Pawsitively in Love (4 page)

“You guys aren’t being very nice.” Peter currently had Maggie curled up at his side on one of the lounge chairs. She had loved Peter since she was a puppy. Similar gentle souls, Austin always figured. Neither one of them had a sharp thought in their sweet, happy heads.

“Sorry, baby. You know how protective we get of Mary Beth.” Cole fluttered his long lashes at Peter, and Peter nodded. The look he gave Cole was enough to make Austin’s stomach heave… or it would be if he didn’t love them so much. Of course Cole could get Peter to agree to pretty much anything. It was only slightly excruciating to watch from Austin’s very single point of view.

Someday
. Someday he’d have what they did.

“Sweetie, you have to come see the new place,” Cole said. He waved his hand at Austin like he’d just remembered. Only Cole could be that nonchalant about moving from the apartment he’d been in for nearly ten years to a brand-new condo right on the water. “The movers finished up yesterday, and I should have everything put away and ready to go by Wednesday.”

Austin chuckled. “That quick?” he asked.

“You know how much I hate leaving jobs undone. I’d rather work all night tonight and get it finished than leave it for the morning.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

The afternoon was fun, for the most part. Another close friend, Colleen, showed up after an hour or so, with a sampler basket of products from her new line of candies. Her company had blown up recently, her candies were being carried in more and more shops, and she’d added a bunch of new features to her online ordering service as well. Austin was really proud of her.

Austin had always enjoyed Colleen’s sharp tongue and dry sarcasm. She’d gone to high school with him and Mary Beth and was one of the friends that neither one of them were willing to let go. They were lucky that she’d stayed local.

It was also probably good to have her there to diffuse the whole Chad situation. She didn’t have much love for the jerk either, but she was willing to be pleasant for Mary Beth’s sake, unlike Austin and Cole. She may or may not have kneed Austin under the table a few times when his mouth got a little out of control. Yeah. It was good to have her there.

The group sat on the deck with Austin’s parents and had beers and delicious barbecue, and only went home at the end of the evening when it was too dark to see without the outdoor lights. Austin and Maggie got a ride with Colleen.

“How’s it hanging?” she asked him when they were all settled in her small vintage BMW. Maggie was sprawled on the backseat, relaxed but alert. She’d never grown into being a fan of the car. At least it was a really short ride.

“It’s good. Busy with the shop, you know?”

“I guess so. Haven’t seen you at poker night for a while.”

Austin hadn’t had time to breathe much since business exploded, let alone do social things. “I’ll be better about it. I miss you guys. I’m just seriously slammed. Don’t own your own business,” he joked.

“Good to know,” Colleen said. “Glad you warned me before I started one myself.”

They both laughed. Austin and Colleen had spent hours consoling each other about how idiotic they’d both been to open their own business when their friends who worked other places got to go home at the end of the day and have at least a small semblance of a normal life. “It will get easier. The first few years are always so hard.”

She’d been in business for nearly five already. Two and a half years longer than Austin. But she brought her middle-aged tuxedo cat, Jasmine, in a few times a year for grooming, and Austin had a display of her candies in his waiting area along with racks of little pet accessories. They would always support each other.

“Thanks, babe.”

“So we’ll see you at the next poker night?”

Austin had a feeling it wasn’t really a question. He figured he might as well say yes. He’d skip a night of paperwork that he was constantly drowning in to hang out with his friends. He could do it.

AUSTIN REALIZED,
as he turned right onto the long drive that went along the waterfront boardwalk, that it had been nearly a year since he’d been down there. Ruston Way was their city’s prettiest park, no doubt, and Austin used to go down there nearly every day. He had missed a lot of his life since Paws started getting busy. It was just little things, like not visiting the waterfront, that reminded him just how much.

It always took him by surprise, no matter how many times he’d seen it. Mt. Rainier was so huge and clear on the horizon, with the city nestled and dwarfed against the base of it, the deep blue water, a bright red fireboat, Brown’s Point peninsula a green blur in the distance across the water—visitors always told him it barely looked real. Familiar as it was, Austin kind of saw their point.

