Page 86 of Worst in Show

SingerQueen: Smart-ass. Was I wrong?

It takes a few moments before he responds.

AlCaponesGhost25: No. I wanted to very badly.

SingerQueen: But?

I hold my breath.

AlCaponesGhost25: But I knew what I knew, and I was worried you’d feel tricked into it once you found out. I didn’t want to start something then risk ruining it.

The flutters are back. I press a palm to my stomach.

SingerQueen: Define something please.

AlCaponesGhost25: You’ll know it when you see it.

SingerQueen: Promise?

AlCaponesGhost25: Promise.

I’m still jittery the next morning. The prospect of heading out to the farm again with Leo for the first time in over a week—and after everything that’s happened—feels big. To take my mind off it, I start work on a couple of Christmas sweater orders from Etsy between customers, and that helps. By the time the workday rolls to a close, I’ve almost forgotten to be nervous.

Leo lets us into Canine King with a cheerful “Come on in.” He’s almost back to normal and as put together as always in dark pants and a soft, knitted, dove-gray V-neck with a white button-down underneath.

My stomach lurches at his smile, but I inhale deeply and push the feeling away.

Cholula barks and backs up a step at the sight of him.

“Cho, come on.” I snap the leash. “When are you going to learn?”

“You should have dressed her up as Cerberus instead of Mrs. Potts,” Leo says. “It would have been more in character.”

He’s not wrong. I usher the small guardian of the underworld past me, and as soon as she sees Tilly, she’s placated.

I finally look up at Leo. My hair is down today so I push it out of my face. “Hi.”

“Hi.” His voice is warm, and his expression even more so. There’s a long silence that contains plenty more than a greeting. “You look very pretty today,” he says eventually. Bashful almost.

I look down at my brick-orange cardigan and blue jeans. “You don’t miss the princess getup?”

“Nah. This is more you.”

It is absolutely the right thing to say.

“Want to get going?” He snaps his fingers, and Tilly goes to him.

“Impressive. You guys have been practicing.” It’s the reminder I need. The dog show is just over a month away, and there’s still a lot of work to do.

“How come you’re only bringing Cholula today?” Leo asks in the car.

“I just want to be able to focus for once to make up for lost training hours, and considering Boris might be starting a late-in-life career as an escape artist, I figured I’d give him and Cap a break. I’ll bring them next time.”

“Makes sense. Do you think Cholula and Tilly will remember what to do?”

“Let’s hope so.”

“I’ve missed it.” Leo glances at me.

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