Must Love Wieners by Casey Griffin Page A

was the weekend. His sports jacket sat folded on the bench next to him. At least he’d skipped the tie and rolled up his sleeves. The man knew how to let loose and party.
    He was obviously a newbie to dog parks, or parks in general, or perhaps all things non–work related. He stuck out like a new pair of shoes on the first day of school. Or maybe a lost little puppy. And God knew how she liked to take those home.
    Her palms grew moist. “This is a bad idea, Colin.”
    Colin spun in circles on his seat while she hesitated. Finally, he whined.
    “Maybe we shouldn’t go,” she said to him, but she made no move to leave. Her gaze remained fixed on Aiden, kind of like when she worked at the veterinary hospital for practicum and she stared at the last donut in the box that the receptionist Terri had bought. Piper knew she shouldn’t, but it looked so damned good. And Aiden was the chocolate-filled chocolate-covered chocolate donut. Mmmmmm, she thought as she continued to stare.
    No, she told herself. Donuts were bad for her. And so was Aiden. Wiping her palms on her shorts, she opened her car door so she could get in and drive to the nearest McDonald’s. Maybe she could fill out an application for burger construction artist or something. But Colin didn’t care what she thought. The second the door cracked open, he slipped out between her legs.
    “Colin, no.”
    She reached out to grab him by the collar, but his stubby legs moved in a blur as he scampered off in a direct line for Sophie. Racing over to the bench, Colin tackled his girlfriend. The two of them rolled across the grass in a writhing ball of torsos and ears. Aiden lunged toward them, thinking they were fighting, but he must have recognized Colin because he began to search the parking lot. He spotted Piper standing frozen by her VW and waved.
    She was trapped.
    “I’m going to kill you, Colin,” she promised under her breath.
    She waved back before grabbing Colin’s leash and ball. At the last minute, she remembered her cell phone. She was on call for the veterinary hospital if any emergencies came in that day, so she had to stick close to the phone.
    She didn’t mind, since the hours were better than her previous clinical placement and she only had to work the occasional weekend shift. The reduced hours allowed her to take more telegram gigs, even when she was on call. However, one time she had to deliver a litter of kittens dressed as a sexy gladiator. Now she carried a spare change of clothes with her at all times. Her car was like a closet on wheels.
    Heading across the parking lot to meet Aiden, she almost wished she’d worn something nicer, not a cotton tank and an old pair of sneakers. But she wasn’t interviewing for a position at Caldwell and Son Investments, just as the son’s dog walker. And she definitely looked the part. Plain old dog walker Piper.
    “Hi.” He stood up when she got closer. “I’m glad you could make it.”
    “Hey. Sorry we’re late.”
    He gave her a brisk handshake. Again with the handshake, she thought. “That’s okay. Traffic?”
    “No. I’m infected with perpetual late-itis. The doctor says it’s terminal.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that,” Aiden said in mock seriousness. “Terrible diagnosis. My cousin had that.”
    “Oh, what happened to him?” she asked, clipping Colin’s leash on.
    “He said he’d meet me for lunch one day. I’m still waiting.” He shook his head, his expression grim. “I don’t like to talk about it much.”
    She laughed. “Come on. The dog park’s this way. We can let them off their leashes there.”
    “Sure. Lead the way.” He grabbed his jacket and folded it over an arm. “Come on, Sophie.”
    She stared at him from where she lounged on the mowed grass. He jiggled her leash, but she stayed put, resisting his tugs. Piper whistled through her teeth and called her.
    Sophie heaved a sigh to say, Oh, very well, and jumped to her feet, deigning to join them.
    Aiden laughed.