Page 100 of Wag More Bark Less

Ellie pushed past my knees, shoving a sock at Alyssa.

When I hesitated, she added, “Even if you don’t like sweets, Aspen’s cupcakes will turn you. They’re almost better than sex.”

To say I was surprised to find Alyssa on my doorstep was an understatement. When female friendships fizzled, I seldom heard from the other woman again unless she needed something. But rarely did those unsolicited favors include a peace offering. As tempted as I was to shut the door in her face, I decided to at least hear her out. Maybe she had a good reason for lying, or maybe she was just a shitty friend who was here to ask me a favor. Either way, there were cupcakes. At least one good thing could come from her being here.

“Come on in,” I relented, holding the door wider.

“Did I interrupt dinner?” she asked, kicking off her shoes.

“Just experimenting with some chili.”

“For the cookoff?”

She followed me into the kitchen, placing the pink box on the counter.

“Yeah, Luke and I decided to enter.”

I lifted the lid of the box, discovering half a dozen gourmet cupcakes. Dammit, these looked good.

“You and Luke?”

The familiarity I felt when I first met Alyssa lingered again, and it took practiced effort not to immediately tell her everything. I still didn’t understand the weird impulse. I closed the lid slowly and leaned back against the counter, folding my arms over my chest and giving her a firm look that demanded more before I fessed up to a single personal detail.

“Okay, okay.” She held up her hands, as though in surrender. “I’ll go first.”

I waited as Alyssa pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat facing me.

“I lied.”

I said nothing.

“About my grandma calling me the other day. I know you know I lied, but I wanted to get that out in the open first.” Ellie sat between her knees, and Alyssa ran her fingers through the pup’s furry neck. “It was my friend Aspen, and she had some news I wasn’t prepared to receive. So, I did what I always do, and pretended everything was fine. I’m frighteningly good at it, you know.”

“Not as good as you think,” I said.

“Well, not around you apparently.”

I nodded at my dog. “Ellie knew. That’s why she brought you the sock.”

“You are just the sweetest girl, aren’t you, baby?”

Ellie licked her wrist, which is why I didn’t press. But if Alyssa wanted me to accept her apology, it would take more than vague details.

“The truth?”

“That would be a good start,” I agreed.

“I fell in love with a boy when I was nine years old, and no matter how hard I’ve tried to get over him, I just . . . can’t.”

She looked up at me, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. But it was the weak smile that got to me. The one that said she was trying so hard to be okay, but she wasn’t. I knew it well because I’d worn it often enough.

“The news was about him?”

“It’s stupid, really.” Ellie sat back on her back legs, lifting her front paws onto Alyssa’s soft pink leggings. They’d be covered in fur before long, but she didn’t seem to mind. “He’s been in the military for over ten years. He was the first to announce he was joining after his brother was killed in action.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Luke and Connor enlisted with him. But they came home. Thoren⁠—”