Chapter 10

Riley’s POV

“You ditched school to buy a dog?” Lila tilted her head, hair piled into that perfect messy bun of hers, tendrils of curly black hair framing her face like an artful halo. Her chocolate-brown eyes bored into me, and I felt that little flutter in my chest—why did she look so cute when she was scolding me? I shook it off.

“I’ve been feeling… overwhelmed since the semester started,” I said, waving a hand dramatically as if that explained everything. “My mom convinced me an emotional support dog would help.” I forced my best innocent smile. “He’s trained.”

Lila arched an eyebrow. I could practically see her calculating how many lies per minute I was capable of. “You don’t even like dogs.”

Guilty as charged. I loved Winston—my mom’s German Shepherd—but I’d never in my life volunteered at a puppy rescue or cooed over a Chihuahua. Still, the spark in Lila’s eyes when she talked about her cat last semester had been adorable. If she was a cat person