When an early-morning sunbeam drills into my eyelid, I sprawl out beneath my covers and yawn.

Something stops me mid-stretch.

A dead weight anchors me in place, with long, furry-like extremities extending across my body.

My eyes shoot open to find Sonny's fuzzy blonde head squished next to mine on the pillow. He's watching me with enormous brown eyes, his nose nearly touching mine.

I let out a shriek.

Sonny jumps up on all fours and crouches like he wants to pounce.

"Don't you dare!" I bolt up to a sitting position and yank the covers to my chest. "What are you doing in my bed? I thought we had a deal!"

He stares at me like I'm talking crazy.

"Oh, for the love!" I cry out. "Get down!"

The maniacal grin returns to his face. I fold my legs close to me as he lunges for his tail, the comforter twisting beneath his feet.

What kind of monster wakes up in a good mood? "Did you somehow get your paws on a triple shot of espresso, or are you always this ambitious in the morning?"

His grin widens like he's laughing at me. Then he pauses in the middle of the bed, looks me in the eye, and emits a long, gurgling belch.

I cringe as his humid breath hits me square in the face. "Is that some kind of pit bull battle cry before an attack? Because it's disgusting."

Keeping one eye on the dog, I lean toward the bedside table and glance at my phone. My jaw drops. "Seriously? It's not even seven-thirty! Weekends are meant for sleeping in. Remember that for tomorrow because there is no way we're getting out of this bed before nine." And then I stop. "Let me rephrase that. There's no way I'm getting out of this bed before nine. You'll be sleeping in the dog bed over there." I point toward his fluffy mat on the floor.

His gaze follows my finger and then he shakes his head, the entire mattress quivering beneath him.

I pluck a piece of fur from my tongue and flick it off the bed. "Don't tell me Valentino lets you sleep with him? Because he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd want dog hair on his sheets. I bet they're luxurious, like silk or Egyptian cotton. Am I right?"

Sonny doesn't answer, he just stares at me with wild eyes.

"What?" I ask uneasily. "I suppose you want to go outside or something?"

He does a little hop, his tail whipping back and forth.

"Great." I slide off the mattress, throw a robe over my pajamas, and ease into my slippers, while Sonny jumps from the bed and races out of the room. Leo left the dog leash next to the empty pizza box. The moment I grab it, Sonny bounces around like a kangaroo on crack.

I try to reason with him. "I'm going to hook this up to your collar. But in order for me to do that, you need to stop jumping."

He runs around me in a circle.

Like a fool, I try to keep up, my hands stubbornly reaching for his neck. But he continues to circle me, and before long, the room is spinning.

I come to an abrupt halt. "Sonny, stop!"

It doesn't work.

Once my vision stabilizes, my eyes land on his package of treats and a new plan unfolds in my head. "Who wants a yummy?" I say in my most tempting voice.

Sonny pauses.

"What do we have here?" I reach for the treats and read from the bag. "Premium Cuts of Jerky. Soy and Gluten Free." My stomach curdles. "Gross."

He licks his lips.

Tearing open the seal, I pull out a leathery strap of something formerly known as a duck, and my gaze levels on his. "If you're a good boy and sit, I'll give you one."

And Sonny actually ... sits. What kind of sorcery is this? I move in slow motion, afraid to break the spell. When he takes the treat from my hand, I hook the leash to his collar and let out a triumphant squeal.

"Okay, see! That wasn't so bad." I push the bed-tangled hair from my face and take a shaky breath. "We'll just take this outside with us and hope it inspires you to behave."

As soon as I open the backdoor, Sonny pulls me down the steps and makes a beeline toward the garden against the back of the house. And then he lifts his leg.

I roll my eyes and turn away. "Such a gentleman."

A hoot of laughter erupts from behind me. When I glance over my shoulder, my neighbor is watching us from her back deck.

"Willa Mae—it's not funny!"

She cackles again. "It sure is from over here."

My eyes narrow as the morning sun warms my face. "I'm glad my misery entertains you. You know I've been deathly afraid of dogs ever since your stupid chihuahua bit me."

"Who, Coco?" She waves a hand at me and repositions a vase of freshly cut pink roses on her outdoor table. "That was years ago. And he was only giving you little love nibbles as a sign of his affection."

"I needed three stitches!" When I look back at Sonny, who's now leaving a pit bull-sized pile next to my azalea bush, panic claws at my chest. "This is my worst nightmare. What am I going to do?"

"You're going to take care of your fiancé's dog."

My shoulders sink as I turn back to her. "You're not helping."

Willa Mae lets out another raspy laugh. "You'll have to figure this one out on your own. Just be grateful it wasn't a child."

I'd almost rather it were. A kid wouldn't poop in my flower bed.

"Don't worry, you're gonna be fine. I have faith in you," Willa Mae calls over to me. "By the time you give him back, you'll wish you had one of your own."

I snort. "Doubtful." And then I step right in the pile. "You've got to be kidding me."

