A Fool's Gold Christmas (Fool's Gold #9.5)

She went inside and grabbed a cart, then headed for the cat section. She found litter, a cat box and scooper, food and water dishes, a bed and a few toys. She also picked up a soft cat brush and a blue picture frame with a paw-print and the word Meow in the corner.

As she waited to pay, she made a quick call to the shelter and asked Tammy to put a hold on the cat. She would fill out the adoption paperwork in the morning and make it official. It might take some doing, but she was determined to show Alexander that he could trust her to always be there for him.

* * *

“IF THE PET ADOPTION is here,” Dante said, straightening the table. “Why are there booths in the center of town?”

“It’s the annual Day of Giving,” Evie told him. “I’m not sure exactly what that means. What I heard is various charities are here to talk about what they do so people can make donations and get involved. That finishes at one, and then the pet adoption starts.”

They were nearly done setting up for the adoption. The open area they were using was at the far end of the convention center, away from the stage. There was a section for cats, another for dogs and a third area for all other pets. There was a large cage for the kittens to play in and a puppy pen. Tables would hold the cages for the cats, while most of the dogs would be on leashes. Local teens helped with the event, each taking a dog and making sure he or she stayed calm and friendly. The teens also took the dogs outside regularly to mitigate any accidents.

May and Tammy, along with several shelter volunteers, had left to start caravanning the animals from the shelter to the convention center.

“My mom said last year all the animals were adopted. Even an iguana. That’s a lot of pressure.”

“You’ll be fine,” Dante told her with a quick smile.

She watched him carefully. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of days. With everything going on, she’d been running from place to place. Last night she’d thought they would get together, but he’d still been at the office when she’d gotten home from the pet store. He’d said he would be working late and not to wait up for him.

She told herself not to read too much into his actions, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Although if she was asked to say what, she wasn’t sure she could.

They stacked the pet care brochures and made sure there were supplies for the animals, along with snacks and items for cleanup. Then Dante pulled out a chair and patted it.

“Have a seat,” he told her. “You’re going to be on your feet all afternoon.”

She sank down and smiled at him. “You sure I can’t talk you into staying for the adoption?”

“No, thanks. I’m going back to work. Contracts don’t know a holiday season.” He grabbed another chair and sat across from her. “When’s the first big rehearsal?”

“In three days. I’m excited and nervous. We’ll go through the show several times, then have our big dress rehearsal in a week. Then the performance. Ack!”

“You’ll get through it.”

“I know. I’m telling myself to stay calm. Oh, if you get a chance, you should come to the dress rehearsal. It won’t be as crowded as the actual performance.”

A muscle in Dante’s cheek twitched. “Evie, you remember what we talked about before?”

The question was simple enough, and on the face of it, not very threatening. Even so, her stomach clenched and her throat went dry.

“You’ll have to be a little more specific,” she said, forcing herself to smile.

“When this started.” He motioned to the space between them.

The “this” being their relationship, she thought. “Of course.”

“We agreed it would be easy and there wouldn’t be any pressure. No expectations.”

He was leading up to something, and she just wanted him to get to the point. Because whatever he had to say, it couldn’t be good. This was not a lead-in to “I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

She tilted her head and stared at him. “You’re stalling, which isn’t your style. Get to the point.”

“I’m heading out of town in a couple of days. Flying to Aspen. I won’t be here for Christmas.”

He was leaving? As in leaving? “Oh,” she said slowly, thinking maybe the news wasn’t all bad. The holidays could be intense. Fool’s Gold required a lot of participation, and Dante was still resisting belonging. “I’m sorry you’ll miss the show.”

“Me, too.” He glanced away, then back at her. “An old girlfriend called. She’s meeting me there. I’ll be back after New Year’s.”

Evie was pretty sure Dante kept talking, but she couldn’t hear any words. There was only a rushing sound and the sensation of her heart being torn apart. She hoped she didn’t go pale or pass out. Instincts for self-preservation kicked in, and in that moment, all she wanted was Dante gone before he could begin to guess how much this was hurting her.