New neighbors Andi and Hayden don't get off to the best start - and neither do their dogs. When the hostility between their pets, Bart and Rosie, leads to noisy barking, Andi and Hayden must solve their pet's tension or risk eviction from their apar...
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I follow Andi inside, setting my backpack by the door and flipping the light switch. The room illuminates to reveal a space littered with droves of Rosie's toys and clothes. And, okay, the mess isn't all on Rosie. There are some of my unorganized papers on the counter, camera gear on the coffee table, and sewing supplies scattered across the kitchen table.
Rosie notices our arrival and darts toward us, the scratch of her nails slicing through the room.
And she's darting from—drumroll please—my closed bedroom door.
Andi notices it the same time I do, and the angry part of her lips sends a jolt of triumph up my spine.
I scoop my little squirming ball of energy against my chest as Andi grapples with her defeat. "Anything to say, Andi?"
She crosses her arms, shifting the bag on her shoulder. "Alright. Rosie didn't open the door." Andi runs one hand through her hair, using the other to point toward said door. "But she easily could have. Look at that end table only two feet away."
"Okay, so we're getting mad at what could have happened now?"
Andi steps closer to me, narrowing those big, dark eyes outlined with painted lashes. "We're getting mad at carelessness for the situation."
I pet the soft fur behind Rosie's ears. "I do care."
The squirming diva in my arms glares at Andi, a soft snarl ready to unleash from her slobbery mouth.
Andi shoots a grimace right back at Rosie before returning her eyes to mine. "Then let's actually figure this out."
"Well, not so fast. Shouldn't we check your door?"
"I told you I locked it."
I tilt my head, cocking an eyebrow.
"You don't believe me?" When I don't respond, Andi parts her lips, releasing a short huff. "Okay, let's go look," she says, already stepping toward the door.
With a roll of my eyes, I set Rosie down next to a donut chew toy and follow the tightly-wound Andi as she leaves my place, jams the key into her door, and wiggles it until it opens. Furiously.
I only process the stunningly spotless apartment drenched in lavender aromas, and Bart standing by the couch for half a second before my eyes, and Andi's eyes, jolt toward our shared point of question.
Her closed bedroom door.
"Yes!" she yells, the sound ricocheting off her spotlessly clean walls. The corners of her lips cascade to new heights. It's the first time she's fully smiled since I met her, and the expression stops me in place. It displays a perfect set of white teeth and softens the subtle seriousness constantly twisting on her face.
And, through her excitement, those damn dimples still pull my attention like a fucking magnet.
She nods, turning toward me as her bright eyes flood with relief. "See, I told you."
