Page 48 of Puppy Christmas

“Are you here to see how Jeeves is doing so far?” Lila inquired, her voice polite but tense. “As you can see, he’s an absolute gentleman. Emily and I can walk you through his progress, but it’s only been—”

“Oh, it’s nothing so formal as that,” Anya responded. “I had a meeting at the school this morning and thought I’d check in while I was here, that’s all. Things are going well, I take it?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

Anya turned to Ford as if for confirmation. Since he wasn’t sure what else was expected of him, he flipped a quick thumbs-up.

“Actually, it’s my fault Anya’s here,” Patrick said, his attention fixed on Lila’s sparkling pink tank top. As Ford himself had spent an unholy amount of time staring at it, he shouldn’t have felt annoyed.

But annoyed he undoubtedly was.

“You wouldn’t let me apologize before, but I need to get this out,” Patrick added. “I’m sorry for underestimating you, Lila, and for jeopardizing your position within the Guild. I should never have doubted your capabilities, and it was wrong of me to intercede based on my personal relationship with you. I had no business interfering outside my role as Emily’s doctor.”

This speech naturally held no interest for Emily, who wasn’t looking at him—or either of Helen’s boys, who were showing a tendency to squirm even more—but the adults all stood transfixed. Helen was still staring at Patrick, Patrick was staring at Lila, and Principal Brown and Anya Askari shared a knowing look that made Ford feel as though he had no place at the grown-up table.

“Okay,” Lila said.

“Okay?” Patrick echoed with a pause that indicated he was expecting more.

“Yes, thank you. Apology accepted.”

“But—” Patrick opened his mouth and closed it again. For the first time since Ford had known the man, he looked less than his usual assured self, his eyes fixed anxiously on Lila’s profile.

Me too, buddy, Ford thought with an inward sigh.Me too.

“Well, now that everything’s all cleared up, we should get going.” Anya was a small woman, her voice lightly fluting and her smile warm, but no one dared contradict her. “We’ve taken up too much of your time with this business already, Lila. We’ll let you get back to work.”

With the ease of long practice, she signed her appreciation to Emily for introducing her to Jeeves and for taking her around the school. She took a more verbal departure from the rest of them, whisking Principal Brown off with a request that she see her out.

Ford wasn’t too far behind. Even though he longed for nothing more than to wrap an arm around Lila’s waist and haul her bodily away from Patrick Yarmouth, he thought they could use a moment.

He wasn’t alone in that regard. Helen grabbed both her boys by their shirt collars and pointed them toward the cafeteria. “My nose tells me they’re serving cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning,” she said with an unprecedented show of tact. “What say we throw my diet out the window and gorge ourselves? I bet I can eat two, if I put my mind to it. Ford?”

“I’ll raise you one and add a fruit cup,” he instantly replied.

Neil and Byron agreed to this plan with a shout and a scramble toward the door. Ford had to repeat the offer to Emily, who showed a decided preference to stay in Lila’s company. She stood watching the backs of the retreating boys with her usual wariness wherever kids her age were concerned.

“Jeeves can’t eat cinnamon rolls,” she said by way of explanation.

“Very true,” Ford agreed with a glance down at the puppy. Jeeves still sat at attention, but the mention of food had caused those mobile ears to start roving. “But I imagine he’ll enjoy the smells. Look at how his ears are twitching already.”

Emily looked as though she wanted to protest, but she nodded and followed them out of the gym. It was a strange procession, and a somewhat subdued one, but Ford was determined to see it through.

And if the thought of leaving Lila and Patrick alone so close to those enticing, dark, dusty bleachers wrenched his heart a little? Well, too bad. There were cinnamon rolls waiting for him in the cafeteria.

Three of them, actually. And a fruit cup. What a roaring, riveting life he led.

* * *

“Patrick Yarmouth and I used to date.”

Ford made a scrambling motion at his drafting desk, dropping his pen and hastily covering the papers he was sketching. “Oh. Uh. Really?”

Lila drew a deep breath and forced herself to get through this. Painful though the conversation was going to be, it had to be done. Patrick and his stupid ill-timed gallantry had forced her hand. “In the spirit of full disclosure, I thought you should know. I had no idea that he was one of Emily’s doctors when I took the job, and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have let that stand in my way even if I had. We broke up a while ago.”

“Is that why he called the house during the tea party?” Ford asked.

“Yes.” Lila hesitated, unsure how much detail was necessary to clear the air. With any other client, she’d have maintained as stiff and professional a front as possible. With a client she’d ruthlessly kissed underneath the elementary school bleachers, stiff professionalism seemed a little silly.