Lost, Found, and Forever

by Victoria Schade

  “Not yet.” Justine laughed.

  “We’re here with a herd of kids. Field trip.” The mom pointed over her shoulder. “Better be careful or they’ll swarm you two, especially once word gets out that he’s a celebrity!”

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” Justine laughed again. She was so excited about Spencer getting the part that she kept forgetting the other reason why they were in the city.

  Mr. Customer Service.

  Justine scanned the people and dogs near the park as the pair walked away. Lots of cute kids and pups, but no snakes. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to text Griffin and felt Spencer lurch to the end of his leash at the exact same moment, nearly jostling her phone from her hand. He was making a noise that was half barking, half panting.

  Spencer yanked at the leash so hard that he pulled Justine along for a few steps. It was the first time he’d pulled in ages, and the sensation made it feel like there was a stranger at the end of the leash. She scanned the crowd like a secret service agent but couldn’t find anyone with a snake toy. Why was Spencer freaking out?

  He started galloping in place.

  “Spence, what’s up? Why are you acting like this?”

  Spencer flicked a glance over his shoulder and continued to focus on something she couldn’t see.

  Justine triple-wrapped the leash around her hand as she felt sweat dripping down the middle of her back. Still no snake. Then she saw it: a group of twenty children running and shrieking in their direction. Spencer seemed fixated on them.

  A distractingly tall guy made his way through the river of kids and for a second Justine worried that he was Griffin. She squinted at him and clocked his broad shoulders and confident walk. She couldn’t make out the details of his face, but even at a distance Justine could tell the guy was worthy of a second look.

  Dealing with someone that hot would throw her off her game, but when she saw that he was snake-free she realized that he was probably just a DILF trying to sort his kid from the masses. Spencer leveled up to a fever pitch, standing on his back legs and air swimming with his front. She tried to get him to walk away with her, to put some distance between him and the children, but he acted like she was an anchor on the end of the leash that he was desperately trying to cut loose.

  The handsome young dad was getting closer and smiling at her. Probably the little blond boy’s father. But didn’t he look a little like the guy in the LinkedIn photo? Spencer barked an overstimulated hello as the guy broke into a jog to close the gap between them.

  There was no snake.

  It couldn’t be Griffin.

  When the dad was about twenty feet from them, Spencer leaned into a final violent tug and wrenched the leash from Justine’s hand, then dashed directly to the guy.

  “Leo!”

  Spencer launched himself into his arms, knocking him off-balance. They landed in a pile on the ground, laughing, wiggling, and hugging.

  Justine’s heart fell out of rhythm for a moment as she watched Spencer make out with the second guy that day.

  This was Griffin McCabe.

  Griffin McCabe was hot.

  And Spencer was acting like no one in the world mattered but him.

  * * *

  • • •

  Griffin finally managed to untangle himself from Spencer after a few minutes of violent kissing. He sat up and hugged the dog while Spencer flopped and jumped in his arms, bucking him around like a rodeo rider.

  “Hi, I’m Griffin,” he said, holding his hand out to Justine while Spencer frantically covered his face in sloppy kisses, no cheese inducement needed. “And I forgot to bring the snake.”

  Justine stood frozen in place. She’d just been in the presence of the world’s biggest action hero, but she was more starstruck looking at Griffin McCabe sitting on the ground.

  His smile.

  It was the warmest, most genuine smile that had ever been beamed in her direction. He had perfect teeth, bookended by dimpled cheeks. Brown eyes that were crinkled into joyful half-moons. Wavy light brown hair that was short on the sides, longish on top, and looked like he’d just raked his fingers through it to tidy it up, which actually made it perfectly disheveled. Seeing him with Spencer left no doubt that they had once been soul mates. Their happy reunion sent white-hot fear through her.

  “I’m Justine,” she finally managed to squeak out as she walked over to where he was still sitting on the ground. “Nice to meet you. Obviously, you and Spencer know each other; I won’t apologize for his behavior.”

