Page 85 of Hound Dog
I unmuted my microphone. “Simon, do you play D&D? Clear your throat if it’s a yes.”
Within seconds, he cleared his throat.Yes! I knew it.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.
Enzo was exactly the sort of woman he was looking for. So, there was only one question left: was Simon the kind of man Enzo was looking for?
“Okay,” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Tell her: At least if she’d said she was readingTasha’s Cauldron of Everythingit would’ve been more original.”
Haylee leaned into me and whispered, “What’sTasha’s Cauldron of Everything?”
“A D&D reference book,” I whispered back.
I waited, watching as Simon repeated what I’d said. Enzo paused briefly to take a lick of her ice cream, then said, “That’s a good read. But not as good asFizban’s Treasury of Dragons.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Haylee said, waving her arms around.
I muted the microphone because I had an inkling that whatever she was about to say wasn’t meant for Simon’s ears.
“Let me get this straight.Bossy Pantswasn’t cerebral enough for this guy, but D&D reference guidesare?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have to agree with my clients. I just have to find them a good partner.”
Even though I knew Enzo wasn’t exactly as snobby as he was about reading, they were a good match. I didn’t love the fact that if they started dating, he might infiltrate our D&D campaign, but that was a small price to pay for Enzo’s happiness.
“At what point do you tell her that she’s talking to the client?” Haylee asked.
Hm, she had a point. Slowly, a grin stretched across my face. “I have an idea.” I unmuted the microphone. “Okay, Simon, you just have to trust me on this next bit to say, okay? Tell her that you recently heard a story about a girl who was playing fifth edition years ago. She’d been rolling shit all game and tried to kill her own character in the game by suicide. The DM made her roll for it… and she got a nat-1. She rolled so bad, she couldn’t even take her own life in the game.”
He repeated the story and immediately, I noticed Enzo looking around.
She was searching for me, I knew it. That story happened to her in one of our many high school games, and I’d never stopped giving her shit for it.
“Wait a damn minute,” Enzo muttered. “Is thatyourdog?”
Simon looked down at Princess, giving her belly a scratch. “Not yet. But I think I'm going to adopt her.”
“And lemme guess,” Enzo practically snarled. “Is her name Princess?”
“Yeah!” Simon said.
“Goddammit! Finn!Finn! Where are you!”
I burst out laughing and even Haylee, the sweetest human alive, couldn’t seem to help but laugh. “Tell her to look across the park,” I said to Simon in the microphone.
She did and I waved my arms at her.
“You know each other?” Simon asked.
“We do,” I said. “But Simon, that doesn’t change a thing. She’s perfect for you. Get her number… don’t chicken out.”
I disconnected the earpiece and tugged it free from my ear.
“Don’t you usually try to get them at least a few numbers?” Haylee asked.
“Usually, yeah. But he had the opportunity for several numbers that he passed up. At some point, it stops being my responsibility. If he doesn’t get Enzo’s number, I’m giving him a refund and calling it a day.”
A breeze rustled through the trees, and the distinct scent of peppermint oil blew by me… my mother’s hand cream smelled just like that.
