Chapter Five
Greer
From the day we cut the ribbon, Just One Lick had been insane in the best way possible. Customers flooded the place, and there was never a lack of dogs barking or yapping—or dog baby talk for that matter.
“The coupons worked. Nice job.” I patted Jarmin on the back.
“Coupons always work. People will flock for miles for free stuff. Once they tasted Bea’s recipes, I was confident they would be hooked.”
I looked over at the racks of doggie cookies and bones to see the inventory already dwindling. It was the third time I’d filled it up in a week. My parents’ once-failing restaurant had evolved into a thriving business. My dad would probably die all over again if he saw what I’d done, though.
“I’m going back into the kitchen to get some more cookies and stuff. What time do I need to take you to the airport?” His bags were in my trunk, ready to go, but I wasn’t quite ready to let my bestie go yet. His support had been everything to me and truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I could’ve gotten this place going without him.
“Nope. I already scheduled a ride. I can’t stand when you cry at the airport.”
I nodded and watched as one woman grabbed the remaining half-dozen Barkies, the dog version of cookies, off the shelf.
“We’ll talk about this. But first I need to get that restocked.” I went in the back and filled a basket to the brim with Barkies and our regular cookies for humans. We had a person-shaped tag for the human treats and then a doggie-shaped tag for the animal ones. But, since all of the ingredients were safe for both, they could share.
I’d seen many a customer take bites of their dog’s cones and treats just for curiosity’s sake.
Walking back out, I heard the bell above the door and smiled. I’d kept the bell from when this place was a restaurant.
“Hottie at twelve,” Jarmin whispered in my ear.
I groaned and began to stock the shelves, not paying him much attention. “You and I do not agree on the definition of the word.”
He pinched my waist. “Turn the hell around, Greer. Zeus himself would have a crush on this one.”
Rolling my eyes, I glanced over my shoulder, intending to look once and be disappointed. Instead, my throat went completely dry, and I nearly dropped all the treats in my basket. Jarmin, for once, was right. And this wasn’t some run-of-the-mill hottie. This was my hottie from before, from the dog walking, the man who’d given me drive to turn this place into what it was.
The man I hadn’t been able to shake from my thoughts since that fateful day.
“Damn, I’d like to lick his cone, if you get what I’m sayin’.” Jarmin was always such a perv. He wasn’t wrong, though.
“I get what you’re sayin’. And his name is Tenn.”
Jarmin got closer to me and started whispering again. I didn’t understand why—this place was so loud, you could scream, and it would get lost. “He’s a ten for sure. Where did you meet him, and how can I meet him?”
I pulled at my sweater collar. It was getting warm in here. “I met him walking Shrimp. We talked about this place. He encouraged me to pursue the change from restaurant to, well, I hadn’t a clue what at the time.”
“And you didn’t ask him out?”
“No, he’s...just no.”
“Don’t give me this not-good-enough-for-him bullshit. You know what? I’m fixing this.”
Before I could protest aloud, Jarmin had walked over to Tenn and was chatting him up like they were best friends. Jarmin would probably end up asking him out instead of me. I shouldn’t be upset about it. I barely knew the guy.
“Greer, look who I found.” Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn’t noticed Jarmin bringing Tenn over to where I was. “Let me go get some more inventory while you two chat. Tenn here just got back from Canada. How cool is that?”
With a wink, Jarmin took the basket and left us there.
Tenn smiled and put his hand on my elbow. “I was wondering when I’d see you again. This place looks great. Jarmin says I helped with this?”
I nodded and tried not to squeal because he was touching me. “Yeah, you said to go for it, so I did. Plus, you were right. There are a lot of dog owners in town. They needed something new and fresh that catered to what they like—dogs.”
He looked around and, to my dismay, removed his hand. “Well, you really did it. Pops and I could smell the sweetness and vanilla all the way down the block. It calls you in.” He leaned down and, lips grazing my earlobe, breathed, “Or is that you? You smell like the most delicious ice cream to me.”
I cleared my throat and moved my legs back and forth, trying like hell to distract my dick from what he’d just said. “Is that so?” I replied, all of a sudden brave.
“It is. How about dinner at my place on Friday?”
I pulled back to look at his face. “Like a date?”
“Most definitely a date. Unless...” He bunched his eyebrows and looked toward the kitchen. “He said you were friends. Maybe I misinterpreted.”
“No, Jarmin is my friend. That’s all. And, yes, I’d love to have dinner with you.”
He smiled then, revealing a dimple on the left side of his mouth. He licked his full, plump lips while looking at mine. “Give me your phone. I’ll call myself from it.”
My hands were shaking, but somehow I managed to pull my phone out and hand it to him. He punched in some numbers and waited for his phone to light up before nodding. “There. All fixed. I can call you, and you can call me.”
I took it back. “I get in late sometimes.” I shook my head, half wondering why I felt the need to divulge that information.
“I stay up late reading most nights. If you’re not too tired before our date, give me a call.”
He touched my hand and then bent to give me a slow and soft kiss on my cheek that sent sparks all over my body.
Come on, Friday.