like this was a two o’clock board meeting. Sunshine was squirming now so I ran to Luna and took hold of the dog. I gave Sunshine another piece of bacon as I slipped the collar over her head.
We both collapsed onto the sand, sweating and exhausted.
“Thank god I’m wearing Wild Heart’s classic waterproof mascara in ebony,” Luna said in a fake commercial voice.
I chuckled, dropped my head to my knee. “You’re crazy, you know that? That was incredibly fucking dangerous.”
She shook her head. “I would have backed off if it seemed like she was going to bite me. But I couldn’t stop myself.”
“I know what you mean,” I finally admitted. Seconds earlier, I’d been prepared to do the same.
The dog was yanking the leash taut, clearly wary of us and terrified of the rope around her neck. I gave her another piece of bacon. “Let’s get you some food and safety and a family that loves you.”
Luna’s head whipped around at that. “I’m really glad we got her, Beck. Really, really glad.”
“Me too,” I said.
Her hand flew to her mouth. She looked shocked.
“What is it?” I asked, scanning her for hidden, ocean-related injuries.
“My phone. My phone is in my bag, back on the beach.”
“Thank god. It would have been toast in the water,” I said.
“But it means I didn’t film a thing.”
26
Luna
As I walked back down the beach with Beck, I felt wildly out of control, breath shallow, pulse thready. And it wasn’t our sprint and my sudden dash into the ocean.
I was anxious. Anxious because I’d had a golden opportunity to film myself performing an act of bravery and I hadn’t. There’d be no Instagram video, no Facebook pic. I could see Jasmine salivating at the idea of Luna da Rosa, current internet villain, redeeming herself by rescuing a stray dog from drowning.
Next to me, Sunshine was a shivering, scared thing—every time she inhaled, I could see the hard edges of her rib cage. Presented with the option, I would have chosen diving in after her every single time. There’d been no choice, merely action, and I hoped, sincerely, that most other people would have done the same thing.
But I was stumbling into an awkward crossroad. Rebuilding my reputation through Beck’s nonprofit hadn’t felt weird or ethically complicated before. Even though Beck had been worried we were using him, I knew in my heart we weren’t.
Yet now I was torn between this urge to show the public that I wasn’t the kind of person who would partner with a company like Ferris Mark. And an urge to keep what had happened on the beach private. Not to be manipulative or self-serving.
It was a bizarre flight-or-fight response. My role as Wild Heart spokeswoman had always been fun and silly, a way to merge my personal and professional selves into one brand.
But wasn’t I more than a brand?
I grabbed my bag on the beach and found my phone with anxious fingers. “Do you want me to take your picture with Sunshine?” Beck asked gruffly. His eyes were trained on the sand—which made me hyper-aware that my shirt was practically see-through and my nipples were hard.
“Sure.” I hesitated. “I won’t get too close, but donors should see what a dog looks like when you first meet them.”
Which was mournful, terrified, scared. The poor thing was trembling out of control, and as I sank to the sand and wrapped my arms around my knees, I didn’t feel right about this at all.
“Luna, you’re not smiling,” he said.
I plastered on a fake grin that faltered as soon as he gave me my phone back. I stared at the picture, which made me uneasy. Uploaded it to Instagram with the caption: Dogs like Sunshine need our help. We found this sweet baby on the beach, scared out of her mind. But at Lucky Dog, there’s a safe, healing place for her to rehabilitate and find her forever home. Hit the link in my bio to donate.
“What do you think of this?” I asked. He leaned over my shoulder, his body heat radiating like a furnace.
“Maybe people should see the whole process, like you said,” he replied.
I didn’t answer, merely stared at a picture that technically was soliciting donations but actually was positioning me as a hero to all dogs. Look at what I did is what it said.
Good for my reputation. Rebuilding. Earning their trust back. These words had been pounded into my head by Jasmine these past weeks until every single thing I did