Liquid brown eyes stared at her, full of emotion.

"There, there Dandy. This will all be over in a few minutes."

Jessica held the miniature pincher gently as she withdrew blood from his back leg. She pressed firmly as she withdrew the needle, handing the samples off to the waiting vet tech.

"We'll see what the blood work shows, but judging from his lack of appetite and weight loss, I think we might want to start him on a kidney diet right away."

Dandy's mom nodded. The poor woman looked worried sick. She was one of the people who truly treated their pets as children. Jess smiled encouragingly and handed her some free samples.

"Here, take a few cans to try until we sort this out. Some people mix in hard boiled egg whites. They are super easy to digest but still have protein. We already have urine and blood. We should know in just a few days. Try not to worry."

Jessica smiled as the woman collected her dog and was shown out of the examination room.

Cathy ran down the hallway and into the examination room. She was whispering so loud the whole hospital could hear her. Jess grabbed spray and started wiping down the scale and the table, even though it was the vet tech’s job.

They were swamped today and everybody was pitching in to keep the appointments moving. A couple of emergency visits had thrown off the whole schedule. Things were finally quieting down now, thank Goodness.

She even had time for a quick break. Maybe even enough time to get something to eat. As usual, she was starving.

"Jess! Oh my GOD- he's here!"

"What are you talking about, Cathy?"

"Kendall freaking Jackson."

Jess stood perfectly still, blinking at her friend. Her stomach dropped out of her body and hit the floor.

SPLOOSH.

"What? What is he doing here?"

"He's here to see you. I mean, his dog is. He - uh - has an appointment. Crazy, right?"

Oh God. He was here to see her. He must be.

"I'll be right out."

"Take your time. We are all enjoying looking at him- he's gorgeous!"

Jessica washed her hands and patted her face with cool water. She checked her hair and makeup. Not that she was wearing much, other than the faintest hint of lip gloss and mascara. The tint on her lips was all gone anyway. She pulled the sheer gloss out of her scrubs and dabbed a bit on. She patted down her pony tail.

She sighed. She was definitely not looking sexy. She looked like she was at work. Which she was. Maybe he was just there in a professional capacity.

Cathy had said he had a dog…

Yeah right. He probably rented it.

She walked into the lobby. There he was, standing there with a leash loosely clasped in his hands. A scruffy looking mongrel sat at his feet.

She hadn’t believed it until she saw it. Kendall Jackson had a dog. And he was here, waiting to see her.

She took a deep breath and walked forward.

"Hi."

He smiled at her and her bones turned to jello.

"Hi."

"If you'd come this way please."

He followed her into the examination room. Then he just stared at her, not saying a word. She pulled on a fresh set of gloves.

"I thought you were in New York."

"I was. I have to go back tomorrow actually."

She frowned. Did he come back for her? That was silly. He had a dog, and he was here to see a doctor. Any doctor would do. She knelt down in front of the dog, trying to buy time to sort out how she was feeling.

"And who do we have here?"

"She doesn't have a name yet actually. I just got her from the pound."

She stared at him. She’s been right. He was playing some sort of joke on her.

Had he adopted a stray just to- what? Get to see her? That was insane.

"They were about to euthanize her. I couldn't let them do that."

"So you were just hanging around the pound when this eleventh hour rescue went down?"

He opened his mouth and shut it. Then he gave her the look. She tried to resist it but she couldn't.

The look that said I came here to see you.

The look that said I did it for you.

The look that said I want you.

"You know why I was there, Jess."

"I do?"

"Alright. I'll spell it out for you. I met this girl I really liked. I thought she liked me too. But for some crazy reason she ran out on me without leaving her phone number."

"So you adopted a stray dog. Makes perfect sense."

"It does?"

"Yes."

She smiled at him. She couldn’t help it. How was she supposed to resist?

"Good. Because for a minute I thought I was going crazy."

She laughed. She couldn't help it. He was adorable.

"Let's see how this unnamed little lady is doing."

She called for a vet tech and they lifted the elderly dog up onto the table for the examination. As soon as it was on the table, it slobbered it's tongue up the side of Jess's face.

"Hey now, I just met you!"

The dog sat back on her haunches and offered up a paw. Jess took it somberly, shaking hands.

“Well, I guess now that we’ve been properly introduced…”

The dog licked her again and Kendall laughed.

“Am I allowed to do that too?”

She gave him a stern look.

“No, you are not.”