She held out her hand in front of her. "I'm a slim size five. It will look amazing. I can pull off three carats without issue. Anything smaller looks cheap."

"I believe it." I also believed Conner better have a big ass bank account. He'd need it to keep Lizzy happy on a lot more than just this ring.

"I tell my boyfriend what I want at least once a month, but he still hasn't popped the question."

"Men." Oh Conner. I shook my head. "How do you want him to ask?"

Lizzy smiled. She made it so easy. I should have just quizzed her on this when we first got here, and I'd already be home. We completely wasted all those hours of shopping. Except for the Nikes.

"He better do it at our favorite restaurant. And I want all our family there. Except my cousin Tina because she's such a one-upper," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"She sounds horrible," I said as I typed the notes into my phone, pretending to listen.

I had enough to give to Conner now. Heck, I'd even gotten him more than he asked for. I could have saved four freaking hours and $372.46. Deep Breaths. Stay positive, Vonnie. At least I had the info now.

The April drizzle started again, and Lizzy scowled up at the sky. I wasn't mad about the rain. It gave me a chance to leave.

"Well, thanks so much for helping me today. I better get home before this storm comes in," I said, tucking my phone away safely.

Lizzy pouted. "I thought we were doing lunch?"

"I wish, but with this rain, I need to get home and check on the dog. He hates storms." I pointed upward to remind her of the weather even as drizzles splattered on her car beside her. "Once I wear all these things, we'll get back together."

Lies. All lies.

She squinted at me. "I'm not sure if I can help you more than I did today. You need a professional and a lot of time on Pinterest."

My mouth fell open. What the hell did that mean?

"Right. Well then. I'm off to grab NB before he jumps the fence," I said and started toward Rachel.

"Who's NB?" she asked but then didn't wait along to get an answer. Typical Lizzy.

And typical Vonnie. Giving out more lies. NB wouldn't be jumping the fence because I'd locked the door on him as punishment for his inappropriate behavior. But it got me away from spending the rest of the day with Lizzy.

The fresh bread smells were gone as I got into Rachel and started toward home. The town didn't even smell good anymore.

My stomach growled as I pulled into my driveway and turned off the wipers. I should have taken up the lunch offer with Lizzy.

No.

Definitely not.

I'd eat a Swiss Cake Roll or something.

If only I had a Swiss Cake Roll.

I needed to make a shopping list and then find someone to buy me items on said shopping list. Broadrick needed to get home.

VONNIE: We're buying Swiss Cake Rolls when you get back.

I sent the text as I walked up the front steps, trying to hurry so I didn't get wet in the rain. A dog bark stopped my mission.

"Oh, no." I let myself in the back gate and NB made a running leap and landed paws first on my knees. "NB, no."

Two perfect muddy prints covered my jeans. He danced around me and tried to do it again. Obviously, he thought highly of his efforts.

I led him to the back door. "How the hell did you get out?"

Before I left, I'd put in the plastic insert that kept the door closed. He had no way out. I unlocked the back door and slipped on the pieces of plastic littering the kitchen floor. They skittered against the tile, flying everywhere.

What in the heck? A piece of plastic hit a kitchen cabinet and shot in the other direction.

"Oh," I said and kicked a few pieces into a pile next to the missing plastic insert that locked the doggie door. "That's how."

He chewed his way through thick plastic. That couldn't have been easy. Did he ruin his teeth?

"NB! Come here!" he ran into the living room, leaving footprints across my kitchen floor. "Do you have any teeth left in your mouth?"

I'd never be able to afford the dental bill.

NB raced between my legs back into the kitchen. I chased after him, trying to grab him to look into his mouth. He scattered the plastic bits, and they slid across the floor as I stepped on them. My legs came out from under me and my arms flailed, but there was nothing for me to grab and stop my fall.

I hit the ground with a splat, the plastic pieces scattering around the floor and poking me in the back.

Wonderful.

At least I'd never let Broadrick put cameras in here, so no one caught it on video.

What more did I need to handle in one day? I hadn't even had lunch. I rolled over and rested on my arms lacking the strength to move.

NB sniffed me and then checked his food bowl. My eyes watered.

