It was a well-known joke among them that Lawson only had eyes for tiny dogs. He and his husband owned three rescue Chihuahuas. Every year, their Christmas card featured the dogs dressed up in some outlandish costume. Last year had seen them turned into tiny reindeer hooked up to an even tinier red sleigh.

“Ooh, I’ll come with you,” Eva said. “There’s a King Charles spaniel over there who’s been giving me the eye since I came in. I assume you’re off to ogle the working dogs, Spencer?”

He was about to answer in the affirmative—give him a big, strong Alaskan malamute over a teacup poodle any day—but a commotion at the door drew their attention.

Commotion was the only word Spencer could think of to describe it. In addition to once again arriving late, Ruby had been forced to resort to underhanded tactics to get Wheezy through the door. She entered the room backward, a cheeseburger in her hand and a coaxing note in her voice.

“Come on, Wheezy. Just a few more steps. You can do it.” She gave the burger an enticing waggle. Had it been any other woman bribing a dog through the doorway with a piece of meat, she might have gone unnoticed, but she gave her ass an equally enticing waggle. She was clad comfortably and casually in a pair of loose green overalls over a black tank top, but as far as Spencer was concerned, she might as well have been standing up for the swimsuit competition. It was impossible to look at her and not be aware of every part of her body. Hair and lips and shoulders and waist and—

“She can’t give that dog a cheeseburger,” Spencer announced before his list—or his imagination—moved any further downward. “Did she listen to nothing I said? He needs a healthy diet and exercise.”

“Oh dear.” Eva muffled a giggle. “Is that the woman Caleb was telling me about?”

Spencer glanced over, his gaze sharp. “You talked to Caleb?”

Instead of answering, Eva sighed. “He wasn’t kidding, was he? She’s gorgeous. Do you think she wants to be my friend?”

“Eva, please don’t—” Spencer began, but he didn’t know why he bothered. Once Eva decided to like a person, it was already done.

“I was wondering why Caleb was so excited to get a new client, but it makes total sense now. Didn’t the first training session go well?”

Spencer pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d known this would happen from the moment that woman first thrust her dog’s papers into his hands. He was trying to give her less space in his life, not more. The last thing he needed was for Eva to roll out the full welcome-wagon routine.

“Of course the first training session didn’t go well,” he said. “We’re talking about Caleb. He spent nine-tenths of his time flirting.”