She was so thrilled to see that Attila liked Nick, his words didn’t register for a second. Then she realized Attila was getting carried away with his bear hug. “Attila, enough,” she said. When he didn’t stop, she felt a flutter of concern. An enthusiastic bear was hardly the same as an enthusiastic puppy. “You tell him, Nick,” she quickly suggested. “Enough is the command, and be firm.” “Enough,” he said, sounding more strangled than firm. Miraculously, Attila grunted and backed off. Dropping to all fours, he began snuffling the leg of Nick’s jeans. Carly almost jumped for joy. If Attila was going to listen to Nick, things just might work out. “He obeyed you!” she said excitedly. “Obeyed me? He practically killed me!” “No he didn’t. He was being friendly.” And she was so relieved. She hadn’t told Nick about the phone call, because she hadn’t wanted him feeling even more stressed when he met Attila, but now she could. Before she had a chance, though, he took a backward step and said, “Listen, if that’s his way of being friendly, I sure as hell don’t want to be near him when he’s being grouchy.