The park was crowded with people walking their dogs and playing Frisbee, and he vowed that he’d get down there as soon as he could for more than just a short visit. The parks made way to a few expensive waterfront office buildings and finally the extensive development that held Peter and Cole’s new condo. It was still unfinished; apparently by the time the area was done, there’d be a movie theater, a grocery store, and a whole row of shops. Austin didn’t know if he’d be interested in moving down there, if he ever had the money to do it of course, but he was still impressed. He followed the directions to the building that Cole had texted him, pulled into a visitor spot, clipped Maggie’s leash onto her collar, and hopped out of the car.

“I CAN’T
believe you live down here,” Austin murmured when he was at the front door of Peter and Cole’s condo. He was speechless. The place had looked impressive from the outside, but from just the glimpse he’d had inside it was already completely incredible. He couldn’t believe his actual friends, people who used to share a tiny basement one-bedroom in his building, had managed something so amazing.

Maybe his day would come soon, where Paws would pay off more than a nice two-bedroom rental. He’d actually left work at a decent hour the night before and was currently in the middle of an entire day off, no paperwork or anything, which was nearly unheard of. He decided to use part of the day to go check out his friends’ new place, which he’d promised to do at the barbecue.

Cole and Peter had just moved into the waterfront condo a few weeks before. It had to be worth close to a million. They weren’t doing it on Peter’s PE teacher salary for sure. Austin had known that Cole was doing well with his paintings, but he hadn’t known just how well.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Cole asked. He pulled Austin the rest of the way into the condo.

“It’s insane.” Austin barely even knew what to say to someone he always had been completely comfortable with. He found himself looking at Cole differently and then checked it. Cole was practically his brother. “Is Maggie okay to be in here?” he asked. Their house was
perfect
. While Maggie was very clean and well behaved, she was still a big furry dog, and all of a sudden Austin felt self-conscious about bringing her into somewhere so new and pristine.

Cole reached down to scratch between her ears. “Of course. Miss Maggie’s family too.” He chuckled lightly. “It’s just an apartment, Aus. Really. Your parents’ house is nicer.”

“Right. Just an apartment.”

Austin thought about his own place up the hill, the one he’d been so pleased with until a few minutes ago. It had a ton of historical charm, but it sure as hell wasn’t the millionaire’s waterfront crash pad. His parents’ house had gained a lot of value as their neighborhood got more popular, but still. It was just home to him, not… something that looked like a movie star lived there.

He let Maggie off her leash. She trotted around the brand-new condo, smelling familiar rugs and furniture in an unfamiliar place. Austin just stared, openmouthed, at the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over Commencement Bay and the boardwalk below. The kitchen was a sweep of shiny granite counters and rich wooden cabinets. Cole and Peter’s suite was up a circular staircase and hidden by bamboo sliders. Everything looked modern and clean, not really Austin’s style, but so
so
expensive. He was happy for them. Definitely.

“Have a seat.” Cole gestured toward a very familiar brown leather sofa. “You want your usual?”

Some things didn’t change much. “Yes, please.”

Cole made the best tea in the whole world. Austin didn’t even know what he did, but it was amazing. Even their mothers had bowed down to Cole’s tea prowess. Austin watched Cole putter around in the open kitchen. He was slight and beautiful, light caramel skinned with black hair and outrageously huge, long-lashed brown eyes. His mother was Venezuelan and his father had emigrated from the Ukraine about two years before Cole was born, and both sides of his heritage showed in different ways. Austin thought it was sweet how Peter stared at him still, even though they’d been together for over five years. It was so obvious how much he adored Cole.

Austin took a seat on the sofa that was a bit of home in an intimidating space and relaxed while Cole finished in the kitchen. Maggie, who must’ve finished exploring, wandered back and curled by his feet. Peter, freshly showered and pink-cheeked, came down from their loft-style bedroom area.

“Hey, Austin, what’s up?”

They’d just seen him on Sunday at his parents’ barbecue, but Peter always asked about his day and listened like he actually cared. Austin loved that about him. His serene nature was much needed between chatty Cole and Austin, who never really stopped talking. Austin hadn’t said anything about his Evan Partridge blowup at the barbecue, not with Mary Beth and Colleen and his
parents
there, but it was still on his mind. More than he wanted to admit. Cole shuffled in and passed Austin his tea before he sank gracefully onto the floor in front of Peter. Austin bit his lip.

