Something about the wistful way she spoke made Spencer think there was more to the story, but he didn’t dare ask what it was. Getting to know her—allowing himself to be lulled by friendliness—would only lead to his cheeseburger being taken away.

Nodding at the dog by her feet, she added, “And even though the carrots were a lie, I still ate them. Come on, Wheezy. Don’t you even want to try it? Think of all the crumbs you’ll be able to find in the dark.”

Apparently, Wheezy wasn’t as trusting as a young Ruby Taylor. The animal sniffed once, grumbled twice, and flounced away. Spencer had spent the majority of his life surrounded by canines of all varieties, but he wasn’t sure he’d seen a dog flounce before. Wheezy’s nose was in the air and everything.

“It’s all you’re getting until breakfast tomorrow, so you might as well eat it,” she called as the animal waddled over to a corner and sat himself in it. He wore such a look of dejection, of utter betrayal, that Spencer took pity on him.

“Come here, buddy,” he called with a snap of his fingers. “We’ll see if we can do better than a root vegetable.”

“I just spent the past three hours removing everything even remotely delicious from his owner’s kitchen so she won’t be able to sneak him treats when my back is turned. If you give him anything with more than forty calories, I’ll—”

Spencer didn’t have an opportunity to hear what kind of vengeance Ruby had planned. She stopped herself as soon as she realized Wheezy had seen the hand Spencer was holding out to him and lifted an interested ear. When Spencer didn’t do anything more than continue standing there, his summons clear, Wheezy hefted himself to his feet and grumblingly came forward.

“That’s a good boy.” He found a spot behind Wheezy’s right ear and scratched it. The dog, pleased with this turn of events, sat down and thumped his leg on the sleek gym floor. Spencer nodded down at him. “For future reference, you might want to consider rewards other than food. As you can see, affection works just as well.”

Ruby snorted. “Not from me, it doesn’t. Watch.” She tossed the rest of her burger and the neglected carrot in a nearby garbage before reaching down to scratch Wheezy’s other ear. Even though her movements were as gentle as Spencer’s, the animal gave such a loud yelp that several nearby dogs barked in sympathy.

“See?” she demanded. “He’s immune to my charms. Nothing I do or say appeals to him.”

Spencer couldn’t resist. “First time that’s ever happened to you?”

“No, actually. It happens more often than you’d think. Try as I might, I can’t seem to win some dogs—or people—over.”