The line went quiet for a moment. “I appreciate you saying so. You’re a good egg, Carly. I’ve always known that part.”

Carly smiled at the wall. “Not as good as you, but I’m going to work harder. Thanks for the chat.”

“Anytime. Call me tomorrow with all the noteworthy details, and don’t you dare leave out the sexy parts.”

“Try and stop me.”

Carly clicked off the call and felt her heart rate slow. Fallon had pointed her in the right direction, helped her come up with the perfect outfit, and had been a friend to her when she needed it. She smiled and took a deep breath. Tonight felt important, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t also be fun. She’d been looking forward to their date since the very moment Lauren had asked her out.

Now all she had to do was put on her chosen outfit and go and pick up her date.

Chapter Eight

Rocky looked up at Lauren and snuffled as she took a final glimpse at herself in the mirror, happy with her look. She’d left her hair down, liking the way it fell across her forehead today. Rocky snuffled some more and lifted his feet. She grinned. He was a big time snuffler, always using the sound to express his emotions, which were varied and complex. “You got something to say?” she asked. “I put your dinner down already.” She returned her focus to the mirror and ran a finger along her bottom lip to apply a little more gloss. Snuffling. “You don’t want your dinner?” She glanced down at him.

He picked up his feet, set them down, and snuffled some more in response. Aha. The shuffle-snuffle combo. He likely knew she was going somewhere and demanded to know who with. Rocky IV had always been her protector, defender, and right-hand man. She scooped up the pudgy little guy, carried him with her to the kitchen, and plopped him in front of his full dish to see if he’d get back to regularly scheduled programming. He glanced up at her, snuffled, but obliged, shaking his little curlicue of a tail as he ate.

When the doorbell rang, he trotted dutifully behind her to scope out the new guest. Lauren opened the door, prepared to apologize for Rocky’s likely bark, only to have the words stolen from her lips. Carly stood there in a yellow top that had her glowing and a sexy pair of heels. Her hair was half up and half down, and came with lazy waves, the kind they had on TV but Lauren could never seem to master when she tried. “Sorry.”

Carly grinned. “Why are you sorry? And hi.”

“Hi.” She swallowed and found herself again. “You look so beautiful. Sorry, again.” She shook her head to emphasize how silly she felt. “I wasn’t expecting to lose my ability to communicate.”