Page 68 of Better Luck Next Time

Maisie’s only response was a terse nod. Her gaze still on Adalia, she said, “One of them’s caught you, I can tell. Want to give me a hint?”

Adalia smirked. “Let’s just say I’m aGame of Thronesfan, even though the last season was a major letdown.”

Something lit in Maisie’s eyes, and he knew Adalia had her on the hook. “Ah, Tyrion. Certain dogs don’t do well in the shelter. He needs to be with people. I tried taking him home with me, but my old man isn’t a fan.”

“You live with your father?” Adalia asked, her tone more curious than judgmental.

“That’s what she calls her dog,” River answered, finally approaching the table. “Einstein’s twelve, and he’s what you might call set in his ways.” He glanced at Maisie, as if asking for permission to sit. Emotion warred in her eyes, but she gave him a slight nod.

“Tyrion’s been returned three times, you know,” Maisie said, her focus back on Adalia. “Trust me, I want to get him out of here. You saw him. But I also don’t want him to get attached to someone only to be let down again.”

“Three times?” Finn blurted out. “What’s wrong with him?” He hadn’t noticed any special markings on the kennel, but the last thing he wanted was for Adalia to take a biter home with her. Especially a biter the size of that dog.

But suddenly everyone at the table was scowling at him.

“He’s perfect,” Adalia insisted.

Maisie, speaking at the same time, said, “Nothing.” The two of them exchanged a smile, then Maisie added, “Huskies are adorable puppies, but they get big fast, and they’re more work than people think. They need a lot of exercise, plus they shed enough to make a fur coat. Several times over. And they’re notorious runners. Tyrion ran from his last home enough times that they just gave up.”

Would it really be a good idea for Adalia to bring home a canine escape artist when she already had a cat that went on walkabouts?

But Finn saw the look in Adalia’s eyes—she didn’t care. She needed to bring that dog home to heal something in herself.

“If he wanted to stay with me, I would never bring him back,” she said simply. “Never.”

Maisie gave her a weighing look again and then nodded.

“Maybe you can text Jack?” Finn suggested.

“You’re going to ask him over text if he wants to foster a dog he’s never met?” River asked dubiously.

“Why not?” Adalia said. “He just moved in with a sister he’d never met. It’ll be a year of firsts for him.”

Maisie snorted, her eyes sparkling. “I think I like you.”

“Well, good,” Adalia said, sending a look at River akin to a dare. “Because I like you too.”

River held up his hands. “Text him. I know when I’m beat.” He glanced at Maisie again. “And I know better than to stand in the way of a person and their soul companion.”

“Soul companion?” Adalia asked, already pulling out her phone. Her eyes flicked to Finn, and he felt his heart start racing.

“That’s what I’ve always called them,” Maisie said softly. “Pet seems demeaning to me.”

Some of the tension in the room had eased, like a balloon with a slow leak. Maisie wanted to harden her heart to River, that was clear, but it wasn’t working. Not with him around, anyway.

Adalia fired off the text so quickly that Finn felt borderline sure it just read:You’re okay with me fostering a dog, right?She certainly hadn’t typed enough to have warned him about the shedding or the running away.

Then again, maybe Jack shouldn’t have taken off abruptly if he hadn’t wanted to come back to a depressed husky. Finn still didn’t totally trust him after what he’d overheard on the phone the other day, although he realized there could be dozens of different interpretations. It had only been a one-sided conversation, after all, and Adalia hadn’t seemed overly concerned.

“Should we talk about the show while we wait for him to respond?” Finn proposed. Then, because Maisie clearly didn’t know the deal with Jack, he added, “Jack’s been doing a lot of work organizing Buchanan’s events, but he’s out of town this weekend. We’ll loop him in when he gets back.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Her gaze shot to River, and she said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said, Finn, about coming in to tug on some heartstrings—and purse strings—opening night. I’m down. And I’d be happy to bring a litter of puppies for people to play with so we can really turn the screws.”

So she’d decided she wasn’t going to ignore River for…well, however long it took to get over unrequited love. Well, unrequited romantic love. He knew River loved Maisie, but he saw her as family. Always had. Something Finn might have—gently—told Maisie a long time ago if he’d realized how she felt.

Adalia gave a little huff of a laugh. “I was thinking about that, actually. I’ve been doing photo shoots with Hops and Jezebel to promo River’s new beers. What if I take photos of the adoptable dogs? We can display them in the events hall. Maybe raffle them off, and the funds for a particular photo can go to help that dog.”

Finn squeezed her hand. “That’s a great idea.”

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