Page 53 of Their Pup to Tame

“Let me know what they decide,” she replied.

“I will,” I said. “As for the finale, I did have something in mind. I was going to ask our two biggest draws to create and unveil a cocktail together.”

She looked thoughtful as she sipped her drink, humming a little, before smiling. “I like it, but let’s throw an additional twist in there and have them come up with drinks that complement one another. Hopefully, they can find some common ground in the process, and if not, then at the very least it will make their lives miserable for a little while, which is what they deserve for damaging my grandson.”

Huh?

“Grandma, how did you know what happened to my face?” I asked. “Even Uncle James doesn’t know what really took place.”

“Of course I know what is going on with my dancers,” she replied. “And it’s past time those two put their issues aside and learned to work together.”

“I didn’t want to make an issue out of it,” I admitted. “But I warned them that they would have to figure out how to work together. This is just one of several ideas I’ve put together for them.”

“Good, it isn’t right for brothers to feud that way.”

“Whoa, back up a minute. Gram, are you telling me they’re related?” I said, completely blown away, given the animosity I’d seen between them, not to mention how different they looked.

“Half-brothers, but yes, they share a father and carry a lot of grudges stemming back to him, too.”

Guess I should have expected her to still know everything about all the dancers who worked at the club, despite no longer being part of the day-to-day operations. I knew she popped into the back from time to time, but it was beginning to sound like she might be there far more often than I realized. No wonder she’d been up in arms about the incident reports; she’d likely heard far more in-depth versions of what had taken place from those who’d had a bird’s-eye view of some of the incidents.

“I’ll make sure the team keeps an extra eye on them,” I assured her.

“Thank you,” she said before kicking back the last of the wine in her glass, “Now, let’s go see if the buzzards left any cupcakes behind.”

I was more than happy to follow her and grab sticky treats and another bruschetta if there were any left. Having her approvalhad sent my confidence soaring, while the little voice in the back of my head kept repeatingI can’t wait to tell Parker and Aspen.

15

PARKER

“And with that, the final cardboard box has left the premises,” I declared as I stepped back into the house and immediately heard laughter from the den.

Following it, I found Aspen and Phoenix on the couch, Phoenix wiggling around, trying to bat at Aspen with a pillow, but Aspen had him half buried beneath several of them and had clearly found a way of wrangling our pup now that he no longer had to worry about being careful of his stitches.

“Now what on earth did he do to have you tormenting him this way?” I asked as Aspen snagged the pillow out of Phoenix’s hand and tossed it on the other couch.

“He suggested that I dress in a Goldilocks outfit and walk him down the runway next week when Dorian unveils the wolf gear,” Aspen declared, having to speak up over all the laughter.

“Because the idea is totally…fire…” Phoenix choked out as he writhed and squirmed. “And you…already have…the costume.”

“Alright, quit tickling the poor pup, he’s right,” I remarked and waded in to save our squirming pup from falling off the couch due to all the tickling.

My words did just as much to stop Aspen as if I’d dumped ice water over his head. His fingers fell away from Phoenix’s sides before I could bat them away, leaving our pup to simmer down and lie against the couch cushions.

“See!” Phoenix exclaimed, a smug smirk earning him another tickle.

“How long has it been since you took that outfit out of the garment bag?” I asked, capturing Aspen’s hand to make him stop.

Huffing, Aspen turned to look at me and sighed. “It’s been a few years.”

“Then what’s the problem?” I asked.

“There is no problem.”

“Then why tickle him for suggesting it?”

“Because of all the lewd things he said afterward, which he knows we cannot do while we’re up on the runway!”