Page 11 of Dopplebanger

“Working at the grooming side of the animal clinic was supposed to be a temporary gig while I made my way through college, with the added benefit of getting to borrow other people’s pets for a while. Then my boss found out that I was good at math and taking a lot of business classes, and I got talked into balancing the books. After I graduated, I took on scheduling for the vets, vet techs, and groomers, and managing all of the office items. Occasionally, when they get behind at doggy baths, I end up jumping into my old shoes. And that’s the story of how I became a pet grooming accountant office manager.”

I rubbed my fingers across my jaw, picturing her greeting people with her dimpled smile when they came in with their animals and running after dogs that made a break for it. “I gotta be honest, it’s a pretty hot combo.”

“I gotta be honest, you’d be the first person who ever thought that.”

“I guarantee that’s not true. I bet guys hit on you all the time when they bring in their pets.” The thought made me clench my fist against my thigh, so apparently the ridiculous overreactions were around to stay.

“You’d lose that bet. Now, Tori is giving me dirty looks because I’m supposed to be starting anOriginalsmarathon withher, so we better set a time for tomorrow morning. Is seven too early?”

“Nope. I’ll pick you up at seven.”After I text my brother and ask for your address.I doubted telling her I’d forgotten where she lived would earn me any brownie points, and the other option was suddenly becoming clairvoyant, which I also didn’t see happening.

I wished her goodnight and turned to finish packing, thinking that right now, seven didn’t seem early enough.

SIX

Staying up until two with Tori was a mistake. Well,mistakeseemed a bit harsh considering all the eye candy we’d partaken in, but as I waited for the coffee to brew,tiredwas an understatement.

The loud knock at the door made me wince.

Butterflies stirred to life when I saw Evan on the other side of the peephole. When he greeted me with a smile and a “Mornin’, gorgeous,” those butterflies got serious about batting their wings. “You ready for our grand adventure?” he asked.

“Almost. Coffee first.” I grabbed my favorite Harry Potter mug out of the cabinet, the one that said “Espresso Patronum” across the front. Then I frowned at it because there was some reason I wasn’t going to use it, but how could that be? It was my favorite.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Evan. Right. We were leaving, which meant I wanted a to-go cup. I placed the mug back in the cabinet and grabbed my thermos instead. “Want some?”

“Nah. I’m not that big on coffee.”

“Since when?” I asked as I reached for the cream and sugar.

“This morning, I guess.”

I turned to study him, my skeptical expression in place, but then I really took him in, andgahhe was sexy. I could write a sonnet about his eyebrows alone. Anyway, I could if I Googled what exactly a sonnet entailed.

So I wouldn’t completely lose my mind and start spouting cheesy poetry, I focused on fixing up my coffee.Where’s the stupid lid?

I opened the cupboard with all of our glasses and mugs and ran my hand along each shelf, still coming up empty. Just when I was about to start cursing and jump up on the counter, I spotted the lid—right next to the coffeemaker. I swear it wasn’t there the first time I looked for it.

When I turned around, the amount of amusement in Evan’s features gave me the inkling that I was the brunt of some kind of unspoken joke. I glanced down and checked that my clothes were in order. They seemed to be. “What?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.”

I pouted my lips. “That’s what people say when it’s something.”

“You caught me.” He stepped closer and cupped my cheek. “You’re obviously tired and it’s cute. I figured you just always spoke one-hundred miles an hour.”

“One, I do, but two, not really, because no matter how fast I talk, it wouldn’t help me travel any number of miles, although that would be super useful.”

His smile spread, bringing out that ridiculously chiseled jaw.

“And three, the state I’m in is sort of your fault. Talking to you on the phone last night made me late for my Netflix appointment with Tori.” Not that I regretted a second of it. “She kept saying ‘just one more episode’ again and again, and then the ‘for realz, last one’ ended on a cliffhanger. So thenIsaid one more, and this tired version of me is a result.”

Evan brushed his thumb over my cheekbone and my breath caught in my lungs.

“It’s probably a relief, my talking slower for a couple of minutes.” Thanks to his touch, I was also talking a lot breathier. Unfortunately, more nearing-an-asthma-attack than sultry-vixen breathy.

“Nope, I miss scrambling to keep up with what you’re saying.”

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