Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)(45)

She signed off, and turned to Jas with a determined smile. “Jas?” she asked sweetly.

He stopped mid-click on the pen. “Yes?”

“Do you have anything to do? Outside the house, perhaps?”

“Well I do have to take Doodle to the vet, but . . .”

Oh, wait, no. She didn’t hate the clicking so much she would sacrifice her pup. What if the vet knew who Doodle belonged to?

However, Doodle needed to be looked over by the doc to make sure she was okay. Katrina wanted to be a responsible dog owner. “Okay. That’s fine.”

“Now?” Jas looked at the dog sitting at her feet, one big paw covering her foot.

Best to get this potentially hurtful thing over with. “No time like the present.” She set her laptop aside and leaned forward. “Who wants to go for a car ride? Is it you, my sweet darling?” Doodle thumped her tail, but didn’t rise. She’d really taken to being a spoiled pet.

“I’d have to leave you alone.”

She stared at him, puzzled. “I’m home alone all the time back home.”

“No. That’s different. Gerald is around, and Jia and Rhiannon sometimes, plus the guards.”

“Well, what do you call the people in the car parked behind those trees?” She cocked her head. “You’re not my babysitter, Jas. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I didn’t say you needed a babysitter.”

“There’s cameras all around the place. Alarms. Guards. I’m fine.”

“You could have a panic attack while you’re here alone.”

“So? I’ve had them before alone. I prefer to be alone, if I can’t be with someone I trust.” She raised a shoulder. “Take the dog to the vet. I will be absolutely fine.” And I will get all my work done, you beautiful distraction.

She rose to her feet and made a kissy noise at the dog. “Come on, Doodle. Come on. Let’s go to the car.”

Jas rose to his feet at the same time Doodle did, and Katrina hid her smile. Her coaxing tone was pretty good, she supposed.

JAS LEFT THE vet and wrapped the newly bought leash around his fist. “You’re not in the clear yet,” he told the dog. “You may not be chipped, but you heard the vet. There could still be someone looking for you.”

Doodle panted up at him. The black markings on her face made her look like a masked superhero.

He tugged on her leash, and she obediently followed. They’d settled into a grudging truce today. Doodle had easily gotten into the car. More important, she hadn’t ripped his throat out while he drove.

He hadn’t particularly wanted to bring her to the vet, and not only because it would leave Katrina alone, as he’d mentioned. He’d been tense, waiting for someone he’d grown up with to recognize him and stop him for an interminable amount of small talk. Small talk was the fifth horseman of the apocalypse.

He also hadn’t wanted to leave because he’d enjoyed the rare glimpse he’d gotten of Katrina at work. She was so smart.

He was about to open the door to the SUV when he glanced across the street and paused. His brother had had the same truck for years, his license plate held in a commemorative frame from his alma mater.

Jas checked his watch. Noon, so it made sense his brother would be grabbing lunch at the restaurant in the little strip mall. It was a staple in the small community, so he’d undoubtedly run into someone he knew.

If Bikram was there, he could deflect that fifth horseman. Jas spoke to Doodle. “If the same couple still owns that place, they’ll let you come in.” He kept his distance from dogs, but he knew keeping them in a locked car wasn’t a good idea.

The same couple did own it, the aunty at the register nodding and smiling at him when he walked in like he hadn’t been gone for almost two decades. Sure enough, she didn’t bat an eye at his dog. Jas inhaled deeply, the scent of curry and spices filling his nostrils. It took a second for his eyes to readjust to the darker indoor lighting, but then he caught sight of his brother sitting at a corner table in the not-so-crowded dining room.

Bikram did bat an eye at the dog that padded along at his side. “Holy shit, what is that, a hellhound?”

Jas looked down at Doodle, resisting the urge to cover her ears. The guys at the nearby tables gave the dog nervous looks. “She’s the dog I asked you about.” Jas sat in the chair across from his brother and brought Doodle in close to his leg. She barely fit under the table.

“She looked smaller in the pic. She likes you?”

Jas tried not to take offense at Bikram’s incredulous tone. He was not an animal whisperer. The opposite, in fact, if that was a thing. “She seems to tolerate me.”

“Weird.” Bikram tore off a piece of naan and dipped it in the saag on his plate.

The owner appeared at Jas’s elbow with a plate full of food. “Your hands looked full, so I got you a little of everything from the buffet,” she said in her quiet voice.

“Thank you, aunty.” He took the plate from her and placed it in front of him. He wasn’t hungry, but he figured he’d make an effort to eat with his brother.

“How have you been?” she asked.

He braced himself. “Well.”

“Good. Give my love to your mother.”

Okay, that had been a lot less painful than he’d thought it would be. Jas turned back to his brother. “Have you heard anything about Doodle?”