Page 123 of The Guy Who Fake Dated Me

“Likewise,” she drawled. After another moment of scrutiny, Brooke dropped her gaze to William’s dog. “He’s adorable. Where did you get him?”

William actually looked at me. “From the shelter that we went to for Kyle’s wedding.”

“May I pet him?” Brooke asked.

William eyed Brooke with his usual stoic expression. “You might get drooled on.”

“I’ve had worse.” Without preamble, Brooke knelt down and started loving on Frank. “Hey, boy, how are you?” The dog closed his eyes and looked to be thoroughly enjoying the attention.

Kyle shot me a raised eyebrow asking what was going on.

I didn’t have the visual cues to tell him that Brooke didn’t much care for pretentious men in clean clothes, so I just shook my head.

He shrugged and said, “Shall we go in?”

Brooke stood and stepped out of the way to let the boys pass.

“Come on, girl,” Kyle said to Holly. William and Frank followed.

“William is actually a nice guy,” I said.

“He’s stiff as a brand-new board.” Brooke watched the guys go through the gate. “But he is easy on the eyes.”

“Plus, he’s filthy rich,” I said.

“I figured that when I saw the blindingly white sneakers that have probably only been used twice before this.”

“Don’t judge a man by his footwear,” I said.

“Why not? It’s a solid measurement of a person.”

I made a mental note to start looking at people’s shoes more.

Brooke took me by the shoulders and steered me after them. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re stalling.”

I had been.

“Come on, time to face the dog park.” Brooke’s hands were freakishly strong, probably from bailing hay or whatever, and it would have taken a great deal of effort to get away from her. My breathing sped up with each step we took toward the gate. My hands shook. I suddenly wished Logan was here.

Thoughts of his arms around me were distracting enough for me to take a few steps before I noticed that we’d ended up inside the fence.

There were moments in movies when someone loses a kid at a playground or water park, and the camera shakily pans over the scene as they try to locate them with the sun glaring in their faces.

That’s what I felt like right then.

Dogs ran everywhere. Owners stood alone or in clumps, watching or leading their pets. A few kids threw balls. Several small dogs had taken over one of the ramps and didn’t look like they were moving anytime soon even though something the size of a pony was sniffing at them.

ALassiedog—I couldn’t remember what they were called—ran right past me. I squeaked and jumped over to Brooke where I clung to her arm for dear life.

As usual, she laughed, but she put a hand on mine and slowly kept us moving forward.

Frank’s tail lashed back and forth, and he tugged at his leash. Holly watched the chaos with interest but obviously wasn’t dying to join in.

I loved that dog so much. She was my spirit animal.

Brooke and I got to an empty bench, and I gladly took up residence on one end. “Let’s watch for a few minutes.”

My hope had been to close my eyes and imagine I was somewhere else, but Brooke was right. I’d come here as a next step in getting over my crippling fear of animals.

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