  “Dude, dude, dude,” Griffin said as Spencer climbed up on his back like a canine backpack. “Can I please shake her hand?” Spencer leapt in front of him, smashing his outstretched arm to the ground. “Okay, guess not.”

  Justine hated him on sight.

  He was too handsome, too loving with Spencer, and too eager to make a good impression on her. It made her feel small when she finally put a label on her feeling. It wasn’t anxiety or nerves or mistrust that was making her insides simmer. It was jealousy. Watching the way Spencer threw himself at Griffin made her realize she was in a distant second place in the best-pet-parent competition.

  A crowd of children had gathered around them, watching the handsome laughing guy on the ground getting attacked by an overjoyed dog. They chattered closer, the ring closing in around Griffin and Spencer, and dozens of little hands reached toward the dog. Spencer’s panting grew more frantic, and he backed up onto Griffin’s lap as he was cornered by the kids.

  Justine knew that if she didn’t intervene, things were going to spiral. The pressure of the drive and audition plus the happy-stress of seeing Griffin combined with the dozen-headed kid monster closing in on him were way too many triggers. As much as Spencer loved children, the overload of the day meant that he was about to break.

  “Um, I think we need to move along.” She gestured toward the kids so that Griffin would realize that things were getting intense. “Hey, kids? I think I heard your parents call you!” She cocked her head and pretended to listen. “Yup, just heard it again. Did you?” It was enough to make them pause.

  “My parents aren’t here!” a little girl in pigtails snapped at her. “Just my chaperone.”

  “Okay, then your chaperone called you, so you better get moving!” The stress of the situation made her sound bitchier than she’d intended. Justine stepped in front of Griffin and body blocked the kindergarten crew from getting any closer.

  “You’re right, he is pretty scared,” Griffin said as he wrapped his arms around Spencer. “Let’s bounce.”

  Justine tried not to roll her eyes at his word choice.

  “Shall we?” Griffin stood up and met Justine’s eyes, then hitched his head toward the dog park. He was holding Spencer’s leash in a familiar easy way that made Justine want to rip it out of his hands and yell, Mine, mine, mine!

  Instead she replied, “Okay.”

  They walked to the edge of the gravel dog park just as an oversized Lab started snarl-barking at a golden. The two dogs stood facing each other, having an angry conversation as other dogs surrounded them and egged them on.

  “Oh my God, it’s mob mentality everywhere today,” Griffin said, shaking his head. “I don’t feel good about going in there, do you?”

  Justine breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t a fan of unknown dog parks, particularly on days when Spencer had been pushed to his limit. “I’d rather not. Should we just . . . walk around?”

  “But then I can’t get the full Leo effect,” Griffin said. “Spencer, I mean Spencer.” He squatted next to Spencer and scratched his chest while the dog panted and smiled at Griffin like he was on his knees proposing. Justine felt her cheeks get hot with frustration. She hated herself for being so jealous. It was only natural that Spencer was excited to see his former person, but he was acting like she wasn’t even there. Not even a single glance i
n her direction.

  “This might sound creepy, but do you want to come to my place for a little bit?” Griffin asked. “I’m a five-minute walk from here. That way Spencer can have some water and calm down before you put him back in the car. I remember how much he hated going for rides.”

  Justine didn’t say anything. She scanned Griffin quickly, from his perfectly broken-in lace-up boots, to the jeans that fit well but didn’t veer into emo-skinny territory, to his lightweight oatmeal-colored sweater with pushed-up sleeves. He didn’t look like a serial killer, plus she had Spencer to protect her if Griffin did anything threatening. She knew exactly what her dog was capable of.

  She didn’t owe Griffin anything more than the five-minute meeting. That’s how she’d justified seeing him; it was only to give him a quick opportunity to put his hands on his former dog and see that Spencer was better off with her. Watching them swoon all over each other made her want to say bye, grab Spencer’s leash, and disappear for good. Block Griffin’s number and never think about him again.

