Romance Me (Boxed Set) Read Online Free PDF

have him.” I brushed my hand through the air. “You know me, I’m not competitive.”
    “Says the girl who nearly took my hand off at the company picnic four and a half years ago.”
    “It was the last piece of cake and I saw it first,” I shot back. “Maybe I just want to teach your mutt some manners. Lest he try to munch on any more of my shoes.”
    “But,” Rachel stammered. “You hate dogs.”
    Remembering the way Kenzie had nuzzled up to her rescuer’s leg, my mouth dropped open indignantly. “I do not.”
    She stared at me and I stared back. She kept her eyes on mine and turned her head suspiciously. I mirrored her look.
    Then she gasped. “You met someone who signed up for this dog class. Didn’t you? Fess up.”
    My body froze. “No. I, uh . . .”
    “You are using my sweet baby as a man magnet!” She gestured toward Chester, who nearly jumped off his bone bed when she shouted.
    “For your information, I took your crazy woofer to the emergency vet yesterday because I thought he was dying!”
    Her face went white and she threw her hand over her heart. “What?”
    Oops. Wrong thing to say. “It wasn’t my fault, all right? He attacked my purse while I was heating up my dinner. He ate almost everything in it, including those new lip-glosses I bought at the mall the other day that the sales lady said went perfectly with my fair complexion.”
    “And he nearly died? You were supposed to be watching him.”
    “Funny story,” I said, though I seriously doubted she’d laugh. “I took him to All Things Furry and the vet wasn’t there because it was after hours. But there was this guy who was waiting for doggy school who has these amazing eyes I can’t stop thinking about and, well, he found a clump of hair in Chester’s throat. From my hairbrush. So, it turned out he wasn’t dying. Just coughing on a hairball. See? No harm at all. Won’t that be a funny story to tell the grandpups?”
    “Chester’s neutered.” She didn’t laugh, but she seemed to relax a little. “Tell me about this guy with the scintillating eyes. I assume he’s the reason for your newfound interest in my sweet baby?”
    I’d been caught. It was time to come clean. “His name’s Henry Holbrook III.”
    She blinked at me. “And?”
    “He is all I can think about.” I stared blankly at the leash in my hand. “It’s absurd, Rach. Absolutely ridiculous. I know nothing about him except that he adopted some stray dog who could have had rabies for all he knew. I mean, who does that?”
    Silence.
    I looked up at my best friend, begging for some wisdom. She knew me better than anyone. She’d get me back on track. “This is the complete opposite of Detailed Dating . It doesn’t go with my plan. You have to help me. What should I do?”
    Rachel leaned forward with a serious look. “I think you should go for it.”
    And then she handed me her dog.

CHAPTER THREE
    It was illogical to feel so strongly about some random guy I’d only met once, but when I spotted Henry getting off his bike in front of All Things Furry, butterflies fluttered in my tummy. The fluttering stopped abruptly, however, when I noticed he was wearing the same sweats he had on yesterday. My blood ran cold.
    Either 1) he hadn’t changed clothes since yesterday (ew); 2) he was wearing different sweats that looked exactly the same (lack of creativity); or 3) he’d taken off the sweats and been naked doing . . . something . . . and had put the sweats back on since he hadn’t had another set of clothes at wherever he’d stayed (shoot me now).
    He locked his bike and his mouth curved upward when he saw Chester and me approaching. “Hi, Ellen. Chester.”
    “Hi.” I smiled back, so happy that he’d remembered my name that I momentarily forgot to be concerned about the sweats. Then I noticed dark circles under his eyes and my mouth went flat. Tired? Same outfit? He’d obviously stayed at his girlfriend’s place, had fun all night with her, and