Page 18 of I Hate You More

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.”

“I wonder why that is?”

“My fierce competitive streak, probably.” She caught his gaze and held it. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when I do a thing, I do it all the way.”

There was no need for her to tell him that. He’d only known Ruby for a little while, but she’d more than proven her commitment to this dog show. He’d have admired it if he wasn’t so irritated by it. Not once did she question her right to be in this gym even though her dog was the worst-behaved by a vast margin. It also didn’t occur to her that insulting a judge and coordinator of the dog show might not be the best way to go about winning a trophy. She’d determined on a course of action—in this case, taking over the West Coast Canine Classic—and that was the end of it.

Determination and drive were qualities he liked just fine when it wasn’thisdog show on the line.

Or, he was forced to admit, his pride.

Before he made the mistake of voicing any of this out loud, Eva came bounding up with Lawson in tow. “You must be the infamous Ruby Taylor,” she said with a wink for Spencer.

Spencer watched as Eva wrapped the other woman in a warm—and surprise—hug. Ruby’s eyes flew to Spencer’s as she accepted the embrace, but all he did was shrug. Letting people witness Eva in action was much easier than trying to explain her.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Eva said. “When I didn’t see your name on the sign-in sheet, I was afraid Spencer had scared you away for good.”

“Is there a sign-in sheet?” Ruby pulled herself away and cast a quick glance around the gym. “Oops. I didn’t realize.”

“No worries. I jotted your name down for you.” Eva tugged on Lawson’s sleeve to draw him closer. “But since we didn’t get to meet you at registration, I thought we should go through the formalities now.”

“About that.” A look almost like guilt crept over Ruby’s features. The fact that she felt guilty around Eva andnotaround him wasn’t lost on Spencer. “Sorry about my late entry. I’m not sure if Spencer explained it, but—”

Eva held up a hand. “No explanations needed. We’re happy to have you.”

Spencer wasn’t sure aboutthat, but there was no denying he felt…something at having Ruby near.

Eva tugged on Lawson’s sleeve. “This is Lawson Dawes. He’s our third judge, but it’s no use trying to get on his good side because he only does the toy and terrier categories. Well, that and Best in Show, but if you manage to get that dog of yours anywhere near the finals, I’ll eat my shoes.”

That caused Ruby to poker up. “Wheezy has as good a chance as anyone else here.”

Eva looked down at the dog in question and laughed. She slapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep the sound back, but it was too late. “Oops. That was unprofessional of me. Of course he has a chance. Such a good boy. So handsome. So stately.”

As Wheezy had at that moment discovered an itch near his genitals that required his immediate and intense attention, not even Ruby could maintain a straight face.

“Mind your manners,” she said, nudging the dog with her foot. He treated this the same way he did most of Ruby’s requests: he ignored it. “Sorry. He’s not used to such refined company, but that’s why we’re here. I brought him hoping all the good manners would rub off on him. Caleb said dogs learn a lot of their behaviors from other animals.”

“Caleb?” Lawson quirked one of his bushy eyebrows at Spencer. “How interesting. I didn’t realize you were working with him.”