Pawsitively in Love

By M.J. O'Shea

What Austin Lloyd lacks in academics, he makes up for in his love of the animals who frequent his pet salon. He’s not lucky in romance, though, and his family would like him to settle down with a good man. Austin—and his golden retriever, Maggie—couldn’t agree more.

Evan Partridge isn’t good at letting people in. His messy family life and the past that’s shaped him aren’t worth bringing up. But his pug, Dexter, sure likes the pet salon owner.

Austin and Evan get off to a rough start, but being friends soon turns into something more. Unfortunately, Evan’s secretive behavior nearly does the relationship in, and the budding love affair almost crashes and burns when Evan’s troubled sister shows up on his doorstep.

Not speaking to each other is killing them both, but Evan doesn’t know how to keep Austin and help his sister at the same time. He just knows he has to try. Winning back Austin’s trust, however, is going to take a whole lot of work.

To Oreo and Ceiligh and all the pets mentioned in this book. You’ve made your human parents very happy, and we love you <3

“SON OF
a goddamn
bitch
.”

Austin Lloyd was having a hell of a day… to say the least. He glanced around to make sure no customers were there to hear him swear or to see a slippery, soaped-up Jack Russell named Annabelle wriggle her way out of Austin’s hands and shoot off through the small shop toward freedom at superhero speed.
Devil’s spawn
. Austin loved dogs. Really, he did. Most days he wandered around his pet salon and smiled at how sweet and wonderful his clients’ little fur babies were.

Yeah. It wasn’t most days, okay?

Annabelle yipped happily, pleased with her game, and did a quick lap of Austin’s salon, making sure to stop once or twice and shake wet, dog-smell, soapy water everywhere.

I’ve got you, you little….

Austin should’ve known better. The next time Annabelle stopped to shake, he lunged for her only to be eluded yet again. He could’ve sworn the damn dog was laughing at him. She was way too smart for her own good. He should’ve known she’d run when she cocked one gingery puff of an eyebrow at him as soon as he put her into the washing tub. He’d melted at her cute expression, like a total amateur. She was adorable but devious as hell.

“You all right, Boss?”

Jessica was a saint. A literal, actual saint. Austin could’ve sworn he saw a halo balancing above her perky dark ponytail. Only her sweaty face and the splotches of water and pet shampoo on her sky blue Pawsitively Purrfect Pet Salon uniform polo showed her for what she really was—an employee who’d put in way more than her fair share of time that day. Austin tried to smile. It wasn’t her fault they’d been short a groomer and therefore overbooked all day. Wasn’t his either, but he still had to deal with it.
The joys of owning a business—never a dull moment.

“Yeah. Annabelle’s a slippery little shit. She got away from me,” he said ruefully. Annabelle’s ears perked at her name, and she wagged her tail and yipped happily. Of course,
she
was having fun. Human torture was probably number two on her list of favorite activities—apparently only falling behind digging in the yard in the rain and getting covered in mud hours before her owner’s birthday party.

Jessica gasped. “Swear words in front of the
customers
?” she teased.

Austin gave her an eye roll and surveyed the near-empty room, occupied only by Jessica and Austin, Annabelle the magnificent, and their other two final grooming clients of the day. One tiny little pug puppy and a condescendingly curious longhaired white cat could stand to hear a curse word or two. They probably wouldn’t even tattle to their owners. In the meantime, he had a lubed-up terrier with an escape fetish to catch.

Annabelle was currently hovering underneath one of the big, deep washing sinks—just like the one she’d managed to Houdini herself out of minutes before. She looked angelic with her sopping wet white fur, smattering of spots, and bright ginger eye patch, but Austin had fallen for the cute face already. He wasn’t making that mistake again.

I’m going to get you, you little sucker.

