Barking up the Wrong Tree: A Sweet Small Town Romantic Comedy (Finding Love at the Doggy Spa) by Elsie Woods

Author:Elsie Woods [Woods, Elsie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9782492606168
Publisher: Puppy Love Books
Published: 2022-12-09T18:30:00+00:00

Fold napkin. Unfold napkin. Refold napkin.

“You want me to bring you something while you wait?” the waitress asks.

I want to say courage, but I opt against it.

“Just a glass of water?”

“You got it.”

Why did I show up fifteen minutes early? I’m just torturing myself watching the door when Terence won’t walk through until two minutes before our meeting time, because that’s what he does.

Which means that I have another eleven minutes to stew about exactly what I’m going to do when he shows up.

Things with Terence have always been so natural, so easy. That’s the beauty of the thing. What am I putting at risk by daring to broach the subject of us being anything but what we’ve been for the last eighteen years?

That’s it. Time for a consult. I’m pulling out the big guns now… I’m writing to Cass.

Here’s something everyone knows about my sister. She’s a no-nonsense, give-it-to-you-straight kind of girl. You don’t ask her for advice unless you’re ready to have your ego stomped over three times in the space of a minute. She does it with the biggest heart, figuring that truth with love that hurts is better than gutless lies that massage the ego.

“Cass,” I text. “Emergency. Do I open up when it might turn the best friendship into a giant ball of awkwardness?”

The other awesome thing about Cass is she’s cerebrally attached to her phone. Even if it’s in the next room, she senses the message arrive. She’s the most consistent texter I know.

“Alli. If you’re asking the question, then it’s already awkward.”

How does she do that?

A second message swiftly follows. “If he’s such a great friend, then opening up will make that friendship stronger. If he flees, then you’ve been deluding yourself about the greatness of this friendship. Sorry if that stings. Sorry, not sorry.”

“Exactly what I needed to hear.”

Cass is right. This may be hard to say, and spitting the words out of my lips will likely be even harder, but it is awkward already. At least, it is for me.

Now to plan how this is going to go…

“Alli-bear…”

Just like that, my whole brain goes blank.

“Ter-Ter, you made it.”

He cocks his head. “I’m two minutes early.”

“Of course you are.”

He settles in, unable to hide the smile across his face. I almost forgot, he’s got news! He’s the one who told me we were getting together tonight.

This isn’t supposed to be about me and my feelings at all.

First things first.

“So?” I grab his hands on the table and shake them a little. “Tell me! It’s been ages since you sent me a text in all-caps!”

Terence giggles. Full-on kindergarten-style giggles, and I know it because I was there when he used to giggle that way. It’s been so long. Too long.

“I laid it out for them, Alli. I was a star. I was like, ‘Here’s where the business is rocking and rolling—I used fancier words, like profitability and promising ventures and such—and where they had administrative fat to trim.”

“Them? I thought you said it was just for the big boss.

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