“Guys, I think I screwed up big-time.” He really
really
had been trying not to think about it, but he hadn’t been able to keep Evan Partridge’s face out of his head, and, yeah, he remembered his name too. Probably wouldn’t forget either one of them for a long, long time.

“What’d you do this time?” Cole asked.

“Would you believe I took a customer’s head off?” he mumbled.

“Little bloodthirsty, were you?” Cole quipped. “Did he need stiches afterwards?”

“No,” Austin grumbled. “But I was a total dick. The guy was late to pick up his dog, and I’d had a long-ass day, and I lost it.”

Even Peter made a face at that. “You yelled at a customer? That’s not like you.”

“I know. And he was
gorgeous
.”

Cole chuckled. “And now we know why you’re feeling bad about it.”

“No, that’s not it. I mean it is, but not really. His dog’s a puppy, and it was his first visit. I think I just lost what could have been a loyal customer.”

“Are you afraid he’s going to write shit about you on, like, dog blogs?”

“There are dog blogs?” Austin shuddered at the thought. There probably were. He bent down and scratched Maggie’s head reflexively. Shit. He was screwed. “Have you seen these things?”

“Of course not.” Cole scrunched up his nose. “Darling, if I’m not painting or making this guy here moan—”

“Babe,” Peter said with a quick blush.

“Please. Austin knows what happens when the lights go out. Anyway, the last thing I’d be doing is looking online for dog owner blogs. I’m sure you’re safe.”

Austin wasn’t really listening to Cole. He was too busy picturing scathing reviews and empty appointment books. He told himself that he felt bad about yelling at the guy because he wasn’t like that. But a large part of him
was
still afraid that people would hear about his outburst and his business would go under—irrational, but that’s the way his mind worked sometimes.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “It’ll be fine.”

Cole tutted at him and told him to drink his tea. Austin tried to push Evan Partridge out of his head for the hundredth time and concentrated on the steady stream of gossip that Cole was chattering about.

Before Austin left, Cole pulled him through the silent sliding-glass doors to check out their expansive balcony.

“It’s nice out here,” Austin said. Nice was an understatement, as with the rest of the condo. The day was gorgeous and brilliantly blue. From their balcony, they could see everything, from the Olympics across Puget Sound all the way to Old Town Tacoma on the right and the looming Mt. Rainier. It was incredibly impressive. He was momentarily envious of his friends, hanging out there eating breakfast. But then he reminded himself that he loved them and they deserved everything they had, and so he smiled. “I love how the ocean smells.”

“I’m glad you like it, babe. But I didn’t really bring you out here to have a nature experience.”

Austin snorted at that. Cole wasn’t exactly what you’d call one with nature. “Why did you bring me out here, then?”

“I’m just worried about you, babe. There were too many people at the barbecue to get into it, and I just… want you to be okay.”

Cole always called him “babe” more when he was worried. Austin figured everyone was concerned about him, since he’d barely surfaced from work for so long. At least Austin could be sure his friends loved him.

“I’m really just a mess with the business. It’s going well, but it’s so busy and hectic I’m not at the point where I can afford someone to just do paperwork only, and—it’s really boring stuff. I swear. I already told Colleen I’d make it to the next poker game.”

“I know,” Cole said.

“Of course you do.” He wasn’t remotely surprised that Colleen had reported back to Cole. It somehow warmed his heart that they were meddling, even if it meant they were talking about him behind his back. “And I
will
be there. I promise.”

“Maybe you can take some time to date a little too? It’s been a while, you know. I just want you to be happy.”

“Thanks for the reminder that I’ve been single for over a year.” Austin made sure to keep his voice light and a little sarcastic. But he didn’t need it constantly from his mom, his friends, even customers at the shop who thought he was way too cute to be alone. Yes. He wanted someone. He really wanted someone. But it wasn’t as easy as they all made it seem. “Maybe by the next poker game, I’ll have a boyfriend to bring too.”