Austin knew it was a bad idea to lunge
, again,
for a reluctant dog, especially a feisty terrier—he
did
know—but he was tired and not thinking to the best of his pet-whisperer abilities. So Austin made a run for it. He dove forward on the black and white checkered vinyl flooring of his shop and reached for Annabelle the terror—er, terrier, who nipped at his hand, slipped easily out of his grasp, and headed, like she had some sort of magical homing device, for the front door and freedom on a busy main street.

No, no, no. That can’t happen.

The door wasn’t open, but it wasn’t heavy either. Austin’s own dog had learned how to push it open ages ago, and Austin knew how smart Jack Russells typically were.

“
Jessica
,” Austin called out. “Grab her!”

Jessica skidded to a stop, blocking the door, and held a powder blue towel in front of her like some sort of matador. The towel dropped onto Annabelle, confusing the dog for one crucial moment, and Jessica leaned over and scooped up a wriggling mass of hyperactivity and sopping wet wiry fur into her arms. Annabelle wriggled some more and then seemed to give up. Only moments later, she gave Jessica’s cheek a placid lick like nothing had happened at all. Jessica made a face.

“I’ve got her. Here.” She handed a still calm Annabelle to Austin. “Let’s try not to let her out of the bath again, okay?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Easier said than done when the little dog seemed to be planning her next move and biding her time.

She nudged him. “Hey, if it makes you feel better, she’s gotten away from me before too. Annabelle’s a crafty one.”

It did make Austin feel slightly better. At least he hadn’t lost his touch altogether.

“If you can get her finished, I’ll take care of Dexter and Louis here.” Jessica gestured to the other two.

“That would be amazing. Thank you so much for today.”

“Not your fault, Boss.” Jessica gave him a wide smile. He considered paying her double for the day. He decided she’d get a nice bonus at the very least come payday.

AUSTIN TOOK
Annabelle back to his bath area, clipped her in because he’d learned the hard way not to trust her sweet face, and went to work, grateful his client had seemed to lose her lust for the outside world after she’d been captured.

“Good girl,” Austin crooned. “Let’s just get this shampoo and trim over with, and then you can go home with your mom.” Annabelle’s owner had been bringing her dog to his salon since he opened over two years before. Austin didn’t want to lose one of his regulars because he couldn’t manage to keep the dog where she belonged. He leashed Annabelle to a metal pole on the clipping table, which was common practice. He’d never liked doing it—rubbed him the wrong way for some reason—and oddly enough rarely needed to. Dogs seemed to want to behave for him, a useful trait in his business. But it didn’t look good to abandon shop policies in front of his employee.

He worked quickly and efficiently, glad that he hadn’t lost all of his skills. Austin rarely did much grooming himself any longer. He hadn’t in over a year, but he’d had a no-show employee for the second time in as many weeks, and he wasn’t going to leave Jessica out in the main room all by herself while he did paperwork and played catch with Maggie, his sweet-natured adolescent golden retriever. Maggie would never
ever
try to escape onto Sixth Avenue in the middle of rush-hour traffic, even if she could. At least Austin liked to hope she wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, busywork gave him time to think. And thinking about what to do with a challenging employee was never fun.

I’m probably going to have to fire Russ.

Firing people was the absolute
worst
part of owning a small business like his. He didn’t have that many employees, so he got to know them well over time. Firing Russ was going to be as painful as firing a friend. Russ
was
his friend. He was just a friend who didn’t like showing up for work the mornings after he’d gotten blazed with his dumb, overgrown, ex-high school buddies. Austin didn’t appreciate that part of the relationship.

BY THE
time Annabelle was clipped and cleaned and on the way home with her grateful owner, Austin felt like he was going to pass out right on the floor of the shop.

“Long day, huh Boss?” Jessica asked. She’d done her own version of collapsing, right into a padded desk chair where they booked appointments and called clients.

“No kidding.” He didn’t want to badmouth Russ in front of her, friendly relationship or no, but he was seething. He still had a good three hours of paperwork to do before he could go home and eat his dinner and take poor, patient Maggie out for a jog. “Wanna lock up?”

