Page 14 of The Roommate Problem
Whipping her head around so fast she nearly cracked her neck, she glared. “Hey!”
The corner of his mouth ticked up in an almost grin. He reached down to pet the dog on the top of its head. Silly mutt preened like the sun itself was touching it. Having felt those big, warm hands on her body very recently, she knew the dog wasn’t that far off.
“You gotta watch where you’re running, boy.”
“How do you know it’s a boy?”
August nodded with his chin. “Collar says Rudy.”
Well, would you look at that? The collar was indeed stitched with large letters spelling out “Rudy.” How had she missed that? Must have been the adorable, distracting doggy face.
August knelt down beside her to give Rudy more loves. The shameless pup abandoned her lovin’ to practically crawl into August’s lap, licking his face in encouragement.
“I think someone has a fan.”
“He’s a good dog. Aren’t you, boy? All dogs are good.”
“You like dogs?”
He nodded. “Dogs are great. Better than people. They’re always up for a walk, easy to get along with, and they don’t leave their dishes in the sink long enough to gather mold.”
She ignored the last barb. “Did you have a dog growing up?”
The contentment on his face died. Relaxed expression disappearing as his jaw tightened.
“No.”
One word. The end. No explanation. She’d obviously hit some kind of sore spot. She wanted to ask more, but right at that moment, an older woman hurried over to them.
“I’m so sorry.” She huffed out the words, reaching down to latch a leash onto the dog’s collar. “Rudy jumped out of the car before I could get his leash on. He just loves the market.”
“Not a problem; he’s a sweetheart.” She smiled at the woman.
“Have a good one, Rudy,” August said to the dog, standing and tipping his head to the woman.
The woman walked away with Rudy, who kept looking back longingly at August, probably missing those big hands giving him love rubs.
Me, too, Rudy. Me, too.
They started to make their way out of the market when something caught Mo’s eye. She rushed over to the table, grabbing the large dragon-egg-looking thing.
“Look at this!” She held it up for August to see. “We have to get one.”
“As surprisingly shocking as it is to hear you say that about something that doesn’t have a cartoon character advertised on its packaging, I have to disagree.” He frowned. “You don’t even know what it is.”
“Duh, that’s the point. Adventure, trying something new.” Hadn’t the guy ever heard of living a little?
“But how are you going to cook it?” He tilted his head, glancing over the item in her hands. “For that matter, how do you open it?”
“Oh, come on, August.” She wiggled the big orb. “I saw you grimacing at every item of food I put in my basket at the store.”
He snorted. “I wouldn’t call anything you bought today food.”
“Ha! See? I need a little healthy eating in my life. Let’s start with this. Could be fun.”
“Could be poisonous.”
“I highly doubt they sell anything that could kill you at the farmers market. It would be terrible for the revenue.”
