Page 10 of I Hate You More

“You were right to hire me.” Caleb found his way next to her. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and offered her a lopsided grin. “That dog needs some serious work.”

Ruby turned her attention to the second Wilson twin, grateful for the opportunity to gain her bearings. She didn’tlovethe idea of spending the next two months with Caleb, but she didn’t have any other choice. Dog trainers didn’t grow on trees—especially ones who knew the West Coast Canine Classic as intimately as this man did.

If she was going to win—and she was—she needed to pull out all the stops.

“I know he needs work,” she said. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Does he attack everyone he finds on the ground, or just the ones who judge him for a living?” Caleb asked.

“He’s notattackinghim,” Ruby protested, watching as Spencer struggled to free himself from underneath the squirming mass of dogs. To be honest, she was happy to find that the grumpy-looking bulldog appeared to be as poorly behaved as Wheezy, though she could hardly blame either one of them. Wrestling with a half-dressed Spencer Wilson didn’t look like a bad way to spend an evening.

It was aterribleway to spend the evening, obviously, but… She tilted her head and watched as Spencer gave in and allowed himself to be buried under all that canine affection. Not bad. Not bad at all.

“He’s excited about his training,” she lied. “And from being cooped up in the car.” Louder, she added, “I’m so sorry about this. Wheezy! Wheezy, you promised to be on your best behavior.”

Wheezy paid no more attention to her than he had any other time she tried to command his attention. It was almost enough to make her wish she was back at work, toiling under Harry’s mocking stare.

Almost.

“Shouldn’t you go over there and help?” she asked. “I’d try to save your brother myself, but Wheezy delights in doing the exact opposite of what I say. I’d only end up making things worse.”

“Can’t,” Caleb said with a half shrug. “It’s not my side of the yard.”

“Your side of the yard?” she asked, but Caleb didn’t answer. He emitted a sharp whistle instead. It had the effect of bringing the elderly bulldog to attention. The animal gave up on his playful attack and lumbered happily across the grass to park himself at Caleb’s feet, his tongue so heavy with exertion that it dripped out the side of his mouth.

Wheezy didn’t go so far as toobeythe summons, but he did tilt his head in interest—and stopped trying to dig himself into Spencer’s lap, which was the most important thing.

“There. I saved him for you,” Caleb said. “What’s my reward?”

“Your reward?” she echoed again.

Caleb flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll think of something before our session is through. I can be a very good boy when I put my mind to it.”

From experience, Ruby knew that the best way to deflate a man with an ego as big as Caleb’s was to ignore him.

“I’m so sorry,” she repeated, turning her attention to Spencer this time. She extended a hand to help him up, but he didn’t accept the olive branch. He took his time getting to his feet instead, pausing to unroll his sleeves and button the cuffs at his wrists. This act of rebuttoning, of closing himself off from her view, did more to set her pulse alight than any amount of Caleb’s flattery ever could. “If it helps, Wheezy only reacts that way when he’s happy.”

When Spencerstilldidn’t reply, she added, “I didn’t know you lived with your brother, or I’d have tied the dog down before I opened the car door. Either that or dosed him with sleeping pills. That’s a joke, by the way. I only tranquilize people. Never animals.”

Caleb chuckled obligingly, but Spencer only stared. “You do nothing of the kind.”

“Actually, I do. Can’t you tell?” She glanced down at her attire, which could only be described asnursing assistant chic. No one looked good in scrubs, but she did her best by wearing ones in bright colors. This turquoise set went really well with her squeaky white tennis shoes.

“You’re adoctor?” Spencer asked, and with such a note of disbelief in his voice that Ruby felt all her earlier annoyance come roaring back. He didn’t have to act so surprised. She might not be a doctor, but she was technically a member of the medical profession. It wasn’tthatfar out of the realm of possibility.

“Most days, I work long and erratic hours, so I had to come straight here,” she said. She salved her conscience with the thought that it wasn’t strictly a lie. Harry made the schedule, so she always got the worst possible shifts. “I hope that’s not going to be a problem?”

Caleb tsked playfully before his brother could come up with a suitable retort. “A doctoranda beauty pageant queen? Be still, my beating heart.”

Ruby saw her chance to change the subject and pounced. “How do you know I used to do beauty pageants?”

“It was on your dog-show application,” Spencer said irritably.

His brother didn’t seem to share those feelings. “I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you.” Caleb allowed his gaze to trail up and down her body. It left her feeling just as cold as all his other attempts at flirtation, but there was something about the mulish set to Spencer’s mouth that made her more open to it. At leastsomepeople didn’t look at her and immediately assume the worst. “Is this an attempt to regain your former glory? Your big return to the stage?”

“Oh, this isn’t about me. It’s about Wheezy.”

“Yeah, Caleb,” Spencer said. “It’s a dog show, not a beauty contest. We care about a lot more than…”