job, I think he not only convinced my colleagues of my coupled status, but he’s got the whole school wishing they were me.”
Finn shook his head. “That is some saga. So you must have known they were going to come here, and took the chance to cement your story. Good planning.”
Toby shook his head. “Uh, no. We were just hungry.”
Em gave Ernest a look. “Excellent job choosing the number-one date-night venue on the coast to bring your pretend boyfriend.”
The food came, and they all plunged into eating and mostly discussing the quirks of taking care of Batshit—she would sleep on your bed, didn’t like people to watch her eat, needed fresh water a couple times a day, had to inform you of every person who walked by your house, and lots more.
Finn said, “Papillons are big barkers. If you tell her to stop, she will, but her natural instinct is to let you know everything that’s going on. For example, she loves to go to bed. If you retire one night at say ten, she’ll learn that, and she’s probably going to tell you the next night at ten that it’s time to go to bed.”
Em chuckled. “She knows if I close my laptop that I may be going to do something fun like take her for a walk or go to the clinic. So, she barks in anticipation.”
A quick glance at Toby showed he looked worried, but he didn’t say anything and Finn and Em were having so much fun telling Bat stories, they didn’t notice.
Em said, “By the way, it’s fine to leave her for a few hours. Just tell her, ‘You have to stay by yourself’ and she’s fine. It’s just extended periods when Paps get extreme anxiety.” He motioned to the waiter and made a check-signing motion. “Which reminds me, we need to get home and finish packing. I’m so glad we had this chance to take you to dinner as a small down payment on our thank-you.”
Ernest started to protest, but Em said, “Hey, since I hear you’re so good with dogs, you may get roped in too.”
They all laughed as they slid out of the booth, and Ernest made a big show of cuddling Toby for the benefit of onlookers, which he noticed he didn’t mind at all.
As they passed the table with Justin and his prey, Toby’s ears got pink, but he said, “What a delightful coincidence. This is one of Ernest’s and my favorite places. These are our friends, Dr. Em Fairweather and his husband, the renowned prosecutor, Finn Morgenstern.” He introduced everyone at the table.
Ernest wanted to laugh, but instead, he said, “Hope you all had the shrimp enchiladas. They’re world-class.” They were also the most expensive thing on the menu and Ernest doubted if Justin had recommended them. “Good to see you all again.” Sliding his arm around Toby, he guided him away from the table.
When they got into the now-crowded bar area, they all chuckled quietly and Ernest and Toby said goodbye and thank you to Em and Finn. As Toby made arrangements for picking up Batshit, Ernest did the look around. Sure enough, sitting at the crowded bar was Bill, finally dressed in California-casual jeans and a sweater draped over a dress shirt. Bill had a woman on both sides of him, and he was making conversation out of the corners of his mouth, but his eyes kept straying to Ernest. Knowing that made Ernest feel better, even though he hated the fact that it did. If Bill made Ernest feel safer, he had to admit he wasn’t safe and, boy, did he loathe that.
Toby turned back to Ernest and stiffened. He grabbed Ernest’s arm and gave it a tug. Ernest followed, but when they got outside, Toby took his arms and stared up at him. “I don’t want to freak you out, but I think that guy, the one who was wearing the stupid suit at Café Z, was inside at the bar. Ernest, I think he’s following you!”
Well, hell, now what do I do?
Chapter Eight
Toby’s heart beat too fast. Why would that strange dude be following Ernest? Or, wait, it wasn’t just Ernest who was there when that guy showed up. “Maybe he’s following me? Oh man, what should we do? Call the police? Will they believe us? What—”
Ernest had been staring at Toby with a slight crease between his brows. Out of nowhere, he grabbed him, pulled him in flush against his body, and kissed