Page 85 of The Problem with Dating

At that moment, he didn’t look too much like Cujo. If anything, he looked…sweet.

What the heck did you do to that dog today, Yara Kingsley?

I cleared my throat, and Feliz shook himself awake. The moment his stare met mine, his teeth clenched together, and he returned to his deep growling and began barking rapidly toward me. Oh yes. There he was. The vicious guy I was beginning to know very well.

“Ah! What happened?!” Yara freaked out, shaking herself awake from the sound of Feliz’s barking. She rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes, and without a second of hesitation, she reached forward to grab Feliz before he could attack me.

“I guess I don’t need to be worried about intruders,” I said, taking a handful of steps backward.

“Give me a second,” Yara replied. She stood and hurried away toward my spare bedroom, where she opened the door and placed Feliz inside before shutting the door once more. She walked back out toward me and yawned. “You’re late.”

“I didn’t give a time.”

“Still, you’re late. No one should work past midnight.”

“The life of a restaurant owner. It seems like you had a good day.”

“Feliz is a sweetheart. I didn’t mind spending the day with him.”

“Since you guys get along so well, maybe he’d be better off with you,” I semi-joked.

She laughed, and it sounded like light. Bright and full even though she’d just awakened. “My Cocoa isn’t quite ready for a new roommate.”

“Figures.” I brushed my thumb against my nose.

“You should get some sleep, or at least as much as Feliz allows you,” Yara said. “I’ll be by in the morning to take him to work.”

“Okay. And, Yara?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Yara?” I repeated.

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” I said once more.

She arched an eyebrow. “What is that thank-you for?”

“Just for you being you.”

* * *

My bodyand mind wanted to sleep, but Feliz had different plans for me.

“Please stop barking.” I sighed as I sat outside the spare bedroom. I had little to no sleep the night prior, seeing as how Feliz decided to howl all night long. Earlier, I tried to peek into the room to make sure he had enough food, and that was when he lunged for the door. I shut it quickly before he could attack me.

How did Yara manage to tame him?

Seeing as how I was in charge of keeping him alive, that dog had a lot of nerve to treat me like crap.

“What were you thinking, Teresa?” I muttered to myself, resting my head against the hallway wall. Right that second, there was a knock on my front door. I stood and answered it to find Yara. She was wide-eyed and looked well-rested.

“Good morning!” she chimed.

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