Page 39 of Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen

He palmed a hard little pellet—which looked more like a dried guinea pig poop than something edible—to the dog and she swiped it out of his hand with her pink tongue. Then he reached forward and ruffled the fur on her head, giving her a little scratch behind her left ear.

“Now ask her to do something else.” August was slowly backing away from the dog, giving Molly and Keaton space to bond.

“Shake.” He held out his hand and the dog obediently lifted a paw.

“You are not just a good girl. You are thebestgirl!” He produced another snack and then ruffled her head again.

There was something so sexy about watching a grown, hunky man play nice with a dog. Maybe this was how some women felt when they watched a man hold a baby. Since August didn’t want kids, that image didn’t do anything for her personally, butthis—Keaton’s adorably awkward praises and Molly’s wagging tail—Lordy! Someone stop her from stripping down right there in public and jumping the man’s bones.

She supposed it wasn’t fair to judge him for not knowing how to interact with animals, because it wasn’t like he’d had any pets growing up. From what she knew, when Keaton and Leah were young, they’d lived in a tiny apartment where his mom and sister shared a bed, and he slept on the couch. The year before Leah was due to start high school, his mom ended up in a relationship with a wealthy businessman, and they’d all moved into a swanky brownstone near the private school they were put into.

But those years, despite having more creature comforts than ever, were not happy ones for Keaton and Leah. And she suspected his difficulty in bonding with people went back much further than him losing his wife. He kept people at arm’s length, because it was safer that way.

If some people had walls around their hearts, he had aHunger Games–style death trap arena around his.

So yeah, the image didn’t just stir something in her heart because Keaton was hot and Molly was adorable. It was because she knew how hard it was for him to open himself up to connection.

“Keep going,” August encouraged.

“Uh...drop.” He pointed to the ground and Molly lowered herself down. “Now roll.”

She rolled over with ease and popped back up onto her feet, tongue lolling happily out of her mouth.

“You aresogood. A-plus!” Keaton palmed her another treat.

“That’s probably enough treats for now, or else we’re going to have to walk her back to Manhattan.” August smiled. “But keep trying to have some physical touch with her, keep praising her, and she’ll do what you need her to do.”

“I will.” He nodded.

“We should probably head back. They’re serving lunch in the same place as breakfast, so we can let Molly have a snooze in the room and walk over together.”

“I’m going to have to skip it.” He raked a hand through his hair. “My phone’s been going off this whole time.”

He pulled the device out of his back pocket and showed the screen to her. Twenty missed calls.

“That’s...” She shook her head. “Wow, they want their pound of flesh at your work, don’t they?”

“Tell me about it.”

For a moment, he looked...miserable. In the early days, she got the sense that Keaton thrived on the challenge and competitiveness of Wall Street. But now he looked exhausted and worn-out. It made her sad, because she believed that everyone deserved to enjoy their work rather than feeling like it was a prison sentence.

“But,” he said with a sigh, “if I want my name on the front door, then I have to put the hours in.”

“Are they thinking about making you named partner?” She blinked. “Wow.”

“Not bad for the boy from juvie, eh?” He winked at her and she almost melted on the spot.

Stop it. You’re supposed to be finding the perfect practical partner, and it’snothim.

Keaton grabbed Molly’s leash from the ground and clipped it to her collar. The dog made a whining noise and tossed her head back and forth. “I’m sorry. Playtime is over. But the good news is that you get to have a nap!”

Molly tilted her head to one side.“Rarooooo.”

The sound was halfway between a whine and a howl. Keaton shrugged and started walking. Molly sulked for a minute, but as soon as she realized there were exciting things to sniff, she happily trotted ahead, tail wagging.

When they got back to the cabin, August paused by the door as Keaton let Molly inside. “Are you sure you can’t come for a quick bite?”

“I really can’t.” Something flashed across his face.

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