The clock had struck the magical hour of six, so it was time to shut the blinds and lock the front door. The last thing either he or Jessica needed was a final moment walk-in, somebody who was desperate and for some ungodly reason couldn’t wash their cat or dog themselves. Austin supposed he was grateful for those people in general, since they kept him in business and very busy, but they always seemed to materialize at the last minute. Customer service was so important to him that he sometimes got suckered into doing things he didn’t want to do to make people happy. Like staying open later.

“Uh, we can’t lock up yet.” Jessica gestured to the crate where the little pug sat, waiting patiently. The dog looked like an absolute sweetheart with his big dark eyes and squishy nose. He whimpered quietly from his crate but otherwise didn’t move.

Sometimes Austin hated his clients.

He walked over to the crate and opened the gate.

“Hi, little guy.” Austin reached into the crate and lifted the small pug into his arms. “Dexter, is it?” The puppy made a contended grunting noise and settled into Austin’s cuddle. He’d been right. Sweetest dog ever. “You’re just a baby, aren’t you?”

His coat was newly washed and conditioned, but it still had that puppy sheen and was soft, slipping under Austin’s fingers like silk. “Where’s your owner, baby boy?”

“You want me to call?” Jessica asked him.

“Yes, please. The little ones can get so nervous when they’re separated from their humans.”

Austin wouldn’t have gotten into the pet grooming business if he didn’t genuinely love animals—he adored them all. But dogs were his weakness. He’d had one nearly continuously as a kid. It had seemed natural to want to work with them. He mumbled at Dexter and scratched his belly while he waited for Jessica to call.

“The guy’s not answering his phone,” she said less than a minute later.

“You can’t be serious.” Austin was tired, he had a headache from being hungry, and his eye was doing that twitchy thing that usually meant he was about a half second away from getting really pissed off. If there was one thing in the world he couldn’t stand, it was people who were neglectful of their pets. Especially when he was tired, hungry, and desperately wanted to go home.

“No. I’m sorry, I have two numbers for him, and he’s not answering either one.” Jessica sighed and made a worried face. She loved the animals just as much as he did. “They just go straight to voice mail.”

Austin couldn’t keep Jessica waiting. He supposed she might not mind the extra time, but she’d done more than her fair share that day, thanks to Russ and his love for magic brownies.

“Why don’t you take off. I’ll wait with Dex here and then close up shop after his owner gets here.” Austin gave Dexter another comforting scratch on his belly. Dexter, to his credit, didn’t seem to be all that worried. He yawned in Austin’s arms and closed his eyes. Austin nearly melted at the sight. Like most people, he was completely hopeless when it came to puppies.

Jessica gave him a knowing look. “You’re falling for that pug, aren’t you?”

It usually didn’t take long for him to fall in love with most dogs, and he and Jessica both knew it. If Austin had had the money for more property, he and Maggie would have a much bigger family.

“No.” He was, obviously. Jessica only grinned at him. “Can you let Maggie out here before you go?”

Poor Maggie hadn’t had a very fun day. She’d spent most of it napping on her pillow in Austin’s office. She was a good girl, though, and Austin’s periodic visits to take her out back had to be better than her being cooped up in his apartment all day. He vowed again to take her on a long walk—and to the dog park on Sunday when Pawsitively Purrfect was closed.

“Yeah, I’ll let her out.”

SIX… SIX
fifteen… six thirty
. Austin’s belly rumbled with protests about missing lunch and a lot of wrangling dogs and cats around. He’d tried the phone numbers on Dexter’s file two more times with no luck. He was about to call it an evening himself, paperwork or no, and just take the little pug home with him for the night—since his owner was obviously a brain-dead bastard for leaving a puppy in his shop for so long—when the door to his shop burst open. A man, dark-haired and gorgeous with neatly pressed khakis and a button-down that didn’t match his damp, red face, came barreling in.