Page 67 of Sit, Stay, Love
Mrs Barker sobbed as she cuddled the puppy in her lap. ‘For me? Are you sure?’ she asked him over and over. ‘Get my chequebook,’ she said to her daughter. ‘I want to fix Dr McManus up.’
Toby raised his hand. ‘No, no. This little one needed a good home, and I told him I knew exactly the right person.’
Sera put a hand to her heart.
‘Thank you for this,’ Mrs Barker’s daughter, Emma, whispered in Sera’s ear. ‘Mum hasn’t stopped crying since Boggs left us.’
‘This was all Toby,’ Sera said.
‘I couldn’t be here when she had to say goodbye to Boggs, but my mum was comforted to have Dr McManus with her,’ she said. ‘And then he stayed and waited for me and even organised the cremation. He took care of everything for us. It was above and beyond.’
Sera’s heart swelled three sizes with pride and love for her friend. How had she got so lucky to have him in her life?
As if sensing she was thinking about him, he looked to her, twitched an eyebrow and smiled.
She smiled back and swallowed a sigh. ‘He loved that pug too,’ she said. ‘And he cares for your mum a lot.’
Both women watched him almost dreamily as he laughed and chatted to Mrs Barker, scratching the puppy cuddled in her arms.
‘That there is a good man,’ Emma said.
Sera’s heart knocked loudly on her ribs. ‘Yeah. He sure is.’
Linda Watkins dunked a piece of biscotti into her decaf latte. She was six months pregnant and wearing a black bodycon dress that showed off her bump to its fullest. ‘Your mum was telling me about your vet friend,’ she said.
‘Toby,’ Sera said. ‘I think Mum likes him more than she likes me.’
Linda laughed. ‘Your mum was always tough on you.’
‘Nothing’s changed on that front.’
‘So, this Toby, is he…’
‘A friend. We’re just friends.’Who apparently get hot for each other while watching sexy movies.But she didn’t want to think about that, or how lately he’d been making her heart boom in the most unexpected way. ‘He’s an amazing guy. Today he gave a puppy to one of his clients who lost her pug of sixteen years. A pug puppy, he paid for it himself. Do you know how much those things cost? You should have seen the woman’s face.’
‘Thatisamazing.’
‘Right? He’s very kind like that, and sweet. Funny too. And he’s so good to me. Eternally patient.’
‘Is he hot?’ Linda’s lips twitched.
Sera nodded. ‘Oh, yeah. Tall and really handsome. All his clients have huge crushes on him. He’s got these soft, messy curls, and chocolatey eyes. And he’s built.’ She threw her arms out to show the width of his shoulders. ‘And he doesn’t even work out! It’s crazy.’ She laughed. ‘And we both love the same movies and food. It’s super easy. We have a great time together.’
Linda stared at her, sculpted brows arched. ‘Uh-huh,’ she said. ‘And you’re just friends?’
Sera took a sip of her coffee and nodded. ‘Mm-hm.’
‘This guy you think is handsome, and amazing and sweet, that you share loads in common with, is just a friend.’
Sera put down her cup. ‘Stop it. Now you sound like my mum.’
‘Well, I mean… if he’s that gorgeous, why aren’t you friends with benefits at the very least?’
Sera flushed and pushed an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. ‘Uh. God, um, I—’
‘Girl, you’re blushing.’
‘It’s not like that,’ Sera said, rubbing her face as if she could scrub the pink away. ‘And even if I wanted it to be like that, I would never risk whatwe have. It’s too good. I couldn’t stand it if we screwed it up and I lost him. Not that I want…that,’ she added quickly. She scooped a mound of chocolate-dusted froth from her cup and sucked it off the spoon. ‘Besides, I might be sort of seeing someone else. Maybe. I think. I’m not sure. It’s new.’
