Page 59 of Too Fast To Fall
“And you need to keep the wordloverout of your mother’s mouth.”
There was a knock at the door. “Now what?” he muttered. “Oh, wait. Isabel said she was coming down to tell me something important.Come in,” he called.
Isabel opened the door. “Hello to you both.”
“I can leave if you two need to talk. Come on, Gus.” Piper patted her leg to beckon him. “Let’s go find some fans and takeyour picture.”
Isabel reached for Piper’s arm. “I was hoping to speak to both of you.”
“Really?” Piper asked.
“Yes.” Isabel stepped closer, clutching her trademark clipboard. “The Nom Nom sponsorship is happening. The announcement willbe made on Monday, but the founder is here today.”
“I thought she was coming to Monaco.”
“Nom Nom is very excited, so she came to this race, too. Her name is Harmony Daniels. She’ll be down in a few minutes to meetEmilio. But she also wants to meet Gus.”
“Of course. Everyone wants to meet Gus.” Piper laughed quietly. “No problem.”
“She brought her dog with her. I hope that’s okay,” Isabel added.
“Gus will love it,” Piper said with an unsubtle note of glee in her voice.
“He’s not the only one,” Emilio quipped. “Piper will do anything to meet other dogs.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.” Piper slid him a look of admonishment.
“Never. You’re an animal lover. We’ve established that.”
There was another knock at the door. “I’m sure that’s Harmony. Her dog is named Gumdrop.”
Emilio and Piper stood side by side with Gus between them as Isabel opened the door. Waiting on the other side was a tinywoman with jet-black hair. And standing next to her was an enormous mastiff almost as tall as her. Piper was so excited tomeet Gumdrop.
“Harmony. Hi. Come in,” Isabel said. “I want you to meet Emilio Baquero, his dog, Gus and Gus’s nanny, Piper.”
Emilio winced at the introduction. He didn’t like Piper getting such low billing. She was a major part of keeping his lifeon track right now. “Ms. Daniels, hello.” Emilio reached out to shake her hand. “I understand Nom Nom is going to be a Megasponsor. We’re excited to have you on board.” Emilio didn’t know much about her business, but sponsorship money was crucialin his sport.
“So excited to meet you,” Harmony said with a thick Australian accent. “I’m such a big fan. And I’m a big fan of Gus. He’sa real looker. I might need to talk to you about putting him in some ads. Our customers would love it.”
“Gus would love it, too. He loves having his picture taken,” Piper said to Harmony. “And who do we have here? This must beGumdrop.”
Gumdrop had the same reaction to Piper that Gus had the first time—panting and fierce tail wagging. Was it the pitch of hervoice or did she possess some magical quality that made dogs love her?
“I definitely spot the mastiff, but is Gumdrop another breed, too?” Piper asked, cradling the dog’s face like she was an infant.
“She’s a mastiff and Great Dane mix.”
“Wow. She’s stunning.”
Emilio loved seeing the affection Piper had for animals. It really warmed his heart. “She’s very cute,” he offered.
“Can I give her a treat?” Piper asked. “They’re all natural. I make them myself. No weird ingredients or anything.”
“Absolutely. Gumdrop tests all the Nom Nom foods, so I’m sure she’d love it.”
Isabel leaned closer to Emilio. “You need to head down to the garage, or the team will have my head.”
Emilio nodded. “It was so great to meet you, Harmony. I understand you’ll be at the race next weekend in Monaco, too?” Hereached out to shake her hand.
