PETS OF PARK AVENUE

BOOK #2 IN THE paws in the city series

What do you do when The One is also the one who broke your heart?

Self-proclaimed hot mess Scout Myers is determined to prove she’s finally got her act together. Raised by grandparents who saw her as her wayward mother’s wayward daughter, Scout’s used to being written off. So when the opportunity for a promotion arises at Paws in the City, the talent agency where she works, Scout is desperate to rise to the occasion. With shared custody of her little sister also on the line, Scout can’t afford a single mistake…like suddenly needing a canine stand-in for an important photoshoot. Luckily (or not) she knows the owner of the perfect pup replacement: the estranged husband she walked out on years ago.

On the surface, it appears Lane Halliday’s life has been blissfully drama free without Scout, but she suspects her handsome-as-ever not-quite-ex-husband doth protest too much. Working together even feels like old times—except for all that lingering, unresolved tension. But Scout’s not sure she’s ready to confront the reasons she left Lane, and when she discovers his plans to finalize their divorce, everything suddenly feels very real, leaving Scout to wonder whether true love might be worth a little hot mess.

CAN THIS BE READ AS A STANDALONE?

Yes.

Is this book available in languages other than english?

Not at this stage.

IS THIS BOOK AVAILABLE IN AUDIO?

Yes!

Excerpt from PETS OF PARK AVENUE

“Stop! No!”

The peace of a moment ago shattered like crystal against concrete and Scout watched in horror as chaos erupted. The Chihuahua suddenly threw a fit, baring its teeth at the dog who had been sniffing its crotch and making a lunge for its tail. The other dog yelped and skittered backward into one of the standing hair dryer units, which swayed back and forth before toppling over and landing on the tail of the Afghan hound, who let out a startled yelp.

The dogs all seemed to go wild at once, except for Peony, who simply walked away from it all like she couldn’t believe she was being forced to work in such conditions. Pierre raced around in circles, dodging August’s grabbing hands, until he ran smack into a table that was holding a vessel filled with some kind of thick blue liquid.

It was supposed to look like a giant, fancy shampoo bottle. But when it toppled over the edge of the table and hit the ground, the lid flew off and blue liquid splattered in a wide arc that would have had Dexter peeing his pants with excitement. Unfortunately, it splattered all over the poor dog who was standing closest: Sasha.

“Uh-oh!” Scout rushed into the fray to grab the small white dog and rescue her from the blue sludge before she could get too dirty, but her muzzle was already covered in gunk.

There were people everywhere, trying to snatch up all the dogs and separate them. The Chihuahua was having a full meltdown, and the high-pitched sound bounced off the walls of the warehouse.

Scout grabbed Sasha and held her up, blue dripping from her paws and her fluffy tail. Thank goodness she had two little booties on her front feet. Her back feet however, looked like she’d stepped in Smurf vomit. Not to mention the fact that the liquid was splattered all across her sides and had saturated her muzzle where the dog had bent down to sniff at it.

“August, what do I do?” Scout held the dog away from her, not wanting to drip dye all over herself.

“Put her in the sink. There’s some dog shampoo in my kit.” August was currently trying to wrangle two of the smaller animals, while the photographer stormed off, apparently having had enough drama for one day. Two other pet owners held on to their dogs and berated the woman with the clipboard.

Scout spotted a deep sink near the grooming station and hurried over with Sasha, leaving a trail of blue dots. Whatever was still going on behind her didn’t sound good at all, and she was pretty sure that one of the pet owners was in the throes of quitting the shoot.

“So much for networking,” Scout said to Sasha as she put her in the sink. “Okay, bath time for you.”

She started the water running, and the dog tried to scramble out of the sink, which was high enough that Sasha would hurt herself if she fell.

“Nope, you stay here.” Scout held the dog in place as best as she could, but the little thing wriggled like a worm. As the water ran over the dog’s fur, the blue liquid didn’t appear to be coming out. She had to act fast. “Sasha, no! Stay still.”

Holding the dog with one hand, she stretched out toward where August’s kit was sitting on the table. There were dozens of things inside it, bottles of all kinds of doggy-fur products. But before Scout could grab one, Sasha made a break for it, ducking from under her hand and clambering up the side of the sink.

Screeching, Scout managed to catch her before she tumbled over the edge and put her back in the basin, though she’d wetted herself in the process. To make matters worse, Sasha shook her entire small body, spraying Scout thoroughly. Now her white blouse was see-through in patches and bore a few faint blue spots, stained from whatever had temporarily colored the dog’s fur.

“Oh my god, will you stop?” She got a better grip on the dog this time, making sure she held the collar so as not to hurt Sasha, and reached back with her free hand to grab a bottle of shampoo.

She caught sight of the words “clean dog-safe formula” on the bottle alongside a picture of a happy pink dog and grabbed it. Flicking the cap open, she realized that trying to “spot clean” Sasha would be pointless. It would probably be better to wash her completely, since the dog was clearly going to soak them both in the process anyway.

“Goddammit, Gina, why did you have to go for a smoke now?”

She squirted the shampoo onto the dog’s back and rubbed it vigorously to create a lather. Only it didn’t lather. And it was hot-pink.

Gasping, Scout looked at the bottle more closely. The “clean dog-safe formula” did not mean clean as in shampoo. No, it was clean as in no harmful ingredients. And then she noticed “Peony” was written across the bottom of the bottle in marker.

It was dye.

“Shit.” Scout looked down to where Sasha now had a thick stripe of pink dye along her back. She looked like a skunk who’d gotten a makeover at Sephora. “Shit, shit, shit!”

She tossed the bottle to one side and cranked the water up higher, hoping the dye might rinse off without doing too much damage. But the stripe refused to budge. The dog’s usually snowy white fur was now the approximate color of Barbie’s Dreamhouse.

Panicking, Scout looked back again and this time located the shampoo. The bottle was exactly the same size and brand as the dye, but this one had bubbles on it. Squirting a generous handful onto the dog’s back, she tried to scrub the dye out.

“Please wash out. Please, please, please.”

But the color refused to fade. Tears pricked Scout’s eyes as she watched her promotion crumble right in front of her. Once the bubbles all rinsed down the drain, she squeaked the taps off. Sasha glared at her, sopping wet and seemingly half the size she was before, shivering like a lamb in snow.

The pink stripe was unmistakable.

“Did it all come out?” August came up behind her and gasped. “What did you do?”

“I made a mistake. The shampoo…” How can you be this much of a hot mess? “I got the bottles mixed up.”

August grabbed a towel from the grooming table and wrapped the dog up, drying her off while Sasha looked at Scout like she’d stolen her lunch.

“Tell me it washes out,” Scout pleaded. “Like a few good washes and she’ll be back to new, right?”

“It’s permanent dye,” August said, as Gina walked back into the warehouse through the front door. “She’ll have to shave her down to get rid of it.”

“I’m doomed,” Scout said, dropping her head into her hands. “Absolutely freaking doomed.”

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