“You could have just called like a normal human being,” she said. She started to rise out of her seat, hoping to take this conversation outside, but it didn’t work. Either because he assumed she was moving over to make way for him or—even more likely—because he’d never been great at taking a hint, he lowered himself onto the red vinyl seat next to her.

In addition to a dazzling smile, Patrick had a number of attributes that made him look like a model in a toothpaste ad. Most of those attributes had to do with his being shaped exactly like a square. His jaw was square, his eyes were square, his shoulders were square, and even his hair, which gleamed a burnished auburn under the lights of the restaurant, had a distinctly cube-like shape. It wasn’t a bad thing, all those clean-cut angles and solid masculinity, but Lila found that she preferred a sharply chiseled pair of cheekbones and a touch of gray at the temples.

“Well, girls,” he drawled, emphasizing a term he knew Lila hated, “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Lila knew better than to ask him to elaborate. So did Sophie and Dawn, but of course that didn’t stop Patrick from barreling right ahead.

“A little birdie told me you’re making great progress on the Auditory Guild contract,” he said. “Good for you. It’s just the thing to put Puppy Promise on the map, and it couldn’t have happened to a better organization.”

To the untrained ear, Patrick sounded sincere. He looked sincere, too, what with all those teeth flashing around the table. It was part of his charm, that ability to distract and awe, a brilliantly plumed peacock performing his mating dance to everyone close enough to revel in it.

Lila’s ear, however, was anything but untrained. Five months of dating this man had taught her a thing or two about reading between the molars.

“Thanks, Patrick,” she said. And because she knew the lines by heart, she added, “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

He turned to look at her, a queer light in his eyes. “You think so?”

She knew so. As much as it pained her to admit it—and the pain, it loomed large—Patrick had been the one to introduce her to Anya in the first place. He was also the one who’d encouraged them to donate a service animal, who’d showed them the benefits of allying Puppy Promise with an organization as large and influential as the Auditory Guild. As an otolaryngologist, Patrick had plenty of clout in the hearing services field. As an attractive man in his early forties—well educated, well spoken, and well-to-do—he also had plenty of clout with Lila.

Or so she’d thought.