Read Online Must Love Wieners by Casey Griffin - Free Book Online

dog parks because of it.”
    “And Colin some enemies?” Aiden asked.
    “No way.” Colin brought her the ball and she ruffled his fur in congratulations. “Look at this face. How can you hate this face?”
    As she said this, Sophie tackled Colin and they went rolling. Sophie came back with wood chips stuck in her long red fur, and Aiden bent down to pick some of them out. “Well, these two seem to be the best of friends.”
    “Yeah, they love each other. They grew up together. After I adopted Colin, he still came back to the center with me to visit her.”
    “But you only adopted Colin?”
    “Unfortunately, I couldn’t take both home with me. I shouldn’t have a dog at all. My landlord would kill me if he knew.”
    She tossed the ball back across the lot again. The dogs raced for it, wood chips flying up in their wake. Finding the shadiest bench, Piper took a seat and curled her legs up next to her. Aiden had to hitch his pant legs up a little to sit but tried to look casual, slinging an arm across the back of the bench.
    Piper studied him out of the corner of her eye. If Aiden wore the same mask as her brother, he wore it so flawlessly, without having to flash his badges around, that Piper wondered if it was a mask at all.
    But what did it matter? She came there for one reason—a job interview. Aiden was just her potential boss. However, when she recalled the final notices in her mailbox that morning she knew it wasn’t just a job. It was her best shot at staying afloat.
    She eyed her tank top and shorts wondering once again if she shouldn’t have worn something different, maybe with a collar, or at least something that didn’t show her bra straps. After all, dog walking wasn’t to be taken lightly in San Francisco. It was a cutthroat job market. Not to mention the turf wars that occurred over dog-walking territory between the walkers. It was dog-eat-dog—no pun intended.
    Aiden still looked relaxed and effortless in his suit next to her, playing with the dogs each time they returned with the ball. Nothing had changed between her and Aiden, but Piper grew tense. But he offered her the job in the first place, she reasoned, so surely she had nothing to worry about. Then again, if it were that easy why would he need to interview her? Straightening up on the bench, she crossed her legs. That was professional, right?
    She cleared her throat. “So, what else can I tell you about myself to prove my sanity?” she asked.
    “Maybe you can tell me about yourself. Your hobbies, your goals.” He said it straight-faced like he was reading off a list of interview questions. “Your friend at the center said you’re training to be a veterinarian. Tell me more about that.”
    “I’m in my fourth year, well, eighth if you count my undergrad. I have two more weeks of practicum left before I graduate.”
    The tennis ball fell at her feet and she paused to toss it again. When she leaned back, Aiden’s dark green eyes were focused on her. Maybe it was a tactic, like one of the seven habits of highly effective communicators. Eye contact would be one, surely. But then why did his lingering gaze cause her cheeks to ignite?
    “So you don’t treat the dogs at the rescue center?”
    “Oh no. Nothing like that,” she said. “Not yet, anyway. I’d like to open my own veterinary clinic one day.”
    “That’s ambitious.”
    She shrugged it off, feeling self-conscious. She knew it would be tough. It would mean remaining in her run-down apartment, working a lot of overtime, scrimping, saving, having more sleepless nights. But it would be fine. She knew she could do it. She would do it. And at the end of it all, she’d look back and say she did it all on her own.
    Sophie won the battle this time, and she brought the ball to Aiden. He bent down to wrestle with her for a minute, but her grip was too strong. Eventually, he gave up fighting her, and she dropped the ball of her own free will. She sat on her haunches and waited for