  But to deny them a few more minutes together for no legitimate reason other than her jealousy was evil-queen territory. Plus, she wasn’t in a rush to get back since Sienna was holding down T&B for the day. And it was only fair to give them a few more minutes together since it was definitely going to be the absolute last time they’d ever have a chance to hang.

  “I promise I won’t murder you,” Griffin added. “At least not right away.”

  He unleashed his dimples, and Justine felt herself nodding like he’d just cast a spell on her.

  “My boyfriend is going to be calling soon, so don’t kill me until after that.” Better to make him think that she had a jealous boyfriend looking out for her instead of just Sienna and Ruth.

  Griffin laughed. “Got it. Oh, here,” he said, handing the leash to Justine. “Sorry about that, I got a little overexcited to see him.”

  She took it and fell in step beside him with Spencer in the middle, like it was something they did every day.

  A tiny Asian woman in red shoes pushing a wheeled shopping cart headed toward them as if she owned the sidewalk. Her gaze swept first to Spencer, then to Griffin and Justine.

  “Jiātíng,” she said, nodding at them with the authority of a block captain.

  chapter ten

  Spencer dragged them the final block.

  “I guess he knows where he’s going,” Justine said, trying to stay positive. She was holding the leash, but Spencer only had eyes for Griffin. It was mutual. He kept touching Spencer’s head and looking down at the dog with moony eyes.

  “Yup, this was his home for two years. Did I tell you I rescued him when he was barely seven weeks old?”

  “That’s pretty young. Why would a rescue let him go that early?” Justine didn’t care that she sounded judgy. She tightened her grip on the leash.

  “Leo and his litter were found and taken into a shelter. They had them in isolation, but his mom caught a really bad cold and she stopped taking care of them. They had to get the puppies out fast. Someone forwarded me the post with his picture, and I drove out to Hamilton County to get him the next day.” Griffin looked down at Spencer. “I got you out of that place as fast as I could, and the rest is history. Who rescued who, right?”

  “I think it’s ‘whom.’”

  “Excuse me?” Griffin asked.

  “I think correct English is ‘who rescued whom.’”

  “Okay, whatever,” he said with a smile.

  Griffin headed up a staircase next door to a pink-striped awning with the name sweet tooth on it.

  “You live above a bakery?” Justine asked as she peeked in the shop’s window. She spotted rows of pastel-iced cupcakes and drooled. She hadn’t eaten anything since she left Rexford hours before.

  “Yeah, it’s the best, except that’s why I’ll never get rid of this.” He patted his flat stomach as if it were a middle-aged beer belly.

  Spencer dragged Justine up the steps and danced in place as Griffin unlocked the front door. Once again the dog nearly ripped the leash from her hand as soon as the door was open.

  “You can drop the leash inside.” He glanced at Justine out of the corner of his eye. “I mean, that’s what I always used to do.”

  Justine frowned and begrudgingly let go of it.

  “He hasn’t changed a bit, I see,” Griffin said with a chuckle as Spencer raced by him.

  “Actually, this is really weird behavior,” Justine replied as she tried to keep from staring at Griffin’s ass as he took the steps two at a time. “I’m seeing a different side of him since he’s with you.”

  “Sorry.” Griffin turned around and frowned at her and nearly caught her ogling his butt. “I’m causing him to regress. When we were together, we were brothers, you know? Walk fast, play hard. He was the best boy, but we never did any real training.”

  Justine thought about how much Spencer enjoyed training, and how good he was at it. Griffin couldn’t give him that. She continued to tally up the differences between them, just to make sure that she was still coming out on top as they rounded the corner and headed up another staircase.

  “Funny, that’s kind of our thing,” she replied, trying not to sound like she was bragging. She wasn’t sure when she was going to tell him exactly what Spencer’s skill sets had just done for them. “He knows how to do a ton of stuff.”

  The diss rolled off him without registering. “Cool. I always knew he was smart. I hope you’ll show off once we finish climbing Everest.” He pointed up to yet another narrow staircase.

