with Joe and me now? I guess he feels bad about not being able to pay, even though I’ve reassured him that I just want Freya to be okay.”
“That’s to be expected. Accepting charity would sit heavily on a guy like that.”
“I guess. It makes me kinda glad that the other client just took her dog away without any notice.”
“The other client? You lost another dog?”
“Yes. The Cavalier King Charles spaniel. That was a surprise. And not of the nice kind . . . He stayed here two days a week. Nice little dog.” She’d been stunned when the owners, the Landers, had given notice. But she could not have afforded to offer free day care to him, too. Not on top of Freya and Mack.
“What reason did they give?”
“‘Financial difficulties,’ according to him. But she said there had been some kind of fraud. Weird, isn’t it? You hear about these scamtype things but you don’t think it will happen to people you know. Or affect your business.”
She pulled a downward twist to her mouth. That made two dogs down; she couldn’t face the thought of what would happen if she lost any more clients.
“Yeah,” he said, without further comment, and the lack of expression on his face made her feel she was boring him.
“So, how can I help you?” she said, wishing she hadn’t confided in him. She knew she shouldn’t care what he thought of her, but it smarted that he might think she was dull. “Want to book Bessie in for a pawdicure like Coco’s?”
“Paw . . . pawdicure?” His gaze turned to the equipment on the countertop. Beside her was an electric claw filing tool, some clippers, cotton wool, and styptic powder in case of a too-close clip. There was also a caddy holding ten different new-season shades of polish. “That’s what you’re doing?”
It really was very difficult not to be amused by his daze of disbelief. But dammit, he was a dog owner. A person who owned a pocketbook pooch like Bessie should surely be more aware of these basic tenets of doggy fashion.
She nodded. “Not as frivolous as you so obviously think.” “Did I say it was frivolous? I know some dogs need their claws clipped regularly.”
“And some need them polished,” she said. She held up Coco’s right paw. The little black claws were painted a glossy red. “The red looks very fetching against her dark fur, don’t you think?”
Nick made a strangled kind of sound that made Serena suppress a smile.
“So you prefer pink? I like pink, too. But Coco—”
“Why the hell would you put nail polish on a dog?” he growled.
“Claw polish,” she corrected him, aware she was provoking him.
But he didn’t bite again. Rather, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling in an exaggerated way. That only encouraged her to embellish her story, to see how much doggy nonsense he would take.
“Some dog moms like claw polish on their babies for special occasions. And Coco is going to a family reunion on the weekend. Coco used to be a show dog, and Maddy wants her to look her best.” She paused, waiting for his reaction.
“Family reunion? You mean people?” He put up his hand in a halt sign. “Don’t tell me you mean dogs?”
“Of course. What else?”
“What else indeed,” he said with a hint both of a groan and the grin that tempered the harsh angles of his face in a way she found so devastating.
“Coco and Brutus—”
“Brutus is the millionaire mutt, right?”
She nodded.
“And this poodle’s ‘husband’?” He made quote marks in the air with his fingers.
She nodded again. “They had five puppies. Maddy and Tom kept Tinkerbelle, but Maddy found it very hard to let Coco’s other babies go. In the end Tom laid down the law and found homes for them himself. Three of the partners in his law firm adopted a puppy each and his mom adopted the last one. Every so often they all get together with their dogs in Golden Gate Park.”
“So they can all sniff each other’s butts?”
“You mean, of course, the
“That’s to be expected. Accepting charity would sit heavily on a guy like that.”
“I guess. It makes me kinda glad that the other client just took her dog away without any notice.”
“The other client? You lost another dog?”
“Yes. The Cavalier King Charles spaniel. That was a surprise. And not of the nice kind . . . He stayed here two days a week. Nice little dog.” She’d been stunned when the owners, the Landers, had given notice. But she could not have afforded to offer free day care to him, too. Not on top of Freya and Mack.
“What reason did they give?”
“‘Financial difficulties,’ according to him. But she said there had been some kind of fraud. Weird, isn’t it? You hear about these scamtype things but you don’t think it will happen to people you know. Or affect your business.”
She pulled a downward twist to her mouth. That made two dogs down; she couldn’t face the thought of what would happen if she lost any more clients.
“Yeah,” he said, without further comment, and the lack of expression on his face made her feel she was boring him.
“So, how can I help you?” she said, wishing she hadn’t confided in him. She knew she shouldn’t care what he thought of her, but it smarted that he might think she was dull. “Want to book Bessie in for a pawdicure like Coco’s?”
“Paw . . . pawdicure?” His gaze turned to the equipment on the countertop. Beside her was an electric claw filing tool, some clippers, cotton wool, and styptic powder in case of a too-close clip. There was also a caddy holding ten different new-season shades of polish. “That’s what you’re doing?”
It really was very difficult not to be amused by his daze of disbelief. But dammit, he was a dog owner. A person who owned a pocketbook pooch like Bessie should surely be more aware of these basic tenets of doggy fashion.
She nodded. “Not as frivolous as you so obviously think.” “Did I say it was frivolous? I know some dogs need their claws clipped regularly.”
“And some need them polished,” she said. She held up Coco’s right paw. The little black claws were painted a glossy red. “The red looks very fetching against her dark fur, don’t you think?”
Nick made a strangled kind of sound that made Serena suppress a smile.
“So you prefer pink? I like pink, too. But Coco—”
“Why the hell would you put nail polish on a dog?” he growled.
“Claw polish,” she corrected him, aware she was provoking him.
But he didn’t bite again. Rather, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling in an exaggerated way. That only encouraged her to embellish her story, to see how much doggy nonsense he would take.
“Some dog moms like claw polish on their babies for special occasions. And Coco is going to a family reunion on the weekend. Coco used to be a show dog, and Maddy wants her to look her best.” She paused, waiting for his reaction.
“Family reunion? You mean people?” He put up his hand in a halt sign. “Don’t tell me you mean dogs?”
“Of course. What else?”
“What else indeed,” he said with a hint both of a groan and the grin that tempered the harsh angles of his face in a way she found so devastating.
“Coco and Brutus—”
“Brutus is the millionaire mutt, right?”
She nodded.
“And this poodle’s ‘husband’?” He made quote marks in the air with his fingers.
She nodded again. “They had five puppies. Maddy and Tom kept Tinkerbelle, but Maddy found it very hard to let Coco’s other babies go. In the end Tom laid down the law and found homes for them himself. Three of the partners in his law firm adopted a puppy each and his mom adopted the last one. Every so often they all get together with their dogs in Golden Gate Park.”
“So they can all sniff each other’s butts?”
“You mean, of course, the
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