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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

“I don’t know, Richard. What if I change jobs? What would happen then?”

The boss smiles a bitter smile. “Already sending out CVs?”

“That’s not what I meant. A dog is a ten-year commitment at the very minimum. And it’s not as if we can decide to keep her now and change our minds in five, ten, or maybe even fifteen years. What if you move back to England? What if one or both of us moves away from New York?”

“We’ll figure something out. You really want to bring Chevron to a shelter?”

I shake my head. “No, but the responsible thing would be to find her a forever family that will adopt her.”

“Then don’t be responsible. Live a little. What if no one adopts her? You want her to stay caged up forever?”

The same cabin fever from the few hours I spent in jail makes my pulse race. I can’t send Chevron to live in a cage. Not even for a day.

“No!”

“So let’s keep her. If we join forces, we can.”

“Are you really ready for this kind of responsibility?”

“I am, if you are.”

I stare into two pairs of puppy-dog eyes and there’s no way I can say no. “Okay then.” I could be going crazy, but Richard’s enthusiasm is infectious.

Richard smiles, too. “So you want to leave her with me tonight?”

“No!” Instinctively, I put a hand on Chevron’s head as if to protect her. “I mean, it’s only May. The weather’s great. She can stay with me for now.”

“So you’re going to walk to work every day?”

“Or bike. I’ll do it instead of running.”

Richard smiles again and shakes his head.

“What?”

“You’re never letting go of that dog, you know that, right?” I start to protest, but he cuts me short. “Come on,” he says, jumping up from the bench and offering me his hands. “Let’s go.”

As I walk home over the Manhattan Bridge, I can’t help the little smile pulling at my lips. I know Richard offered to help only for Chevron’s sake, but still, he was ready to commit to us—okay, to her—for an undisclosed number of years. All Indira’s theories about his phobia must be exaggerated. All the boss needs is a little push…

Eight

Always Dress Properly

The need to walk to work forces me to tone down my wardrobe and sort of embrace the athleisure movement. So today my outfit—a pale pink scuba-jersey sweatshirt, shiny paneled leggings, and the irreplaceable pink wedge All Stars—gains me a wink of approval from Indira as soon as I round my desk.

“Cool outfit, girl,” she greets me. “The boss wants to see you.”

After setting down Chevron’s food and water bowls, I knock on Richard’s door.

“Come in,” he says, voice muffled by the glass.