Blue’s face flashes behind my eyes, and guilt comes with it like roaring thunder in my head. He shouldn’t be here wrecking this sweet moment. He has no business invading my life. But he is. And it makes me hate him and it makes me miss him and that makes me hate myself.

Josh whisks my attention back to him by raining warm, soft kisses from my lips down my neck, inching toward the valley of my chest.

Cupping his face in my hands, I coax him back up to my lips and he kisses me with growing hunger.

“What are we doing?” I whisper when we break away for air.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” He kisses me again.

I can’t deny the sparks between us. But whoa—Josh?

“I’m… I’m surprised,” I reply.

He lets out a sigh and strokes his hand across my cheek. “Yeah, me too. So look, once you get settled in your new house, and we’re not all up in this roommate situation anymore… Why don’t we go on a real date? See what happens?”

I part my lips in speechless shock. I didn’t see this coming.

Not. At. All.

I shake my head in an attempt to rattle my brain into working order.

“Okay. Yes. Let’s try that.”

He kisses me once more—a deep kiss meant to sweep me off my feet and give me lots to think about.

Suddenly, Josh isn’t my consistent place anymore. And my plan to un-confuse my life may have just gone up in smoke.

Chapter Thirty-Two

“Mommy? Mom?”

Lyric is standing next to the bed in her PJs, tears on her face. Cold fear rushes through me and I instantly bolt up.

Lyric never cries.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I scan her from head to toe, searching for blood or bruises.

“It’s Acorn. He won’t stand up and he’s breathing funny.”

Oh, no.

I jump out of bed and follow Lyric to the living room, where Acorn is lying on the floor, panting heavily. Normally, he sleeps in either my bedroom or Lyric’s. He must have come out here sometime during the night. One of the things I love about our new house is that it’s a one-story ranch. Acorn can get to all the rooms without being carried.

Kneeling down, I pet him and gently run my hands over him, alarmed at how thin he seems to suddenly be. “What’s wrong, buddy? You want to get up? Have breakfast?” I use the words that usually excite him and get him up and moving, but he’s not budging.

“Is he sick, Mommy?”

I put my arm around her and kiss her temple. “I’m not sure, honey. I think I need to take him to the doctor.”

I try to lift him up to stand, but he wobbles and falls back down.

“It’s okay, pupper.” I kiss the top of his head and he licks my cheek. Biting my lip, I fight against the tears burning behind my eyes. I love this dog so much. He’s like another child and the thought of losing him is breaking my heart.

“Honey, why don’t you sit with him and pet him really nice while I go call the vet, okay?”

She’s already bringing his food and water dishes and penguin over to him, and plops down next to him, arranging everything within his reach while talking softly to him. His tail thumps weakly and he rests his head on her knee.

From the kitchen I call the vet and get an appointment two hours from now. Next I call Ditra and ask her if she can come over and hang out with Lyric while I take Acorn to the doctor. Thankfully, it’s Saturday and Dee tells me not to worry and she’ll be over in about an hour.

I’ve been in the waiting room, which is nicer and more comforting than my doctor’s waiting room, for three hours. Decorated like a farmhouse living room, with oversized brown leather couch and chairs, an electric fireplace, and vintage photos of dogs and cats on the walls, it’s very homey. In the corner is a credenza with a coffee maker, tea, water bubbler, and free homemade cookies. In any other situation I’d be all over those cookies, but I’m too worried about Acorn to indulge in snacks. Instead, I sit in one of the big overstuffed chairs sipping water and trying to read a new book on my e-reader.

“Miss Karel?” I look up at the tech who’s appeared in the doorway. “Do you want to come with me and speak to the doctor about the tests?”

I want to scream yes right in her face, but instead follow her down a long hallway with paw prints and numbers on the doors. She takes me to paw number five. Acorn is lying on a thick blanket on the floor, looking even more worn out than he did when we first got here.