When I drag my slipper along the grass Willa Mae lets out another cackle. "Mark my words." And then she disappears inside her house.

Balancing on one leg, I inspect the sole of my slipper. An unspeakable mess is still wedged between the grooves. "Perfect. These are ruined."

I kick them off one at a time, and they boomerang off the side of the house.

When Sonny's finished tromping through my gerbera daisies, I lure him back inside with more treats. I remove his leash, fill the bowls Leo left with dog kibble and fresh water, and Sonny dives right in like he didn't just eat half a bag of jerky.

"I'm glad your dad has a good job. I bet feeding you costs a fortune."

My phone rings from the bedroom. I race to answer it, but it's a number I don't recognize. "Hello?"

"Molly?" the voice says. "It's Leo."

He sounds nervous. For some reason, this makes me smile. "Good morning."

"You too." A short pause. "Sorry to call so early—I hope I didn't wake you. I just wanted to make sure last night went okay."

"You didn't wake me. And so far, everything's fine." I yank the charger from my cell and wander back into the kitchen. Sonny's still attacking his bowl of food.

"He's not giving you any trouble?"

I side-eye the blonde monster. "Apparently he prefers my bed to his, but other than that, I can't complain." Yet.

"Good. I'm glad he's behaving."

The sound of dishes clink in the background. "You didn't have to call, I know you're busy at work. I'd hate to think you're leaving some poor cat stuck in a tree just to check in on us."

Leo laughs. "No stranded cat calls yet, but the day's still young."

"Seriously? I was kidding. You don't actually get those, do you?"

"You'd be surprised," he says. "We once had a call about a cow in some lady's house. She woke up one morning and it was just standing in her living room, eating her curtains. She had no idea how it got there."

I burst into laughter. "You're lying."

"Afraid not. Whenever someone's in trouble and they don't know what to do, dispatch sends the fire department. We're like the MacGyvers of public safety."

"MacGyver, huh? My mom loved watching those reruns. Once I saw him make a do-it-yourself lie detector machine out of a blood pressure cuff and an alarm clock. Those are some pretty impressive problem-solving skills."

"I remember that episode!" He laughs.

From across the kitchen, Sonny sloshes water all over the floor, then he swivels around to face me with slobber dripping from his chin. He takes a step toward me, and then another, his steady brown eyes studying my face.

Panic spirals in my gut. I press the cell phone to my chest so Leo can't hear and thrust the palm of my free hand in his direction. "Woah! Stop right there, mister."

Sonny takes another step closer. I take one back.

"I mean it. Don't make me grab my pepper spray." It's a lie. I don't own any. But it might be worth investing in.

A bizarre wail skims past his lips and he plops down on his butt.

"Everything okay?" Leo's voice is muffled against my robe.

Slowly, I bring the phone to my ear. "I think Sonny wants to play." Or use my body as a chew toy. To be honest, I can't really tell.

"You should take him to the beach. He loves splashing through the waves."

He can't be serious. There's no way I'm putting this beast in my car. "Driving around with a giant dog doesn't sound safe. What if he doesn't sit still?"

"As long as you let him stick his head out the window, he'll think he's in heaven." Leo pauses. "If you'd like, I can pick you both up tomorrow and show you his favorite spot. It's a secluded stretch where Val lets him run free—unless you already have plans?"

"No, I'm free." I bite the inside of my cheek. "Okay. That sounds like fun."

"Great! It's a date then," he says. "I mean—no, not a date. It's just a, um—"

I smile, but a twinge of remorse needles me all the same. "Just a couple of future cousins hanging out?"

"Exactly." He breathes a sigh of relief.

I adjust my robe, and try to ignore my guilty conscience. "I should probably let you go. I'd like to check in on Valentino and then figure out how to keep Sonny occupied so he doesn't ransack my house."

"Good idea. I should go too. Chief put me in charge of breakfast clean up."

The mental image of Leo washing dishes for a bunch of rugged firefighters pops into my head. There's something sexy about a guy who's not afraid of housework.

I push the thought from my brain. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Looking forward to it," he says. "Have a good day."

When we hang up, I can't wipe the grin from my face.

🌴

11,158 words in total

Hello and thank you for reading my ONC entry!

I've run into a problem. Novel HD has stolen this story from me, along with the boarding school murder mystery I'm currently posting. In an attempt to stop them from taking more chapters, from here on out, I'm going to post a dummy chapter first, but I wanted to give you some notice first.

What this means is that when you get the notification of a new chapter, what you'll actually see is a graphic explaining the situation, and then I'll wait until later in the day to post the real chapter, hoping this will be enough to deter them. I'll simply remove the image and paste the chapter in its place. I know this in inconvenient, and I'm sorry. But I don't want them to steal my work. Hopefully this will not have a negative impact on reads, but it's a chance I must take to protect myself.

Thank you again for your support! This is what the "dummy" chapter will look like: