Page 46 of Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen

But it killed him that she wouldn’t get to see all the wonders of the world that she’d wanted to see.

Right before she died, he’d created a “virtual trip around the world” for her as she lay in her hospital bed. He’d brought his laptop in and they’d visited the pyramids of Giza and the Sydney Opera House and the Acropolis and the Colosseum, all through pictures and video.

It occurred to him then that he was only able to do that with Ellery thanks to the people who’d taken the footage at those places. So maybe his view on social media was a little skewed. Maybe he didn’t hate that behavior at all.

Perhaps he simply mourned the fact that Ellery never got to do those things herself.

12

“Come on,” August said brightly, grabbing Keaton’s arm. “It’s our turn to go through.”

The previous group—which smartly contained all the “non dog” animals, like cats and lizards, et cetera—trooped out of the space through a door on the far side of the room. Keaton, Molly and August were assigned to start their first five-minute photo shoot at station number three, which was the beach-themed area.

The backdrop showed an artistic representation of a beach, with soft azure sky, blue-green water and yellow sand. As a husky, Molly looked woefully out of place. If they had any chance of creating one of the top photos—which would earn someone a bonus prize of an hour social media assessment and consultation with Isla herself—they needed to get creative. Augustwantedthat prize for Leah.

And also working toward a goal is agreatdistraction from thinking about the fact that you FREAKING KISSED KEATON SAX!!

Ugh, her brain was so annoying sometimes.

“Look, Keaton,” she said, choosing to focus on the issue in front of her rather than the ones in her head. “It’s clear that you’re working through some stuff right now and I totally appreciate that. Maybe this whole thing has dredged up some bad memories. Or maybe it’s because this is the first time you haven’t been working yourself into the ground in a long time and the clear air is making you think.”

He looked at her, surprise flickering in his green eyes. It had taken everything in her a moment ago, when vulnerability flashed across his face like lightning, not to pull the big grump into her arms and kiss him until he couldn’t think anymore.

Ithurtto see him like that. Because Keaton had grit and resilience and a pick-yourself-up-ness that she deeply admired.

Seeing his pain...oh boy. It made her tender heart ache. Not only because of what he’d lost, but because she suspected that he couldn’t lean on anyone else, because being the pillar washisjob. Being the supporter and the giver and the rock was who he was.

And she wanted to be that person for him, if only to give him a break from carrying the world on his shoulders.

However, they couldn’t be distracted from their goal right now. Goals were safe. Emotions and kissing...not so much. Especially not since she already had her ideal guy in mind: her perfectly practical partnership, where chemistry and emotion took a back seat to safer things, like common goals and shared interests and mutually beneficial checklists.

Yes, maybe she wanted the “granny panties” of relationships and that made her boring. But while a “red thong relationship” might seem like the sexier option, it would ultimately end up being a pain in her ass.

“Even if you don’t believe in any of this social media stuff, I know one thing about you.” She grinned. “You like to win.”

He chuckled, the expression crinkling the edges of his beautiful green eyes. “Idolike to win.”

“So let’s win, okay?” She held her hand up for a high five. “Let’s win that bonus prize for Leah.”

She could tell the exact moment that Keaton’s competition mode clicked into place. The shift in his face was stark and...exciting.

“Everybody ready?” the coordinator called from the front of the room. “Your first five minutes starts...now!”

“Okay, a beach scene with Molly.” Keaton unclipped her leash and slung it over his shoulder, then got Molly to follow him in front of the backdrop. “Sit.”

Molly did what she was told, albeit reluctantly. August could practically hear her voice.You expect me to do what? Pretend I’m at the beach? Have youseenthis fur, people? Do you know what I’m bred for?

Hmm, hopefully there was a snowy scene. Then she’d look less out of place.

“What props can we use?” August looked through some items that were messily scattered on the ground from the last group. There was a bucket and spade, a stuffed lobster toy, a shark fin, some plastic starfish, an inflatable beach ball.

“How about this?” Keaton held up a floppy sun hat.

“Perfect!”

He walked over to Molly, but she tossed her head and stamped her paws.“Nooooo.”

“Did she just say no?” Keaton looked at August.

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