Chapter Thirty-Five
Aiden
“ Y ou sure I can just…walk in with him?” I hesitate in the doorway of the hardware store with Hopper at my side as I scan the entrance, waiting to get reprimanded by a passing employee.
Bec strolls leisurely ahead of me, grabbing a large cart. “Yeah, most home improvement stores are dog friendly. Sometimes when dogs in training are having a lot of trouble with socialization, I meet them here with their families to practice leash walking and working through their anxiety. I don’t think Hop needs any help there, but it’s good practice all the same.”
“Then lead the way, Miller. What are we looking for exactly?”
“So, most of the staff at the Center volunteer at New Hope, a local animal shelter. Our organizations have a strong relationship. We partner together often.”
“The shelter you got Lucy from, right?”
The look on her face when she quickly turns to face me tells me I’ve surprised her, which honestly pisses me off, but I keep my expression neutral. She’s shocked I remembered that detail she told me just last night. What low bar have the people she’s dated been failing to meet that it surprises her that I’d remember something clearly important to her? I have questions, but I won’t push her.
“Yeah, I met Lucy girl there. Of course, I have completely professional boundaries and no overly emotional attachments to their work,” she jokes.
“Naturally,” I flash her a grin as we round the corner of one of the aisles and weave into the next.
“Well, they’re hosting one of their biggest events next month, their annual adoption fair and fundraiser. Every February, they rent out the convention center and bring in all of their ready-to-adopt pets to try to offset the influx of animals they take in after the holidays. People who realize too late that the pet they were gifted was too much responsibility for them to take on. New Hope secures a lot of local sponsors in order to organize everything, and the money raised supports the shelter’s operations for several months out of the year. At the last meeting, I signed up to create the adoption board that’ll be at the entrance. I need supplies to build the frame that I’ll secure canvas fabric to, and then I’ll attach slots for us to slide the photos into. Since animals can be adopted at any time, we need to be able to update the board quickly. It works better when we can shift things around leading up to and during the event. Last year, we didn’t have a centralized place where all of the animals could be seen at a glance. This year the board will give them an idea of what pets are at the event and where to locate them in the convention center. It’s one of several things we’re updating this year to hopefully make us more efficient and help more animals find their families.”
Selfless. This girl is fucking selfless. Her unmistakable passion for helping animals makes me admire her even more. As she explains everything to me, her expressions and gestures become more animated and she talks more quickly as we work our way through the store, gathering the supplies she needs, clearly excited about the project and all the nuanced details that have clearly been given a lot of thought to make this event as successful as possible.
“I gotta say, I’m impressed. The event sounds really cool. When is it?” I ask.
“Oh…no. You don’t have to come if you don’t want…I’m sure you’re busy and you already have a dog and Spring Training is coming up and—”
“Bec…” I turn my body to face hers and place my hand over her abdomen to stop her from walking any farther. She pauses and looks to me as I step beside her. I gently turn her face toward mine with two fingers under her jaw. “I don’t think you’re hearing me, babe. This is important to you. Which means it’s important to me. I want to be there, if I can. Don’t doubt the truth in what I’m saying, please. Give me a chance to show you that I’m being genuine before you tell yourself that I’m just saying what you want to hear. I’m not that guy.”
She stares at me for a moment, measuring the sincerity of my words before I see her sweet smile slowly blossom, the beauty of the moment hitting me in my chest.
“You’re not what I expected at all, Aiden.”
“That’s what I was hoping to hear. I plan on exceeding all of your expectations. Get used to it.”
“Valentine’s Day. The adoption event is on Valentine’s Day.”
“It’s a date,” I say. Then I press my lips to hers because it feels too damn good.