Aint too proud to beg sfdg-1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

of her. But not this time, Josie knew. No way. Rick was real.
    Of course theres a man here by that name, she said with confidence. I met him. I spoke to him. He /touched/ me.
    The girl slammed her book shut with annoyance. I dont think so.
    Josie was becoming agitated. But he was here on opening day. I was one of the first ten dog owners to come in the store. I won a whole years worth of free grooming and he signed me up!
    The girl pursed her lips, then said, I dont know what to tell you, lady.
    Theres no groomer here named Rick. Besides, whats with your eyelids?
    Josie gasped, touching her brow, cursing herself for not checking herself in the mirror before waltzing in here. Allergies, she said.
    Right. So if you want to schedule a grooming appointment, great. If not, Im going to have to call security.
    Josie sighed in exasperation, then leaned an elbow on the counter. Maybe she needed a new approach. Okay, heres the thingthis man was so sexy I had to change my underpants when I got home, all right? Green eyes so deep you could take a bath in them. Diana Ross eyelashes. And theres a really wicked tattoo running up the side of his neck and when I saw it my knees got so weak I thought Id fall down. And I dont even like tattoos.
    Dude! The girl bolted ramrod straight in her chair. Ricks not a groomer!
    No? Josie backed away, startled by the girls sudden zest.
    No way. Rick Rousseau owns the place.
    Huh?
    Yeah. Rick Rousseau owns all fourteen Celestial Pet Superstores in Northern California. Hes the CEO! He always helps out in all the departments at a grand opening, and yeah, youre right, he was in here for a while that morning.
    I had no idea, Josie mumbled. This definitely changed things. How do you spell that last name? Josie asked, pulling a note pad from her new bag.
    You said he /touched/ you? The girl looked at Josie with newfound respect as she spelled it. Damn. I wish I were you.
    Josie thanked her for her time. She used her car visor mirror to apply a dab of concealer to her eyelids. She located the Celestial Pet corporate offices on her GPS before either her nerve or her hairstyle could wilt.
    She was about to pull out of her shopping center parking space when she heard a tapping on the drivers side window.
    Josie? A mans pale blond head appeared at eye level. Wowyou look fabulous. Ive really missed you.
    Josie sighed. It was Lloyd, the latest man to break up with her. It had been nearly three months, and she couldnt say that she missed him. She rarely even thought of him. In fact, the last time he crossed Josies mind was about a week ago when she found one of his CDs mixed in with her music stash. It was a Clay Aiken live bootleg recording.
    She rolled down her window. Hey, Lloyd. Whats up?
    His eyes looked her over hungrily. Have you done something different?
    Your hair? Your weight? Your makeup?
    Nope. Ive always looked exactly like this. Okay, it was probably impolite messing with his head like that, but so was the way he left her. She came home from work late one night and found a note that read, /Its just not working for me. Take care./ No further details. Josie was ashamed to admit it, but at the time she actually appreciated Lloyds correspondence, owing to the fact that the previous disappearing boyfriendthat would be Spikehadnt left a note of any kind. It was as if Spike had been sucked into another dimension, along with his toiletries and clothing. She never saw or spoke to Spike again. Later she heard hed moved to Los Angeles and was working at a Chuck E. Cheeses, so shed been dead-on correct about the other-dimension part.
    What are you up to, Josie? Doing a little shopping on the /Herald/s dime? Lloyd laughed at his own unfunny joke, one of the things shed never liked about him.
    I have every other Thursday afternoon off, remember? Because I go in every other Saturday morning, remember?
    He nodded. Sure. Sure.
    He didnt remember. A man had to care about the woman he lived with before he detected any kind of