Chapter 4
“It’s just a dog. What is everyone’s problem?”
Sloane
I wag my finger at Boozer. “Don’t you dare give me those puppy dog eyes. I have to work. I can’t skip another day or Harper will fire me.”
His big, brown eyes are hard to resist. Unlike a particular man’s deep blue eyes. Those are easy to resist, considering Zane Raider is a player.
I can’t believe he has a baby. Correction – I can believe the player impregnated a woman. What I can’t believe is how a woman left a baby with him. Zane and the word ‘responsible’ do not belong in the same sentence.
And yet somehow my entire body lit up when I saw him holding the baby. No, no, no. I am not interested in Zane. I don’t care how much those bedroom eyes promise. The man’s a player. He can’t commit to anyone or anything.
Boozer whines again and I force thoughts of Zane away. I check the time. I need to be at Rumrunner in ten minutes. It’s a five-minute walk. I have a bit of time.
“Okay. Fine. We’ll play with the ball for a few minutes. But then I really do need to go.”
He barks before running to the corner where all his toys are gathered. He picks up his ratty stuffed animal before running back to me.
“Give it to me.”
Of course, he doesn’t give me the stuffed rabbit. He wants me to ‘steal’ it from him.
“Fine.”
I play tug of war with my dog until he releases the stuffed rabbit with a bark.
“No barking.”
His response? Another bark.
“I’m serious, Boozer. You can’t bark.”
I throw the rabbit and he runs after it – barking the entire time. I sigh. This is why we don’t play inside my apartment.
Someone knocks on my door and I groan. Great. Another neighbor coming to complain about my dog.
When did everyone on this island become such rule followers? When we were teenagers, we never followed the rules. We sent tourists on wild goose chases and teased them about mermaid sightings. And we never came home before it was dark.
I blame Melanie. No one else on this island is a prude. While the rest of us were skinny dipping in the ocean, she was tattling to our parents. Spoiler alert. Our parents didn’t care.
My mom certainly didn’t.
There’s another knock on the door. Good timing. Thoughts of my mother never lead to anywhere happy.
I start for the door but then I remember – Boozer can’t be here!
“Come on, boy.” I grab his collar and drag him toward the bathroom. He must realize how urgent the situation is since he doesn’t fight me.
I shut him inside and hurry toward the front door – and nearly trip on his stuffed rabbit. I snatch it from the floor but what should I do with it? I can hardly open the door with a dog toy in my hands. I stuff it down the sofa cushions.
There’s another knock on the door. Someone’s impatient.
“Coming!”
I make sure I’m wearing my bartender smile – the one that gets me all the tips – before opening the door. My stomach falls to the floor. It’s my landlord, Sheena.
“Good morning.”
She scowls at me.
“Do you want to come inside?” I motion her in.
She scans the room as she enters. Her gaze snags on the doggy corner and her scowl deepens. I block her view and herd her toward the sofa.
“Have a seat. Shall I make some coffee?”
“Yes, please.” She sits down and squeak! She jumps to her feet. “What in the world?”
I rush to her, but I don’t manage to distract her before she yanks Boozer’s stuffed rabbit from the cushions. I never should have bought a stuffed animal with a squeak inside of it.
“What is this?” She squeezes it and it squeaks again. Boozer barks in response.
“I knew it,” she mutters as she hurries toward the bathroom.
I block her. “What are you doing? You can’t inspect my apartment without my prior approval.”
“Unless you’ve violated your rental agreement, which you clearly have.”
“I have not!” Do I sound indignant? I’m trying my best here.
Boozer barks again and I bite my tongue to stop myself from cringing. I had to fall in love with a barking dog? I couldn’t fall in love with a dog that’s quiet?
Sheena points to the bathroom door. “And you don’t have a dog in here?”
“I’m dog-sitting.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. “You’ve been dog-sitting for several months, according to the neighbors.”
Neighbors? Ha! It’s one neighbor in particular, and her name starts with M and ends with Melanie. I should have pushed her in the swimming pool in eighth grade when I had the chance.
“I occasionally dog-sit to earn extra income.”
“And you have an entire corner of your living room stuffed with dog toys for when you dog-sit?”
I ignore her sarcasm. “Yes.”
“Enough! I have had enough!”
I bat my eyelashes. “Enough of what?”
“Enough of your lies.”
“I’m not—”
She slashes her hand through the air. “Enough of you paying the rent late every month.”
“I’m not late every month.” Sometimes I forget to pay the rent. I don’t understand what the big deal is.
“Enough of you forgetting to bring your trash cans inside.”
Who remembers their trash cans?
“And enough of you claiming this dog is not yours.” She pushes past me to open the bathroom door. Boozer runs out and hurries toward me. He sits in front of me and growls at Sheena.
“I want you out of here by the end of the business day.”
My chest squeezes. I can’t breathe. End of the business day?
“I can’t move out in one day! How will I move my furniture and pack my things in one day?”
“Fine. You can have until the end of the week. But not one day more. Do you understand?”
“Please, Sheena. I need a few more days.”
She snorts. “I’m not falling for it this time. I give you a few more days, and before I know it, months have passed and I have neighbors complaining to me every day about your dog again. I’m done.”
I clutch my chest as the pressure increases. Is there an invisible elephant sitting on it?
“I’m sorry, Sloane, but I have a business to run. You’re thirty-one. You need to start acting like an adult.”
She swivels on her heel and marches out of the apartment without another word.
“Well, hell, Boozer. What are we going to do now?”