“So how is the place doing?” I ask her curiously. “I mean, in terms of funding and all that?”
She tilts her head back and forth, thinking, as we stop to let the dogs sniff a patch of grass. “It’s okay. I get paid no matter what, and that’s thanks to Lachlan’s own money. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s made a lot of smart money over the years, I think my position would be strictly volunteer.”
“And the volunteers?”
“They come and go, but we have four of them who are really committed. One used to play rugby with Lachlan years ago. Rennie.” Her eyes brighten as she says his name. “He’s away at the moment, but he’s always a big help.”
“Has Lachlan done any fundraising recently?” I ask.
“Well, he’s been away, but at the start of the rugby season there’s a gala…will you be here for that? It’s in a few weeks.”
My jaw clenches uneasily. “I’m not sure…”
“I was left in charge so I’m not sure if it will be as up to par as it normally is. Thankfully I had Lachlan’s mother, Jessica, to help. She’s usually the one planning these kinds of events. Lachlan would be lost without her when it comes to parties and mingling with the rich and famous.”
“What about, like, a rugby calendar?” I remember what Neil told me about the French ones.
She smirks at me. “Like have him pose nude to save the animals?”
I grin at the thought. “That wasn’t really what I had in mind, but hey, if I saw a calendar with him naked in it, I’d buy it. I wouldn’t care what the cause is. Women are really fucking simple.”
“That doesn’t weird you out, to have the world looking at your boyfriend’s goods?”
A thrill runs through me at the mere fact that she called him my boyfriend. Is he my boyfriend? I have no idea. But I’m not about to correct her. I like the sound of it.
“I wouldn’t have a problem with it. More reason to brag,” I add with a laugh.
We spend two hours taking various dogs for walks around the block and then some, until it’s time to clean up. Amara says that she’ll be back around eight p.m. with Charlotte, one of the other volunteers, to take the dogs for their last walk. I have to say, even though it seems hopeless in many ways for these dogs, they’re obviously taken care of very well. I shudder to think of how animals in other shelters are, especially the overcrowded ones back home with the high-kill rates.
When Amara drops me off at Lachlan’s, I let myself into his apartment, expecting to see a big mess inside. But both dogs have been well-behaved and Lionel jumps off the couch where he was snuggling with Emily, running over to me with big eyes and a wagging tail.
I crouch down and scratch behind his ears, unable to escape being licked all over my face.
“I’ll take you out in a few minutes,” I tell him, careful not to say the “W” word around him. He just stares at me with those big eyes, and I have to look away. If he was my dog, he would be so damn spoiled. Now I understand why Paris Hilton dragged that ugly Chihuahua everywhere.
I walk into the bedroom, taking off my shirt and putting on something new and fresh. I pick a black tank top cut low enough to show the top of my lacy push-up bra. My boobs have to look their best for him. The fact that right now, he’s at rugby practice, getting all hot and sweaty and manly, running other big men over with his sheer determination and brute strength, well, I’m half-tempted to bring my vibrator out of my half unpacked suitcase and get busy.