Paws off the Boss, Casey Griffin [ereader for textbooks TXT] 📗
- Author: Casey Griffin
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Book online «Paws off the Boss, Casey Griffin [ereader for textbooks TXT] 📗». Author Casey Griffin
“So,” Aiden said. “Did you grow up here in San Francisco?”
“No. I was raised in Oregon on an onion farm.” She automatically smiled. It sounded like the start of a bad joke. Hell, most of her life felt like a bad joke.
His eyebrows shot up. “Do they grow a lot of onions in Oregon?”
“They do. In eastern Oregon mostly, around the Snake River Valley.”
He took another sip of wine. She could tell by the comical look on his face that those bad jokes were running through his mind.
“Did you have a lot of animals on the farm?”
“We did. A horse, a few pigs, a couple of dogs, about a billion barn cats, oh, and some Araucana chickens. They’re the breed that lays green eggs.”
Aiden chuckled. “So Dr. Seuss wasn’t kidding.”
“Nope. We ate green eggs and ham for breakfast,” she said. “We wouldn’t have had so many animals, but every year, I’d find a new friend. I would beg and beg, and eventually, I’d get my way.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” He grinned.
“Old habits die hard.” But that wasn’t entirely true. If she’d had her way, she’d already own a veterinary hospital, and she wouldn’t need to beg, borrow, and steal her friends’ clothes for a date. But she couldn’t complain too much; she got Aiden.
“I decided at a young age that I wanted to work with animals. Not just wanted to. Had to. It’s a part of me.”
“So you left Oregon to come here for school?”
“Not exactly. My mom found a job here after I finished high school, so I moved here with her.”
“Do you still live with her?”
“No. We lived together for about two years. After that, she moved to Seattle to be near my brother, Ethan. He’s a lawyer there.”
“You have a brother?” He sounded surprised, like he should know this by now. They’d talked almost every day for two weeks, and the subject never came up. But it wasn’t by accident.
Inevitably, Aiden asked, “And your dad? Where’s he?”
“He died,” she said.
Aiden put down his fork. “I’m sorry.” And he looked it.
Guilt crept through her. Maybe she should have told him all this before. After all, he’d told her about his father when they’d first met. Then again, until Monday, he’d just been her boss.
“Sometimes the farm seems like an entirely different life from this one.”
As though Colin could understand her as well as she could understand him, he leaned over and gave her neck a steaky kiss. She patted his head and poured him some more Hound Hooch.
“I don’t cook with onions much,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “Even now, when I chop them up, I can’t help but get a little teary.”
Aiden huffed through his nose, acknowledging the joke, but didn’t laugh. This was a date. Their first date. She didn’t want to drag it down.
“It was a long time ago.” She tried to wave it away. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
But he stared at her like he could see right through her. He wouldn’t let her off that easy. “It’s not fine. It never is.”
Piper’s plastic smile melted. He knew. He’d been there. And by insisting it was fine, it would only cheapen what he went through.
“You’re right,” she said finally. “It wasn’t a joke. Not really. For years after, I couldn’t tell if it was the onions making me cry or …” She shrugged. “Now, I stick to shallots and leeks. The cousins of the onion. Far less emotional.”
This time, he smiled a little. “I didn’t realize that food could be so emotional.”
“Oh, yes. You should see me at Halloween time. All those pumpkin craniotomies. Then to top it off, they get their guts scraped out. I’m a basket case.”
“I’ll never look at a jack-o’-lantern the same way again.” He picked up his fork and laughed to himself. “Actually, when I was a kid, I had my own food issues. After reading Charlotte’s Web, I became a vegetarian for two years.” He ducked his head.
She almost choked on her wine. “Really? That’s adorable.”
Blushing, Aiden focused on cutting his steak, and when he’d finished that, he decided the pieces needed to be smaller. The next time he looked up to take a sip of wine, his gaze focused on Piper over the rim of his glass. His eyes casually flicked away from her, but this time, it wasn’t her cleavage that distracted him. It was something behind her.
He cringed like his wine had turned sour in his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Piper shifted to look behind her.
He stopped her with a wave of his hand. “Don’t look. I don’t want to draw attention to us.”
“Why? What is it?”
“Trouble.” He sighed and set down his fork. “Holly Hart just walked in.”
Aiden’s attention, which had been occupied by Piper the entire evening, shifted to focus on another woman. The Holly Hart. He glared across the restaurant over Piper’s shoulder, his jaw clenched.
“Holly Hart?” Piper asked. “Seriously? Why do you think she’s here?” Piper fought the urge to spin around, curious whether Holly had come with a dog or a man.
“I think she’s on a date,” he said. “I just don’t want her to see us.”
Piper frowned. “Why not?”
He hesitated, eyes darting from Holly to Piper. “You’re right.” Picking up his fork, he dug into his meal. “You’re absolutely right. Who cares if she sees us?”
Him, she thought. That’s who. He cared. That much was obvious to Piper. She just didn’t know why.
She reminded herself that the pushy reporter had stalked him in the past, fabricating stories about him and publishing them. But what story could she possibly concoct about seeing him at the restaurant with Piper?
The largest leap Holly could make was the assumption they were on a date together. And while Piper still had a tough time believing it herself, would it be such a bad thing for that to get out? Was it so shocking or newsworthy?
She peeked at her dress. Thanks to Zoe’s fashion advice and Addison’s hair and makeup skills, she knew she looked like a million bucks. That couldn’t have been it. Maybe he just wanted to avoid the harsh glare from Holly’s shining personality.
Piper kept telling herself this, but for the rest of the meal, Aiden seemed distracted. It wasn’t anything he did on purpose; however, she couldn’t help but notice the constant leg jiggling under the table and that he sat a little lower in his chair. And was he eating faster, or was it just her imagination?
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” she said with forced lightness. “You seem a little distracted.”
The fork paused halfway to his mouth, and he noticed his nearly empty plate and her half-eaten fish. He cringed sheepishly. “Sorry. I guess Holly gets me a little riled up.” He ate slower after that, but he remained distracted no matter how hard Piper tried to snap him out of it.
By the time the server cleared away the dishes, Colin and Sophie had mopped up their side of the table with their tongues. They started to work on the food stuck to their tiny dog bibs tied around their necks. A black bow tie topped Colin’s for a formal touch, while a lace collar adorned Sophie’s, along with a string of faux pearls around the neck.
“Would you like to see our doggy delights menu?” the server asked. “Our new items include bacon-flavored popcorn, turkey and banana biscotti, and beef carrot cupcake topped with cream cheese icing.”
Piper’s mouth watered. “Is it gross that I think that sounds delicious?”
“Don’t worry. We have people desserts too. I can go get the menu, if you like.”
What the heck, Piper thought. It was already going to cost a fortune. She might as well have a good time.
“We’ll just take the bill, please,” Aiden cut in.
“Sure. I’ll be right back.” The server turned, almost tripping over a Pomeranian, and went back to the bar.
“Watching your girlish figure?” Piper asked, disappointed there would be no dessert.
“I know of a great gelato place near here.” He gave her a tight smile. “I thought it would be nice to go for a walk.”
The W word made Sophie’s ears perk up. Colin gave a short bark, initiating a ripple of responses from the furry patrons nearby.
Piper laughed. “Looks like the decision’s been made.”
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