Page 23 of Playoffs & Promises

"It's cold outside," I tell her.

"Right."

"And I didn't want her chewing up my backseat."

She nods agreeably, but there's a smirk on her face letting me know she finds it funny. She tries to keep her face straight as she says, "You're making sure she doesn't get bored."

"Exactly." I pick up my phone and flip it over.

"Because that's what a good dog dad would do." Alexis pats my shoulder. "Rest your knee and if it's still bugging you let's tape it tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mom." I tease.

She points a finger at me, a stern expression on her face. "And if you eat all your veggies I'll give you a sticker."

We both bust up laughing in time for Dan to pop in the doorway. Alexis beams at him like he's the great Gretzky or something before waltzing over to him. Even with him covered in sweat from practice she doesn't seem to mind being near him.

He doesn't even look at me as he waves to me and says, "We'll see you at the party later."

He steals his wife away, and I get my stuff before heading home to Cinnamon. It feels good to have Cinnamon there, to not be calling an empty apartment home. Although I feel bad that I'll have to leave her alone after a quick walk.

"Cinnamon." I call when I open my apartment. But I don't hear any of the excited barks coming from inside.

In fact I don't hear any noise at all. Dropping my bag by the door I rush through in search of my dog. My dog. I look all around the kitchen and living room. Her toys are exactly where they were when I left after lunch. The guest room doesn't have her in it, and neither does my room. I'm standing in the middle of my room panicking when I hear a bark followed by a feminine laugh through the wall.

Immediately I go next door and knock.

More barks and more laughter follow from inside. When Maria pokes her head out of her apartment with a very happy Cinnamon between her feet relief washes over me.

"How did this happen?" I ask.

Maria shrugs. "I got home and she was sitting by your door. My guess is the door didn't latch or something and she snuck out, but couldn't sneak back in."

"When did you get home?"

"Around one. I left my cousin at the bakery so I'd have time to get ready for the party."

"I left for the arena at twelve forty, we just missed each other. Thank you for taking care of her."

Now that I'm not panicking over Cinnamon's absence I take the time to really look at Maria and have to keep my jaw from dropping. The woman is beautiful in a pair of jeans and a shirt, with flour stuck in her hair. But it's not the same as this equally beautiful, but confident version of her. The way she stands in her dark pink dress with her hair falling loosely in long waves around her shoulders. Her eyes draw me in, since they aren't glaring at me with intent to do harm. In fact, I don't detect any malice or ill will as she looks at me.

"You are stunning." I mean every word as I say it.

Her cheeks turn rosy, and she looks away. "Thank you."

"Do you want a ride to the party?" I ask her, and then I start to ramble. "Since we both live here, then we'd only need to take one car, not two."

"Oh." She looks surprised. "I need to pick up the cake from the bakery. Is that a problem?"

"Nope."

Cinnamon thumps her tail as she turns her head to look at each of us.

"I'm just going to go take her out really quick and change, and then we can go. Give me thirty minutes?"

"Actually I just took her out," Maria says. "And thirty minutes is great."

I take Cinnamon back to my place, and do a fist pump as soon as the door closes behind me. Cinnamon barks and I rub her head.

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