  Justine was panting by the time they reached Griffin’s door. Her sporadic workouts were taking a toll. She needed to get back on the trail.

  Spencer gave the door an impatient “let me in” scratch and whined.

  “Aw, bud,” Griffin said, reaching down to massage Spencer’s head. “We’re home, just like the old days!”

  Justine frowned again.

  “It’s on the small side, but it works,” Griffin said as he opened the door and stood back to let her go in first. Spencer zoomed past her and dashed around the place with his nose magnetized to the floor. “Not super homey since I’m hardly ever here. But the Airbnb’ers who stay here while I’m gone don’t seem to mind.”

  The apartment wasn’t small at all and it was cool enough to be featured in a Pinterest spread. It had an exposed-brick-and-metal industrial vibe with a ceiling that was at least twenty feet high, with a massive black-framed window that showed off an incredible view. The sitting area near the door had an oversized camel-colored leather couch that Spencer immediately claimed. Beyond it, Justine could see an eat-in kitchen underneath metal stairs that went up to a sleeping area that was filled with sunshine from a skylight.

  “So, I’m guessing you travel for work?” She didn’t let on that, thanks to Sienna’s LinkedIn stalking, it wasn’t a guess.

  “I do,” he replied as he threw his keys on a little table next to the door. “I’ve got enough frequent flyer miles to get to Mars. Sometimes it sucks not being around much, but it’s really rewarding going on-site with our clients and helping them master the software.”

  “It must be hard to have a life.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, it can get a little tough, but I love the fact that my job is different every day. And I’m sort of on a trajectory. It’s all part of my big plan.” He shot her another devastating smile. “But don’t get me started on my career.”

  She choked back a little envy. Travel, a big plan, a trajectory. All she had was a stack of bills and a talented dog who got a lucky break.

  Justine glanced around the apartment trying to find photos or mementos that could give her some idea about his level of serial killerness, but it had as much personality as a hotel room. Which was probably a serial killer trait.

  Spencer had jumped up on the couch and rolled onto his back with
his back legs splayed open.

  “Does he still do that all the time?” Griffin asked, pointing and laughing at him.

  “Always,” Justine said as she settled in next to Spencer on the couch. “Gotta air out the goods, I guess. Such a gentleman.”

  “Never change, buddy,” Griffin said with a grin. “I’m boiling now. It’s hard to regulate the heat in here with the high ceiling. Are you hot?” He pulled his sweater over his head and the edge of his gray T-shirt snaked up his body. Justine stole the two seconds to glance at his naked stomach while his head was trapped in the sweater.

  So. Many. Abs.

  She forced herself to look away just as he finished pulling it off.

  Griffin came over and sat on the ottoman, which was close enough to the couch that she had to move down to keep their knees from touching. Spencer wagged his tail and rolled over so he could stare at Griffin, and Justine tried not to do the same. But she needed to make sense of his looks, because she couldn’t tell if she was jittery about the fact that she was alone with Spencer’s former person, who might or might not be a murderer, or because he was hot.

  But he wasn’t conventionally hot. As a total package he was double-take attractive, but now that she was staring at his features, the individual parts didn’t add up. His face was long, and his nose had an impressive curve to it, like he’d taken a punch but shrugged it off. His eyebrows had a slight downward slope, making his brown eyes look a little sleepy.

  Bedroom eyes.

  Based on how his features were arranged, it absolutely did not compute that he smoldered enough to make Justine have to look away whenever he made direct eye contact with her. But it wasn’t just sexy smolder. He seemed genuinely nice. It was a contradiction; he had “snolder.”

  “May I ask why you two are in the city today? I know firsthand that it takes a lot to get Spencer in the car.”

  “We had an audition today.” Justine sat up straighter, ready to brag. “Spencer just got cast on a new Anderson Brooks pilot. He’s going to play Anderson’s dog.” She said it casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal.