Page 53 of Sneak Attack

“It went well, but they always do. I’m not sure if she’s the right fit. They strike me more as couch potatoes than owners who know the true rambunctiousness of a boxer.”

“That’s gotta be hard.” So many owners didn’t do research into the kinds of dogs who would fit their family and lifestyle long term. They just wanted the cute one, or the popular one, and then a few years in, they decided the dog was too much work. I’d seen it again and again and it was always so sad.

“I know. But the home is safe and clean, and they really seem to be animal people. There’s only so much we can do especially with the number of animals we have now. If we get too many more, we’ll have to ship some to other rescues and that’s always hard because then we lose control of placement.”

“I’m sure so many of those placements are a rock and hard place for you,” Nora said, equally knowing.

“Enough of that.” Sarah flipped her hand in the air and took hold of her drink as the server returned and slid our dinners onto the table. After ensuring her we didn’t need anything else, I inhaled the incredible aroma. Potatoes. Green beans. Sausage. It was such a simple, stick to your bones, kind of meal, and yet it smelled delicious. “No more work talk. I need to know what’s going on with you and your foray into the dating app world.”

Nora snorted. “Please. I’ve barely checked them in the last week.”

“Dating apps?”

“Yep. Nora here decided a couple weeks ago she was going to start downloading them. She needs a man, and I’m happy to encourage all ridiculous ways of finding them.”

“She made my prompt be ‘do you want an insult or a compliment?’ Except what she forgot is that men getsupertouchy when insulted by a female. I’ve been called a bitch more in the last two weeks than in my entire thirty years.”

“Please. That’s why you do it. Man can’t take a joke and it’s an immediate red flag. Right?” Sarah’s brows, blonde and perfectly sculpted, arched in my direction.

“I wouldn’t do it. I don’t really date.”

“Why the hell not?” Sarah gasped like I’d personally offended her.

“Ignore her,” Nora mumbled around a bite of her potatoes, covering her mouth. “She thinks just because she’s happily engaged everyone needs a man in her life, but she forgets that the reason she and AJ work so well is because he lives eight hours away.”

“That’s not true. I can’t wait until we can live in the same town, but that’s not possible right now. I’m just saying the fact we only see each other every three to four weeks makes the sex incredibly hot. Andthat’swhat I want for everyone.”

My thoughts immediately drifted to Cole. Hot sex would definitely be his strength and I didn’t even need the kiss to know it. Everything about him screamed confidence and control. Butthat kiss…

“Ohhh,” Sarah sang, and her finger was pointed at me, spinning in a circle. “Nowthatis a look from a female who knows exactly what I’m talking about.”

Awesome. I didn’t need my face showing anything. I cleared my throat and tried to force down my runaway thoughts with a sip of my white wine.

Besides, Sarah didn’t know me. No way could she read myfaces. “Nonsense.”

She was also wrong. I wasn’t sure I’d ever had that kind of hot sex.

“Leave her alone, Sarah. Not everyone is as sexually free as you.”

“Shame,” she muttered and dug into her green beans. After she chewed, she thankfully refocused on Nora. “So, the dating apps. Don’t think I didn’t see you change the subject on me.”

“They’re pointless. At this point, I really do think I’m going to be the woman who ends up alone with ten cats except in my case I’ll also come with four dogs, two birds, and a ferret.”

“Ew on the ferret.” Sarah cringed.

“Too far?”

“Yes. And you’re lying. If you have ten cats, you’ll obviously have at least that many dogs.”

“Of course.” Nora laughed. “My bad.”

She lifted her hands in surrender and I took a moment to enjoy their friendship. It’d been a long time since I’d sat and ate dinner, surrounded with drinks and smiles and good food and enjoyed myself.

Too long, probably.

Since it was obvious Nora and Sarah had become close friends in the few months since Nora moved to town, I settled into my dinner, laughing along with them, but in the background. There wasn’t much I could contribute even as they tried to include me. I hadn’t made a lot of friends in Florida, in school or afterward. My choice. I couldn’t even say I would have been a good friend to anyone had the invitation and opportunity been there.

For too long I’d been focused solely on myself, my grief and my past.

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