No, not now. I couldn't cry now. I'd done so well with holding it in.

A tickle in my nose had me sniffling. The water in my eye filled up the corners, and the first traitorous tear fell. Why did I suck?

Millions of people out there were living life and kicking ass. Some of those people had plants, pets, kids. Single parents were doing better than me and they had way more responsibilities.

Everything seemed so hard. Wasn't it supposed to get easier at some point?

NB stood on my back as I laid there gathering strength. The only positive was that he'd cleaned the mud off his paws on my living room carpet. At least they weren't on my back and soaking into my thermal. I needed positive thoughts.

My front door rattled as someone knocked. Just what I needed.

Witnesses.

"Come in!" I yelled from the kitchen. I hadn't gained the strength for standing yet. My back stung from the fall and I just anted to stay there forever.

The door opened, and NB rushed at it to greet our visitors.

"Whoa there, TB," Tony said in his deep voice.

I lowered my arms, putting my face on the ground. "It's NB."

He'd babysat him for hours. How did he forget his name?

"That is the dumbest name for a dog. I keep thinking it can't be right," he said, stepping into the kitchen. "Why are you on the floor?"

"How in the hell is TB a better name than NB?" I wiped away the last tear so Tony didn't see it.

"What's wrong? Who do I need to punch?" he asked, standing two feet from me in a fighting stance.

I rolled over. "No. It's NB."

"You want me to hit the dog?" He leaned down and held out his hand.

I grabbed it. "Just never mind."

Tony lifted me up, and I made it as far as sitting on the floor, so he sat beside me. "What's up, princess?"

"I suck," I said and stuck my lower lip out.

Tony smelled good. Not as good as Broadrick, but he had a nice, woodsy aroma. It helped a little. Kind of like walking into a bookstore full of hardcovers. His dark jeans and dark green long-sleeve tactical hoodie didn't give off bookstore vibes.

"I'm not cut out for military life. Broadrick has barely been gone a few days and I've made a mess of everything. I can't even keep the dog clean."

NB shook himself between the two of us, but the dirt had already dried. It gave him skunk stripes down the middle of his back.

"You're doing fine," Tony said and pushed NB away when he tried to climb in his lap.

So then he nuzzled his way into mine. "It doesn't feel fine."

Tony laughed. "You know what I was doing at your age?"

"Kicking ass and taking names?"

He laughed harder. "No. I worked the night shift at Timmy's Tacos."

"You sold tacos?" With his slicked-back badass look, he didn't fit the part.

"No," he said with a head jerk. "I made the tacos. They forced us to wear these ridiculous fucking hats with red and white stripes. The point is, in my early twenties, I had no clue what I wanted to do, and I definitely sucked more than this."

"My dog ate a plastic door." My lip stuck out again.

Tony glanced at NB. "You might want to take him to the vet and get that looked at."

NB barked. "How did you become a bounty hunter?"

"Family business, but that's not important. Right now, I want you to pick just one problem that you can fix tonight." He held up a single finger.

Totally easy. "Tony, I have an entire list of problems." Literally. I just had to find it.

"No, princess. Find one problem."

I wiped at my eyes again and considered his conditions. "I need to buy a fish."

His head tipped to the side and half his face scrunched. "Okay. Weird, but okay."

"There's the pet store on the outskirts of town. The girls said I can buy a beta there."

Tony smiled and stood up. "Now you're getting somewhere. I'll drive."

**

"I'm worried about him, Tony," I said as we sat in his truck and he started the drive to the pet store.

He put his arm over my shoulder. "He'll be fine."

Neither of us used his name, which made it easier. We both knew who I meant.

"Can we maybe not tell him about Gina?"

Tony laughed. "Oh, he's going to hear about Gina. How much is this fish going to cost me?"

"No, don't worry about it. I've got the fish covered." Except I'd spent over $300 on clothes with Lizzy and only made minimum payments on that card. "Actually, it's going to set you back like five bucks. Thanks."

Tony turned onto Main Street. "That's one thing I'll say about this town."

"Yeah, what's that?"

He slowed by the bakery, giving me time to peek in at who was there. Katy was standing next to Pearl's table as she sipped her tea, and the two of them laughed together. "It's never dull."