilts his head forward, all earnest and innocent.

To my dismay, it works. “It was 104 degrees that day, and my grandparents’ house was on a busy corner. That’s all. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Still impressive.”

I clear my throat. “You said you had a condition?”

“Yes.” He lets his arms relax at his sides. “I’ll teach you to drive stick if you agree to a truce. No more of this sabotage and prank business—it’s below both of us. We’re adults.”

When he says it like that…

I blink up at him, weighing the pros and cons. Maybe I can be mad at him but still be civil. For Harvey. “Okay.” I nod. “A truce.”

He stares at me for a moment, something that looks almost like relief playing behind his eyes. Then he turns on his heels. “I close at six. I’ll be over at six thirty.”

I locked the front door,” Leo says when I come down the stairs after closing. He’s browsing the mishmash of our displays, and for the first time ever, I’m ashamed of what the place looks like. Compared to Canine King, we are the dumpy, backwater cousin.

“Thanks, must have forgotten.” I grab my scarf from under the counter but avoid looking at the stack of red-stamped envelopes next to it. Got to shake it off. I have a plan. Sort of. “Okay, ready. Show me your manual transmission ways, master.”

My word choice triggers a glint in his eyes. “Master, huh?”

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