The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (73)
“I see you got yourself a pup. Don’t you think he’s too cute for you?”
Dave chuckled, and I wrinkled my nose as I watched him sprinkle some food on the concrete. It scattered everywhere, some of it rolling into the grass. “You expect him to scavenge for food?”
“Huh?” The clueless look on Dave’s face made me hug the pup tighter.
“You can’t feed him like that. He’ll starve.”
The pup wiggled in my arms eager to hunt for his food. I set him down and watched as he chased the kibbles around. “So what’s his name?”
“Oh, haven’t named him. Couldn’t find him a home, so he’s going to the pound.”
“What?”
“I found him on the road outside of town. Almost ran him over.”
My heart broke as I imagined such a horrible end for the sweet little pup.
“He didn’t have a collar?”
“Nah. He’s barely old enough to be off the tit.”
My eyebrows raised, and Dave stumbled to apologize, apparently realizing he was talking to one of his students.
“He can’t go to the pound. The bigger dogs might beat him up.”
“I tried to take him, but the wife wasn’t having it.” Dave checked his watch and then scooped him up to place him back in the box, much to the pup’s displeasure.
My classmates started to arrive, so Dave ushered me inside. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t take my mind off the pup that must have lost his mother and siblings. When school ended, and all my classmates were gone, I hurried back outside where the pup was standing on his legs as if he were waiting for me. I lifted him from the sorry excuse for a bed and stared into his blue eyes. “We should go before I come to my senses.”
He barked twice, sounding happy.
Convincing Dave to let me take him home had been easier than I thought.
Jay D—named after the champ Joey Dunlop—and I made our way to the parking lot. Jamie had a leggy blonde wrapped around him, but somehow, he noticed me almost immediately.
“What the fuck?” His eyes grew wide when he saw what I carried. “No, no, no.”
The blonde turned and wrinkled her nose when she saw I was the one who stole his attention.
“Aw, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t like dogs.”
“How did you even get that thing?”
“His name is Jay D, thank you very much.’
“He’s trouble, and you’re going to find yourself knee deep in it if you bring it home.”
“Let me worry about that.”
Jamie surprisingly didn’t argue. He shook his head and shot me a look of pity. “Ever’s not going to like this, and I’m not helping you explain this to him.”
“I don’t answer to your cousin.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
It irritated me when the blonde smirked right along with Jamie. Did the entire school know something I didn’t?
“Are you selling tickets?” Jamie joked. “I want a front row seat.”
“Ugh. Shut up, and take me home,” I ordered as I rounded the front of the Jeep.
“Yes, princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped a little harder than necessary.
“Because only Ever has that privilege?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
“If you say so.” Jamie dismissed the blonde, and she strutted off in a huff.
I was still shaking my head as we got settled into his Jeep. Surprisingly, Jay D immediately curled in my lap for a nap.
“What?” he questioned while wearing a genuinely puzzled expression.
“You don’t have respect for women.”
“That’s not true.” He shot a dazzling grin my way. “I respect you.”
I snorted. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
“Precisely.”
“I don’t get it.”
“These girls give it up no matter how shitty I treat them. If they don’t respect themselves, why should I?”
“You could always take the high road and be a gentleman.”
He snorted as he started the car and begin the drive home. “You’ve got a lot to learn about guys, cousin-in-law.”
“That’s another thing. Stop calling me that. People will talk.”
“They’re already talking. You’re just catching up.”
I sat up in my seat and twisted to face him. “What?”
“Everyone thinks you and my cousin are a thing.”
“Why would they think that?”
“Property of Ever McNamara is practically tattooed on your forehead, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me that, either.”
He laughed off my snub while I pouted in his passenger seat. “This is why you and I could never be.”
“I agree but indulge me. Why is that?”
“You’re too high maintenance.”
“What do you call Barbie?”
“A fucking fraud.” More quietly he added, “And a plague.”
Silence fell, and I found myself feeling sorry for Jamie. He was in love, and he didn’t want to be.
“She really got to you, didn’t she?”