Page 15 of Puppy Christmas

Chapter 4

Lila stared at her wardrobe with a mounting sense of frustration.

Here she was, a thirty-one-year-old college-educated woman and owner of a successful business. She drove a Prius. She spoke two languages. She had a sound retirement plan.

“Then why, oh, why, is it so hard to pick a stupid outfit?” she muttered.

She didn’t have to supply an answer. She already knew full well what was bothering her, and it definitelywasn’ta man with a ridiculous name and the best laugh she’d heard in her life.

The phone rang from the living room, saving her from the danger of dwelling on that laugh. The landline was their business number, which meant that one of her sisters would be sure to pick up the call. Sophie didn’t live in the house anymore, having moved out to live with her boyfriend in Deer Park, but she usually came by for a few hours every morning to do basic training with the puppies. Dawn could be counted on to act as secretary, too, since she rarely left the house before noon.

“Sure thing, Ms. Askari. I’ll put her on right away.” Sophie’s head popped through the door, a smile on her lips as she took in the sight of Lila standing in front of her closet clad only in her underwear. The smile was no real surprise. Dawn would have told their youngest sister all about yesterday’s beige suit.Andabout how she’d defected the moment she caught sight of Ford, leaving Lila at his debonair mercy.

Lila was sure they’d had a good laugh about it at her expense, too. They usually did.

“Lila, there’s a woman from the Auditory Guild on line two.”

Her sister spoke with a grave voice and professional mien that was largely faked. There was no line two on their phone. There was barely a line one, but when you were trying to impress an organization the size of the Auditory Guild, you improvised.

“Thank you, Soph.” She took the phone and tried shutting the door behind her, but that didn’t work. Sophie slipped through the crack and started rummaging through the closet, nothing but virtue on her sweet, heart-shaped face.

The traitor. Sophie was just as bad as Dawn—no, she was worse, because at least Dawn owned up to her sneaky, manipulative ways. Sophie was like one of those fluffy, adorable baby owls that blinked innocently before swooping down and murdering entire meerkat colonies. She was a fighter, that one. She’d had to be, since most of her childhood had been spent battling leukemia.

All the sisters’ roles in life had been defined by that illness—of those years spent living in a hospital, of never knowing if Sophie’s next breath would be her last. It was in everything they said and did. Sophie looked fragile, yes, but she was forged of steel. On the surface, Dawn offered nothing but saucy indifference, but her heart was as soft and mushy as a bowl of oatmeal. And Lila, well…

Lila got things done. One of them had to, and as the eldest, the task had naturally fallen to her.

“Hello, Anya?” Lila tucked the handset against her chin. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is marvelous, darling. Absolutely marvelous.” Anya’s voice was breathy and fluttering, more suited for an East Coast society dame than the director of a nonprofit the size of the Auditory Guild, but Lila wasn’t fooled. Anya could rip someone apart faster than Sophie and her meerkats. “Listen, I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ford last night, and I want you to know that I’m very pleased with how you’re handling things so far.”

“Oh. Um.” Lila blinked and looked at Sophie, who was holding up some kind of yellow sundress that was laughable for this time of year. Lila shook her head and tried to focus on the call. “I’m glad he likes the puppy Emily picked out. She went with the cockapoo, which was one of my top choices. He’s smart and sweet and just the right size for a child.”

“Oh, yes. The cockapoo. Of course.”

There was a pause that Lila knew from experience presaged a piece of news she wasn’t going to like. She’d only known Anya Askari for a little over a year, but with that woman, a few months was all it took. Even before she’d run the Guild, Anya had been a fierce advocate for hearing services, a role she’d risen to after her two young children had been diagnosed with auditory processing disorders. If you wanted to do any kind of work in the field—and Lila did—Anya was there to make sure you did it correctly.

Lila respected the hell out of the woman. She was also terrified of her.

“To be honest, I’m less concerned about the animal and more concerned about you,” Anya said, not mincing words. “You know I think the world of the personalized approach you and your sisters take, and I’m thrilled to think that this donation of yours could lead to future cases between us.”

She wasn’t the only one. Lila knew all too well that this case with Emily Ford was a trial run, a test to see if Puppy Promise lived up to the Auditory Guild’s high standards. If they—ifshe—did, there was every possibility that the Guild would subsidize future charitable contracts.

“But?” Lila prompted.

“Well.” Anya hesitated again. “The truth is, I was rather hoping you’d have Sophie or Dawn handle the juvenile cases.”

As if to prove the wisdom of such a decree, Sophie held up a horrible lime-green bridesmaid dress that Lila had worn to a friend’s wedding years ago before dissolving into silent giggles.

“Unfortunately, they’re both in the middle of other training right now,” Lila said with a glare at her giddy sister. Suddenly realizing the direction this conversation was headed, she stiffened and held the phone more precisely against her ear. “Wait—are you asking me to step down from the Emily Ford case?”

“Well, no,” Anya said. “Not anymore. Ididhave my doubts about you, especially after meeting with Emily’s medical team, but that was before.”

“Before?” Lila echoed.

“Oh, yes. I had a long chat with Mr. Ford, and he couldn’t sing your praises highly enough. And that princess ball gown… I have to say, darling, I didn’t think you had it in you. It wasenchanting. I wanted to tell you at the party, but you always seemed to be off hiding in a corner somewhere.”

Lila couldn’t help a flame of mortification from washing over her. Hiding in corners was precisely what shehaddone. “Oh, yes. Well…”