TESSA WORTH BENT over to finish clipping the leash to the pole. Before she could stand, her canine companion gave a hearty shake of his head, and she jerked back from the spray of slobber.

“Ugh.”

She wiped a strand from her chin as she straightened. “Rufus, we’ve been through this,” she chastised the dog. “Flinging drool on the ladies is no way to win hearts.”

The English bulldog looked up at her with doleful eyes.

“Don’t even start with me, mister,” she said, then gave a quick glance around to be sure no one was witnessing her one-sided conversation with the dog. “Those bedroom eyes may have worked for you when you were a stray, but they won’t get you anywhere with me.”

Rufus huffed, and another gob of drool landed on her sneakers. She groaned and swiped her shoe on the back of her leggings.

“Okay, listen. Just let me get some tea, and I’ll bring you one of those muffins you like.”

Rufus whimpered.

“No, not the bran-and-apple ones. The blueberry. Your favorite.”

Rufus licked his chops, leaving a strand of slobber dangling from his nose.

“Oh, buddy. We really need to do something about that.”

Rufus parked his behind on the sidewalk, unconcerned.

Overcome with affection, Tessa knelt down to scratch him behind the ears. He groaned with pleasure, and she was reminded once again how looks could be deceiving. During her time working at the local animal shelter, she had watched Rufus be bypassed for adoption again and again in favor of the younger or cuter pets.

When she’d left the shelter for her new job as a marketing and PR coordinator for a nearby hospital, she’d realized she couldn’t leave Rufus behind. After all, they had something in common—she knew what it was to feel like she didn’t quite measure up. She’d adopted him on her last day working at the shelter a little over two weeks ago. She hadn’t regretted that decision for a second, despite the drool issue.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Sit tight.”

Rufus sneezed, which she took for a sign of agreement, and then Tessa stepped inside the Lighthouse Café.

The Lighthouse was a long-standing fixture of the Findlay Roads community. She’d gone there as a child, during summer visits to her grandmother’s cottage before she’d moved to the town permanently after college. Back then, it had been a diner, complete with blue vinyl booths and geometric-patterned countertops.

Since it had been converted to a café, however, it had undergone extensive renovations to give it a much more modern and trendy vibe. With the tourist boom that had occurred in the town over the last several years, the café had become a favorite not only of locals but of out-of-towners. It helped that local son and famous country music star, Sawyer Landry, occasionally stopped in to play a couple of sets when he was in town.

Tessa walked inside the café and stepped up to the counter to place her order.

“Hey, Tessa,” greeted the barista behind the bar.

“Hi, Liam,” she replied. “Can I get a mint green tea latte to go, please?”

“Sure.” Liam began punching her order into the system. “How’s that new job going?”

“Good,” she replied as she tugged her wallet out of her hoodie pocket. She didn’t carry a purse when she took Rufus on his morning walk. It was challenging enough trying to wrangle a fifty-pound bulldog. She needed both hands free for the attempt. “Pretty good. I’ve only been there a few weeks and I’ve mostly been getting the lay of the land, but now I’m finally starting to dig into my actual duties a little more.”

After almost two years working at the animal clinic, Tessa was enjoying the challenge of a new position. She’d worked for years as a pediatric nurse but stepped away from it after she’d bailed on her own wedding...and all the complicated emotions that went with that.

“That’s $3.59,” Liam said.

“Oh, I nearly forgot. Can you add a blueberry muffin?”

Liam arched a knowing eyebrow. “You’re spoiling that mutt, Tessa.”

Tessa assumed an affronted expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. That muffin is for me.”

Liam laughed as he punched her order into the system. “Sure, Tessa, sure. You know I can see him from here, don’t you?”

Tessa turned in the direction Liam pointed, noting that Rufus was sitting patiently where she’d left him, his hooded eyes watching the café door with interest.

“He was found abandoned by the side of the road. He deserves to be spoiled a little bit.”

Liam held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just saying, you spend more money on that dog than on yourself.”

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