Free The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) by Sarah Ballance Page A

Is. That?” Ethan asked.
    “This is Shaggy,” Rue said, her heart swelling with love.
    “That is not shaggy.” To his credit, Ethan seemed more curious than horrified, which only further endeared her to him. Most people who saw the mutt werehorrified, a point that Rue now took personally. She could never give Shaggy a home, and that was probably her lone regret over her globe-trotting ways.
    Rue lightly scratched the leathery, bare skin on top of Shaggy’s head. The dog had an offbeat gait and a face only a mother could love, but Rue adored her. “She’s been badly burned, and her hair won’t grow through the scar tissue, but she’sas sweet as can be. I’d adopt her myself if I thought I could provide a lifelong home, but I’m not sticking around.”
    “Say it isn’t so,” Abbie said, coming through the door behind them. “Did you win the internship? Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”
    “It’s down to the wire,” Rue said. “But if I don’t win, I won’t let that stop me.”
    “I know.” Abbie shook her head. “Ilove that about you. And I hate that about you.” To Ethan she said, “Every time we post her pictures, we place the animals within days. She and Kate are miracle workers.”
    “Almost,” Rue said. “Shaggy is the lone holdout.”
    “I’d take her home myself,” Abbie said, “but my apartment has a strict no-pets policy and rent I can actually afford, so moving isn’t going to happen. Wouldn’t dous any good to both end up homeless.”
    “I know,” Rue said. “She’s loved here, and that’s what counts.” She glanced at Ethan, who wore a thoughtful frown. “Okay, substitute photographer’s assistant. These photos won’t take themselves.”
    He handed over her camera and watched, most likely waiting for her to tell him what to do, but the heat of his gaze on her had her almost dizzy. Her usuallywell-honed routine was a hot mess, but she managed to get a sheet draped and a reproduction Victorian padded bench in place. To Ethan, she said, “Can you get one of the cats? Kate can point you in the right direction.”
    “Sure.” He disappeared down the hall, Shaggy staring woefully after him.
    “I know,” Rue told the dog. “I kind of want to follow him around myself.”
    Ethan returneda moment later, a sour-faced feline in hand. The cat had been gorgeously fluffed, although not flawlessly so. Several patches of hair were almost missing, probably where Kate had to cut out mats, but the cat still had a regal vibe going behind that foul expression.
    “You’re going to make this adoptable?” Ethan asked, looking at the cat, who greeted his attention with a baleful scowl. He didn’tseem deterred, though, and Rue loved that.
    “You just watch me,” she said. “Set her down on the bench.” Once placed, the cat stayed on her haunches, at least for the moment. “Perfect. Now grab that hat to your left and set it lightly on her head—the goal being that she’ll hold still for a few seconds before she tosses her head to get rid of it—and step back. Keep holding her, arms outstretched,until I say go, then try to get your hands out of the picture. She probably won’t stay there long, so move fast.”
    “Got it,” he said. “Are you serious about the hat? Is that a thing cats do?”
    She laughed. “The hat is adorable.” It was a sparkly turquoise number with a matching feather that stood out brilliantly against the white background and the white cat. In fact, the cat’s eyesand the hat were the only pops of color in the whole shot, which made it pretty freaking amazing. Rue lifted her camera and checked the lighting. “Perfect. Take a step back, and when you let go, I’ll start shooting.”
    Ethan did as she asked, and she managed a couple good shots before the cat excused herself with a dour backward glance, which Rue captured an instant before the hat hit theground. “Grab her if you can,” she told Ethan as she scrolled back through the