His Dog Trusted No One—Until a Waitress Touched Him

Chapter One: The Only Stranger

The dog reached Mara before she reached table twelve.

One moment she was balancing a plate of sea bass on her left palm; the next, a huge black-and-tan dog rose against her apron. She bent her knees, pulled the tray closer, and caught her breath.

“Oh my god! What's wrong, sweetheart?”

He lowered his paws. Mara rested her free hand against his broad head, then stroked behind one soft, folded ear. His weight settled against her leg.

Around them, conversation stopped. A woman held her wineglass halfway to her lips. Across the aisle, a man in a black shirt stared as though something impossible had entered the room.

“That's impossible!”

His chair scraped the floor. He stood and crossed the restaurant, stopping with the dog between them. Mara withdrew her hand. Her smile faded under his searching gaze.

“Orion has never let anyone touch him.”

Mara glanced down at the dog. “He just did.”

The man's expression changed. Not anger, exactly. Something more vulnerable.

“Since the accident,” he said. “I meant since the accident.”

A manager appeared at Mara's shoulder. “Mr. Vale, I'm terribly sorry. I'll have her moved to another section.”

“For petting a dog?” Mara asked.

Mr. Vale ignored him. He was watching Orion press his nose against her empty right hand.

“Have you met him before?”

“Not that I remember.”

Then Orion turned his head, and she saw the thin pale seam beneath his collar.

Mara stopped breathing for a different reason.