“Come on back, River,” Dustin said, beaming at him. “She’s in the playroom with the puppies, but I know she’ll be happy to see you.”
“Thanks, Dustin.” He reached into the paper bag he carried and pulled out a blue cheese Danish. The very idea of it put him off, but Dustin was extremely vocal about his love for them. “Got something for you too.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Dustin said. He grabbed the Danish and headed off to sit at the front desk, leaving River to find his way back. They both knew he didn’t need directions or a guide. The Danish served a dual purpose, actually—it was a nice gesture that Dustin deserved, and it would keep him busy enough that he wouldn’t linger outside the door to listen to their conversation. Maybe it was retirement-induced boredom, but the older man was a known gossip.
Reaching the small playroom, he did the secret knock he and Maisie had made up when they were teens.
The door burst open at once.
“Thank God,” Maisie said, “I needed that coffee like yesterday.”
She did look tired, although he was wise enough not to say so. Her curly red hair had been scooped back into a fuzzy ponytail, and her eyes had circles under them.
“This isn’t just because of my news, is it?” he asked. A little sound—to call it a bark would be an exaggeration—drew his gaze to the bottoms of Maisie’s pants. A tiny little multicolored furball was toeing at her leg. Behind it, there were six more, a few of them chasing each other, one gnawing at a toy, and the final two snoozing in a dog bed.
“Oh yes, River,” she said dryly, “every moment of my life is dependent on yours. Look at these little monsters. I took them home last night because we couldn’t round up volunteers quickly enough. They’re too young to be around the others dogs. Now, give me that coffee.” He handed her one of the coffees and the paper bag, which she immediately opened.
“Thank God, you got the right one,” she said, pausing to use the industrial-sized bottle of hand sanitizer anchored next to the door before she pulled out the blueberry muffin. She eyed it as if it were of equal importance to the coffee. Knowing that she regularly forgot to eat on rescue days, he figured it probably was.
“I only got the banana nut once,” he complained.
“And you’ll never live it down.”
He rolled his eyes as he set his coffee down on the table against the wall. The little puppy was still clawing at Maisie, even as she sat down, so on impulse he used the hand sanitizer and bent down to scoop up the little puffball.
The response was several tiny, enthusiastic licks. The dog’s little face looked up at him, the eyes so full of excitement that he didn’t want to put him down. He started petting him instead.
“Oh, come on,” Maisie said through a mouthful of muffin. “Get going! Talk to me. What the hell happened with Finn? He’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t fire you even if you screwed his mother.”
“Language,” River quipped, covering the puppy’s ears. In response to her fierce look, he shrugged. “Okay, maybe I quit. Finn told me last night he’s selling to Bev Corp. He didn’t even talk to me about it before he made up his mind.”
“Seriously?!” Maisie said, her face falling. “Just when I was starting to think he wasn’t such a bro after all.”
“Uh-huh,” River said. “You don’t need to pretend you don’t like him for my sake. But that’s not actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Something interesting happened last night.”
He’d meant interesting as in I got the job offer of a lifetime…maybe. But the image that flitted through his mind was of Georgie Buchanan, her hair tumbling out of that immaculate bun, her cheeks pink with laughter.
And it occurred to him that he didn’t just want advice on whether or not to take the job.
Maisie tilted her head. “Really, River, there’s no need to be tall, dark, and handsome, and mysterious. Give the rest of us something to do.”
He snorted a laugh just as the puppy gave him a little nip on his finger. He set him down, and the little dog scampered off to steal the toy his brother or sister was still chewing.
“Duly noted. I got another job offer last night. It turns out Beau didn’t leave the brewery to his son—he skipped over him and gave it to his grandkids. Two of them have decided to keep it, although I’m not sure what the others will do. Anyway, we got talking last night after the whole thing with Finn, and they offered me a job on the spot. We haven’t talked salary or benefits or anything, but I’m inclined to take it.”
“Obviously,” Maisie interjected, giving him a play punch to the arm. “This is freaking awesome! You know Beau would have wanted you to be involved.”
“Well,” River said, playing with the lid of his coffee, “there’s one possible snag.”
The thing was, he wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up. Which was weird, since he and Maisie usually told each other everything. But he wasn’t the kind of guy who got this tied up over a girl after one night, especially if that one night hadn’t involved anything other than conversation.
“What could possibly get in the way of you accepting an offer like that?” she asked, glancing down at the puppies. The little multicolored one now had full ownership of the toy, and the one it had displaced looked like it was pouting. Maisie reached into the play bin and tossed it a rope toy.
When he still didn’t say anything, she glanced back up at him.
“Oh,” she said, her eyes widening. A moment passed, and then her usual wise-ass smile slid into place. “Let me guess. One of the grandkids in question is a woman. Riverrr has a crushhhhh.”
Which was the exact same thing she’d said when he’d told her about liking the girl who sat behind him in English junior year.
“Shut up,” he said, somewhat serious. “Dustin’s going to hear you, and I’ll never live it down. You know that man thinks we’re destined for each other.” And he refused to accept the fact that they were like brother and sister. Dustin was firmly of the men and women can’t be friends camp.
“Well?” she said. “Am I right?”
Abandoning the toy, the little puffball puppy raced back over and started nibbling at River’s shoelaces. It was adorable, so he let it happen.
“You’re giving him bad habits,” she tsked. “Plus, you still haven’t answered me.”
“Okay,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Yes, Georgie, Beau’s granddaughter, and I spent a lot of time together last night. I felt like we had a real connection. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, not so quickly.”
A strange look passed through Maisie’s eyes, but she waved him on. “Continue.”
“Well, I’m not sure I should accept the job. If I do, there’s no chance anything will happen between Georgie and me. She’s way too professional to consider it. Which is the problem, I guess. I’m not sure what to do. It’s the job of a lifetime, but she might be the girl of a lifetime too.”
Maisie paused for a second, as if considering. “And did you get the impression she feels the same way about you?”
He remembered the way she’d looked at him as he leaned in to kiss her, the sparkle in her eyes. “Yeah, she’s interested,” he said, “but she also seemed adamant about hiring me. I’m not sure what to make of it.”