Emma drew a deep breath. “I . . . don’t know what to say.”

Kelly smiled. “Just say you’ll hold on to him better than Maggie or I did. Even if Maggie wanted to, which okay, maybe deep, deep, deep down she did, she had no idea how to do that, how to hold on to him, especially when she could barely hold on to herself.”

Chapter 16

Step 16: Friendship is the new romance.

Emma left PT knowing she needed to find a way to talk to Simon. It was early evening when she got home, but his car wasn’t in the lot. Since she knew she couldn’t sit at her apartment window and wait until she saw him drive up—it would take her too long to get down the stairs—she decided she and Hog would stay outside and enjoy the warm summer day.

The wind had whipped up some big surf. Whitecaps dotted the water under a sky so clear and pure and stunning, it almost hurt to look at it.

Emma led Hog down the street to Commercial Row, where they moseyed past cute shops and galleries until she got her steps in. Or, more accurately, until Hog lay down in the middle of the bike lane—the sidewalk was blocked with outdoor café tables set up for eating—and refused to go another step.

A biker shouted from a hundred feet away with a warning, “Lady, your dog’s sleeping in the road!”

Hog was utterly unmoved.

“Hog,” she said, tugging on his leash. “Get up.”

“I’m not unclipping from my pedals,” the guy warned.

Fifty feet.

“Hog.”

Nothing. He was playing dead.

The biker screeched his brakes and skid to a stop an inch from Hog’s nose, indeed having to unclip so he didn’t tip over. Which he did while swearing. Loudly.

Hog didn’t care. It was like he’d totally melted into the sidewalk. Emma bent and slid her arms around his middle and tried to tug 110 pounds of dead weight upright. Breathing heavily, she gave up. “If you get up right now, I’ll give you a doggy treat.”

He leapt to all fours with a dexterity that had to be seen to be believed.

The biker shook his head with disgust and rode on.

Emma pulled the treat from her pocket—which Hog inhaled without even tasting—and she walked him back home, where they sat on the wide front porch of her apartment building. While Hog snoozed at her feet, Emma worked on a surprise for Alison on her phone—creating a coupon for new customers at Paw Pals.

After an hour, Mrs. Bessler came out onto the porch and handed Emma a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich cut neatly into four perfect squares.

“Wow,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

Mrs. Bessler sat next to her and watched Emma take her first bite and moan over the warm gooey cheese. “So . . . you and my boy, huh?”

“Uh . . . who?”

“Simon.”

Emma choked. “You’re Simon’s mom?”

“No, his mom died of cancer when he was in high school. But I look after her family for her. They’re very important to me, which is why I have to ask—what are your intentions with him?”

Emma had already known about his mom, but she still felt swamped with emotion at the thought of Simon losing her so young. Unable to fathom the pain of that, she set her square of sandwich back onto the plate. “My . . . intentions?”

“Yes, because Simon’s the real deal, a genuine keeper. They’re rare these days, you know. I just want to make sure you’re in it with him for the long haul, not any of this new age, loosey-goosey, fear-of-commitment thing all you young people seem to have going.”

Emma picked up a second square of the amazing grilled cheese sandwich. “We’re just friends.” Or at least they had been. After last night and also PT, it was seeming more and more doubtful.

“That’s a very disappointing answer,” Mrs. Bessler said and took the plate and the grilled cheese square in Emma’s hand, and . . . walked back inside.

Damn. She’d really wanted the rest of that grilled cheese. And what was she doing? If Simon wanted to talk to her, he’d answer a call or a text, or come see her. She couldn’t make him talk to her. “Come on, Hog. Alison was actually right about something—there’s never a need for this much desperation.”

He jumped up, happy to finish his napping inside.

But on the second-floor landing, Emma kept going. She needed the roof. It took her a bit since she was already worn out from both PT and her walk down Commercial Row. But eventually, she got there and collapsed in gratitude onto the love seat, where she assumed her favorite thinking position: head back, eyes closed, body completely done in.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she woke up, but it was dark and Hog was asleep on her feet, which were dead.

Then Hog leapt up with a happy “woof” and she realized what had woken her. They weren’t alone.

Hog bum-rushed the man leaning against the protective railing wearing faded jeans and a long-sleeved white T-shirt that emphasized the body she’d begun to crave more than air. He crouched down to hug her ridiculous dog, who’d flopped onto his back for more love.

Simon obliged, rubbing Hog’s belly before finally lifting his gaze to Emma.

“How’s your dad?” she asked quietly, sitting up, rubbing her eyes, her voice gravelly from sleep.

“He’ll come home tomorrow. The hospital kept him because he hit his head pretty good.”

She let out a rough breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. “I’m so sorry, Simon.”

He shook his head. “Not your fault.”

“Not yours either.”

“You’re wrong there.” He rose to his feet.

Emma stood too. “Alison told me that she’d promised to watch him. She’s blaming herself too. The way I see it, you’re both just doing the best you can.”

“Yeah, and maybe one of you could explain to me how you two are suddenly friends now.”

“We’re not.”

He snorted and rubbed a hand over his unshaved face, his body language heavy, like he was exhausted beyond measure.

She opened her mouth to express some sympathy, but what came out didn’t match her intentions. “You quit me.”

An emotion crossed his face, gone too quickly to read it. “You quit me first, remember.”

“You know that was a joke.” She was hands on hips. “Did you dump just me, or was Kelly being honest about you having to give up your regularly scheduled days?”