Page 62 of Winning the Nightcap

“If I can’t exhaust you to the point of sleep, I’m not doing my job, Bec.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Tonight? Come over after the event,” he says.

“Okay. Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Me too.” The grin beaming from his face is infectious as I feel my own blooming. “Okay, well, I’ll get out of here and let you get ready. Is this the New Hope uniform? I like it.” He teases, tugging on the bottom of my holey T-shirt.”

“Smart-ass. Everyone knows the uglier the pajamas, the more comfortable they are.”

“Hey, I said I like it and I meant it. Especially the sneak peek I’m getting right here…” I gasp as his fingers graze the side of my left breast through one of the holes in my shirt and he leans down to kiss my neck. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You’re coming?” I pant out. He smirks down at me, chuckling.

“Yeah, babe. I’m coming today. And later tonight, you will be too.” He winks at me, calls Hopper over to follow him, and walks to my front door, leaving me breathless in the kitchen. “I’ll see you soon.” He smiles before closing the door behind him and Hopper, who follows him happily.

When I hear the latch click, I can’t keep the dumb grin from igniting on my face or the butterflies from letting loose in my stomach. I hurry around my apartment getting ready. The coffee and food Aiden dropped off do wonders to revive me from my zombielike state.

By the time I reach the event center, my energy is peaking. Myheart fills with a sense of pride and anticipation as I walk underneath the large banner on the outside of the building where large, scripted letters will hopefully draw the attention of interested families,Fall in love with your furever friend – Adopt today.

I leave my things with the rest of the volunteers’ belongings in the back room, and I don’t waste any time before jumping into the weeds; I work quickly getting signs posted, directing people where to go, making sure the display board I made for the entrance is up to date with any last-minute changes, checking in with the dogs still in training to see how they’re handling the change in environment, and prepping potential adoption paperwork.

Before I realize how much time has gone by, I feel hands squeeze around my waist. “Bitch, this isamazing. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“Dee, you made it,” I exclaim, turning around to give her a hug.

“Of course, you and Abby have been killing yourselves to get ready for this. I wouldn’t miss it. You know I can’t take on any pets right now, but I at least wanted to come show my support and make a donation. I still can’t believe the Kellers pulled their sponsorship. Total dick move. If I didn’t need to suck at the corporate teat to survive, I’d quit my job in protest.”

“I promise, that’s not necessary. It’s been a hectic week, but we’ll get through it,” I assure her.

“Carissa wanted to make it, but she got called into work last minute. She asked me to tell you how sorry she is and that she’s proud of you too.”

“You guys are too good to me. It’s the same event every year, you don’t always need to make the trip.”

“Yes, we absolutely do. Look at all of this, it’s incredible,” Ellie calls out as she bounds over to us, Luca bobbing along on her chest in his baby carrier, Dom following closely behind. She wraps me in a quickhug, Luca drooling slobber onto my shoulder as she pulls away. “This must have taken forever to set up.”

“Most of the last two days. Oh, and I know how much you love Golden Retrievers, Ellie. Thecutestlittle guy came into New Hope yesterday. He’s somewhere along the back wall.” I pinch her side and give her a wink.

“I am here for moral support today only,” Ellie says. “I can barely keep up with everything we have going on already. Luca just entered some type of sleep regression that everyone on the mommy boards is making a big deal about. I think Luca would need to have some sort of regular sleeping schedule for aregressionto be possible. We just don’t sleep at all. There, problem solved, no regression.”

“Ellie, you’re a superhero. You know that, right?” I ask. “We should have a girls’ night at your place. We’ll stay up all night with Luca and binge rom-coms while you and Dom get some sleep.”

“I heard binging rom-coms and came running. When is this happening?” Abby asks as she approaches.

“You decide, Ellie. Tell us when you want a night off, and we’ll be there with snacks for the night shift,” Dee agrees.

Ellie laughs it off, but I can see her eyes welling with tears, and she gently bounces Luca and gives him a soft kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll let you guys know.” I make a mental note to check on her. My gut’s telling me she’s not okay.

Dom gives Ellie a look of concern, his eyes briefly meeting mine, and then turns back to her and says, “I love the plan. Luca is definitely a night owl, and we’ve been struggling. The place looks great this year. Nice work, you two.”

We catch up for a few more minutes before Abby and I get pulled away to check on a few dogs getting settled into temporary kennels. Dee, Ellie, and Dom stick around for about an hour before they head out, Luca out of patience and in desperate need of a nap and Deefollowing their rushed exit. My parents and siblings also visit and shower their praises on me and the other volunteers. My family and my girls and their unwavering support fills me with a surge of gratitude and pride. Being able to share my passion for my work with the Center and New Hope means everything to me. But no matter how hard I try, I don’t convince any of them to take home a pet. There’s always next year.

As I’m closing up one of the kennels, I hear rumbling of energized chatter from the entrance of the building. I make my way to the front and spot Aiden with several guys that I don’t know, all wearing Aviators apparel.

I walk toward him hesitantly, not quite sure what to expect. But when he sees me, his entire face lights up.

“Bec, this is incredible. I was just showing the guys the board you made. It turned out great,” he says, pointing his thumb back over his shoulder.

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