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Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

She’s not wrong. I spent the last twenty minutes losing another battle of wills. It started with me saying Mr. Mutt wasn’t allowed on the couch and ended with the puppy nestled in my lap.

“Yes.”

“I thought you weren’t an animal person. I’ve been begging you to get a cat for ages, you always said the house was too small for a pet, and now you bring home a dog?” Nikki sits on the coffee table, staring at us accusingly. “Does he have a name? Where did you find him?”

“I call him Mr. Mutt.”

“That’s a horrible name.”

“And I found him at a Chevron…”

Mr. Mutt barks.

“…gas station. What’s up with you?” I ask the dog.

Nikki studies him. “He barked when you said Chevron.”

The pup barks again.

“Chevron?” I repeat.

And again.

“I think we settled that horrible Mr. Mutt name, right, Chevron?” Nikki asks.

“Ar-rooff!”

Nikki finally pats him. “So are we keeping him?”

“No.”

An excruciating howl rips through the room.

“Oh, I forgot,” I say. “The pup speaks English.”

“Right,” Nikki says skeptically. “So what is he doing here if he isn’t staying?”

“The plan was to drop him at Animal Heaven, but by the time I got out of jail the shelter was closed. I couldn’t leave him on the street.”

Nikki is about to pet Chevron again when she stops, hand in midair. “Wait, reverse. Jail?”

“Yeah, jail…” I tell her of my afternoon of misery.

“Aw, so now Mr. Hot Sticker even saved you from prison.”

“Richard didn’t save me from prison. He just had to be there as a witness, and used it as an excuse to hook up with a lady lawyer.”

Nikki scrunches her face. “Ouch.”

“I don’t care.”

“Of course you don’t. Just as much as we aren’t keeping the puppy.”

“Woof!”

Seven

Always Be Responsible

There’s something bulgy on my bed that’s preventing me from stretching my legs. So annoying. I ignore the nuisance for as long as I can until finally I blink my eyes open and find a set of big brown eyes fixated on me.

When Chevron notices I’m awake, he starts wagging his tail like mad. Oh, right! I still need to take him to a shelter. At five thirty in the morning, shelters must be closed, but it’s not too early to take Chevron for a run.

“Let’s see what you’re made of,” I tell him, getting up.

After putting on my running clothes and sneakers, I secure Chevron with the brand new leash I bought yesterday. The pup pants hah-hah-hah happily the entire time, his tail never sitting still. I reward him with a dog cookie and we exit the apartment.