Perils of a Papillon (Fuzzy Love #3) - Tara Lain Page 0,2

show dog she was, Batshit trotted back to Em, giving Harry one longing glance over her shoulder.

Like the untrained, wild-ass monster he was, Harry continued straining at the leash held by two adult humans in an effort to get to his girlfriend.

Em laughed and said, “That seems like an excellent place to begin our discussion of canine behavior.”

Toby grimaced. “And lack thereof. Sorry, Em.”

“It’s okay, Toby. Take the werewolf to the back, please. He’ll be less tempted.”

Sheepishly, Toby, with help from Molly, led Harry to the back of the room. Staring mostly at the floor, he avoided people’s censorious glances as he walked, but he looked up to find a spot to sit—and stopped in his tracks.

Him. The guy with the cat. Toby had seen him a couple times in the clinic, always with his skinny cat, his skinny body, and his glorious, beautiful, unforgettable face. Oddly, the face was covered with sunglasses despite being inside and his hair seemed to have turned the color of mud, not like the shiny taupe brown Toby remembered. And oh, he did remember. He’d only seen this guy maybe twice before, but something about his intensity and sadness pulled at Toby’s heart. And his glorious cheekbones and lovely ass pulled at other parts.

“Toby!” Molly hissed behind him.

He started moving again until they found a spot against the wall near one open chair that Molly took. She pulled out her notebook and pencil as one of the panelists started talking about optimum nutrition for dogs. Harry lay down at Toby’s feet.

Toby sighed in the first quiet moment of his morning to consider his dilemma before he talked it over with Molly. As he’d told her, the party at Emily Hamilton’s house in a week was huge for his career. It signaled that he was on his way to snagging the full-time teaching job in the English department, which in turn, put him on a fast-track to tenure. Jesus, he and Molly could use that kind of stability—and more money so they could give up their second jobs and have a little bit of a life. Plus, Pacific Academy was a rare opportunity. A private school with good salaries and excellent benefits. On top of that, their students were great. Bright, inquisitive people who wanted to be there. It was truly a dream job. Just one issue. The staff was looking forward to meeting Toby’s boyfriend.

Unfortunately, so was Toby.

He hadn’t exactly meant to tell a lie. Somebody on the staff had heard him say he lived with Molly and Harry. They assumed Harry was his partner, and he never corrected the impression. Pacific Academy might hire a contract English teacher who was gay and be proud of it, but chances were very high they’d never hire a full-time staff member who wasn’t married or well on his way to being so.

God knew, Toby had been trying. He’d dated every guy who gave him a look.

The problem was, they looked back.

The truth was, Toby had gotten the fuzzy end of the twin DNA lollipop. Where on Molly it came out as tiny, curvy, and sexy librarianish; on Toby the genes read as a short, pudgy, four-eyed geek who happened to have beautiful hair. Pale gold, thick and shiny, his hair attracted attention—from behind. How many guys had rushed up beside Toby to make their play, saw the rest of him, and ran in the opposite direction?

He’d told Molly about the importance of his finding a partner if he wanted to stay at Pacific Academy, but she simply didn’t get it. To her, he was adorable and every guy should love him, so easy-peasy to find a dozen boyfriends. From her lips to God’s ears. But finding someone willing to play his boyfriend in a serious way before next Saturday was no small challenge, especially since he had zip to offer. No money for sure. Services? Between teaching and his part-time stints as a tutor, he had so little time to give for free. And yet, showing up at that party with nobody was simply not an option. He might as well throw the full-time position out the window, and damn. He was no quitter. Maybe Molly knew someone, anyone, who’d be willing to play a role for one afternoon. That didn’t solve the problem permanently, but he could always say they’d broken up and buy more time to find someone he liked. He just had to get past the Saturday hurdle.

He sighed and settled into listening