Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“I love you,” I told him.
“I love you,” he replied.
After we finished our meal, he packed up his things and headed out. Somehow, though, he managed to slip a few hundred dollars onto my desk, which I didn’t notice until he left. He folded it into a few napkins, which read the words, “For my girl.”
I loved that man more than words could ever express.
The rest of the day went really well. Feliz and I headed back to Alex’s apartment after the workday. I ordered a pizza, and Feliz ordered dog treats. He then found a comfy spot on Alex’s living room couch, circled four times, and plopped down for a nap. The sweet baby deserved the rest, but I looked forward to taking him on a walk later that afternoon. Truthfully, Feliz was a very laid-back dog. He was just misunderstood from first, second, and third impressions.
Kind of like a certain man I’d recently met.
CHAPTER 22
Alex
After a long workday and a few more diary entries, I opened the front door to my apartment and walked inside to a silent home that smelled…good. It smelled like peaches, a great change from the smells occupying the space when I left earlier that day.
There wasn’t even a yapping dog trying to claw my throat out.
I removed my shoes before rolling up the sleeves of my white button-down shirt. As I tiptoed into the living room toward the sound of two snoring creatures, I found Yara laid out on the couch with Feliz resting on top of her. Yara’s arms were wrapped loosely around Feliz, who looked as if he was smiling from his dreams. I didn’t even know dogs smiled.
At that moment, he didn’t look too much like Cujo. If anything, he looked…sweet.
What the heck did you do to that dog today, Yara Kingsley?
I cleared my throat, and Feliz shook himself awake. The moment his stare met mine, his teeth clenched together, and he returned to his deep growling and began barking rapidly toward me. Oh yes. There he was. The vicious guy I was beginning to know very well.
“Ah! What happened?!” Yara freaked out, shaking herself awake from the sound of Feliz’s barking. She rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes, and without a second of hesitation, she reached forward to grab Feliz before he could attack me.
“I guess I don’t need to be worried about intruders,” I said, taking a handful of steps backward.
“Give me a second,” Yara replied. She stood and hurried away toward my spare bedroom, where she opened the door and placed Feliz inside before shutting the door once more. She walked back out toward me and yawned. “You’re late.”
“I didn’t give a time.”
“Still, you’re late. No one should work past midnight.”
“The life of a restaurant owner. It seems like you had a good day.”
“Feliz is a sweetheart. I didn’t mind spending the day with him.”
“Since you guys get along so well, maybe he’d be better off with you,” I semi-joked.
She laughed, and it sounded like light. Bright and full even though she’d just awakened. “My Cocoa isn’t quite ready for a new roommate.”
“Figures.” I brushed my thumb against my nose.
“You should get some sleep, or at least as much as Feliz allows you,” Yara said. “I’ll be by in the morning to take him to work.”
“Okay. And, Yara?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Yara?” I repeated.
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” I said once more.
She arched an eyebrow. “What is that thank-you for?”
“Just for you being you.”
My body and mind wanted to sleep, but Feliz had different plans for me.
“Please stop barking.” I sighed as I sat outside the spare bedroom. I had little to no sleep the night prior, seeing as how Feliz decided to howl all night long. Earlier, I tried to peek into the room to make sure he had enough food, and that was when he lunged for the door. I shut it quickly before he could attack me.
How did Yara manage to tame him?
Seeing as how I was in charge of keeping him alive, that dog had a lot of nerve to treat me like crap.
“What were you thinking, Teresa?” I muttered to myself, resting my head against the hallway wall. Right that second, there was a knock on my front door. I stood and answered it to find Yara. She was wide-eyed and looked well-rested.
“Good morning!” she chimed.
“What’s so good about it?” I muttered.
“He kept you up all night, huh?” she asked, entering my apartment.
“All. Night.”
“Well, how about this. How about you go sleep for a few hours, and I’ll take Feliz into work. While I’m gone, I’ll text you a list of things to get for your place. You should get a gate for the guest bedroom. Then Feliz can see you and get used to you instead of keeping this door shut.”
“So he can bark at me nonstop?” I grumbled.