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room and saw her cowering in the corner of her bed, her legs bent in front of her to fend off Peanut’s aggressive friendliness. She was clearly terrified. “Peanut, come!” he shouted. Peanut turned and looked at Keith, gave Mal one last lick on the nose, and ran to Keith.
    Katie had come up behind him, rumpled and bleary-eyed. “What the hell is going on?”
    â€œTake Peanut downstairs.”
    â€œHey, Mal, are you OK? You look a little green.”
    Mal was frozen in her defensive position on the bed.
    â€œTake the dog out, Kate.”
    Katie turned and obeyed Keith, Peanut limping happily as she led him by the collar. Keith turned to Mal and approached her gently. “Mal? Can you hear me?” She stared blankly at the doorway even though he was fully in the room. She was in a full-blown panic. “Mal, it was a dog. His name is Peanut. He’s gone now; Katie took him outside. Mal, the dog is gone.”
    She turned slowly and looked up at him and whispered, “I think I’m going to throw up now.”
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    She should have been embarrassed that her fiancé’s brother was witnessing her morning breath, ill-fitting sweats, and paralyzing fear of dogs, but all Mal knew was that if she didn’t get to the bathroom soon, she would have something much grosser to be embarrassed about. Last night’s dinner roiled in her stomach, fighting with the aftereffects of her panic. She looked up to Keith, begging for help like he’d helped save her from the dog. “I think I’m going to throw up now.”
    Before she knew what was happening, she was gently lifted off the bed and carried into the bathroom. Keith set her down on the rug, lifted the toilet seat, and . . . did not turn away in horror as she retched into the bowl. Instead, he got a glass of water from the sink, then kneeled down next to her, rubbing her back and holding her hair out of the way.
    Wasn’t that one of the tests to see if your man was worthwhile? Didn’t she read that in Cosmo ? Throw up in front of him, and if he runs away, it was never meant to be, but if he holds your hair and rubs your back, he’s yours to keep? Unfortunately, this one was not hers in the first place, but damn, his hands were comforting, warm on her cold neck, gently kneading the tension out of her shoulders.
    â€œI’m sorry about the dog. Peanut hasn’t come to terms with his size just yet.”
    â€œS’okay. It’s a farm,” Mal answered weakly.
    â€œStill. I shouldn’t bring my work home.”
    Mal blinked up at him for a second. “That huge thing is named Peanut?”
    â€œWell, yeah,” Keith said self-consciously. “He was little when we found him.”
    Mal smiled wanly and reached for her toothbrush. “Sorry for freaking out just there.”
    â€œNo, don’t apologize, it’s not—I mean, I should have been more careful.”
    Mal tried to talk while brushing her teeth. “Mmmm-hmmmmmm-mm-mm-mmm.”
    Keith looked at her patiently. She spit into the sink. She was still shaky, but the mint of the toothpaste tasted good. “I don’t usually get sick. Usually I just stand there paralyzed while people tell me how nice their dog is.”
    â€œWell, I’ve seen how serious fear of animals can be, even if it seems unwarranted.”
    â€œI just, well, ah, I don’t know. I’ve just been afraid for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, my neighbor had a really old mutt. He was mean, but I was little so I tried to pet him. He bit my chin.” She pointed to a miniscule scar on the edge of her chin. “It scared me, and it hurt. And, obviously, I’m scarred for life.” She managed a weak laugh.
    â€œShh, it’s OK,” Keith said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. They were covered in goose bumps, and she realized that she had begun shivering as she told the story.
    â€œPeanut really is a