The Love Pug Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1: The Amazing Cupid

  2: Finally, Theo

  3: Unwelcome Wagon

  4: Cupid Strikes Again

  5: Maybe …

  6: Just Weird

  7: Ugh, Travis

  8: Sandwich Twins

  9: So Much for Plans

  10: Bugs Are a Snack, Not an Entrée

  11: Surprise!

  12: Magic

  13: Surprise >:(

  14: Autumn vs. Winters

  15: Clueless

  16: Cooking Looks Easy on TV

  17: More Makeover

  18: Cupid’s New Clothes

  Sneak peek at Pugs in a Blanket

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by J.J. Howard

  Copyright

  January 1: Cupid has special powers!

  As soon as I’d written the words, I frowned. A big blot of ink had leaked from my pen and marred the very first page of my brand-new journal. I could almost hear my friend Theo’s voice in my head, teasing me for using an ink pen. But I loved old-fashioned things, even if they took a bit more time. And sometimes made more of a mess, I thought as I dabbed at the ink with a tissue.

  My adorable pug, Cupid, let out a bark from where he sat on my bedroom floor. I’d been writing at my desk, but I turned around to pull my dog up into my lap. I stroked his soft ears, admiring his tan fur and sweet, wrinkly black muzzle.

  “Do you have special powers?” I asked Cupid, gazing into his wide dark eyes. He let out a snuffling sound as if to say, Why, yes, I do, Emma.

  I nodded. It might have been the only explanation for what had happened earlier that day.

  My best friend, Hallie, and I had been walking with Cupid down the street to visit my former babysitter, Annie Taylor. Annie is in high school, and she’d offered to help Hallie prepare for the middle school cheer squad auditions.

  It was cold and sunny, which is my favorite weather, but Hallie had not been so happy.

  “It’s freezing,” Hallie groaned, nestling herself deeper inside her puffy coat. “Shouldn’t we be hibernating on New Year’s Day?”

  “Okay, gloomy-pants,” I told her. “Why can’t you be more like Cupid? See how much he’s enjoying this awesome weather?”

  We both looked down at Cupid, who was walking along between us with a definite spring in his step.

  “Yeah, well, I think his coat’s warmer than mine,” Hallie said, and I couldn’t argue with that. Cupid was wearing his warmest outfit—a deep red down jacket trimmed with faux rabbit fur that I’d dressed him in that morning.

  “How come you’re so grumpy today?” I asked Hallie. Even though I was usually the more cheerful one of the two of us, Hallie didn’t usually seem this blue.

  She sighed. “I guess I’m just not sure about this whole cheer-squad-tryout thing. I mean, I still don’t even know if I want to be on the team.”

  “Come on, Hallie, you’re going to be great!” I told her confidently. “And with Annie’s help, you’ll be a lock at the tryouts. She’s the team captain at the high school.”

  “I know, Ems. You’ve only told me nine thousand times. But that’s not what I was saying …”

  Just then, Cupid began barking excitedly, which was unusual for him. He’s more of a laid-back sniffer than a barker, unless he’s agitated or very happy.

  I looked up to see a moving van parked in front of the house next door to Annie’s. She must have been getting new neighbors. I realized that Cupid was barking at the teenage boy who had just pulled a chair out from the back of the truck.

  Cupid tugged on his leash, which he also never did. I yelped in surprise as the leash slipped out of my gloved hand. Then Cupid shot straight toward the boy.

  “Cupid!” I yelled, racing after him.

  The boy put down the chair and scooped up Cupid. My pug immediately started giving the boy a series of sloppy licks right on his face. I turned to Hallie in surprise. That was three strange things Cupid had just done, right in a row. Even though he’s very affectionate, he doesn’t normally “kiss” strangers. He mainly reserves his face licks for me or my neighbor Theo.

  Annie, no doubt hearing the commotion, opened her front door and stepped outside. As soon as he saw her, Cupid started to squirm in the boy’s arms. The boy let him go, saying to me, “I’m sorry—I was afraid he was going to jump down.”

  “It’s okay,” I called, and changed direction, since Cupid was now running straight for Annie. When she saw him on the loose, she started running too, and soon we were all standing in a circle, with Annie holding my very naughty dog, and getting some Cupid face kisses of her own.

  Annie giggled. “Emma, your dog is out of control.”

  “Not usually,” I told her, shaking my head, still confused about his odd behavior.

  “Hi,” the boy said. “I’m Mateo. We’re just moving in.” He pointed to the house next door to Annie’s.

  Annie looked up at him (she had to look up because he—Mateo—was very tall … and very cute) and I swear, the look on her face made it seem like she’d just been struck by lightning.

  “I’m Annie,” she told Mateo, her voice sounding a little breathless.

  The way she was looking at Mateo—and the way he was looking back at her—made me wonder … did they like each other? I glanced at Hallie, and her smile told me she was wondering the same thing.

  I knew Annie didn’t have a boyfriend. In a classic move, head cheerleader Annie had dated the quarterback of the high school’s football team for two years, but since the breakup with Nate, she had been single.

  I looked at my little pug in Annie’s arms, and I could almost swear he … winked at me. Or maybe he was just blinking. But Cupid had been the one to bring Annie and Mateo together.

  Wait a minute. Was he living up to his name?

  I stepped forward to take my pug from Annie so she could focus on getting to know Mateo. Though clearly someone needed to actually start the conversation, because they were both just staring at each other.

  “Welcome to Highbury, Mateo,” I said brightly. “I’m Emma, and this is my best friend, Hallie. Where did you move from?”

  Mateo shook his head, like he was remembering where he was, and turned to look at me. “We just moved from Baltimore,” he said.

  “Wow,” Hallie said. “Highbury’s going to be a huge change for you, then.”

  Highbury, Pennsylvania, is a very small town—but that’s part of why I love it so much. Technically I was born in another town (there’s no hospital right in Highbury), but besides that, I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve gone to school with almost all the same kids since kindergarten, and I know every part of the town as well as I know my own name. And I love that you don’t even really need a car in Highbury—you can walk basically everywhere.

  “Highbury is the most wonderful place in the world,” I jumped in to tell Mateo.

  An idea started forming in my mind. I glanced from Annie back to Mateo. “In fact, to fully appreciate it, you should have a local show you around. Annie, maybe you could help?”

  “Oh,” Annie said, blushing. “Sure. Are you starting at the high school tomorrow?” she asked Mateo, who nodded.

  “I’m a senior,” he said. “Still haven’t forgiven my parents for moving in the middle of the year.”

  “Oh no!” Annie said, her eyes going round. “I’m sorry. But Emma’s right—Highbury really is a great place, and I’ll introduce you to everyone at school. I’m a senior too,” she added. “You’ll have so many friends before you know it, I promise!”

  Cupid gave a short bark of agreement, and we all laughed.

  A loud voice came from the driveway next door.
“Were you just gonna dip out of the rest of this unloading nightmare or what?” The boy hollering at Mateo was clearly his younger brother. He looked just like him, only shorter.

  Mateo frowned at the other boy. “I was meeting some of our neighbors, Stain.”

  I frowned. His name was Stain?

  The boy wandered over to us. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Frankie Castillo. I see you’ve met my lazy big brother already.”

  I almost laughed at myself for not realizing right away that stain had been a big-brother insult.

  “I’m Emma,” I said, “and this is Hallie, and Annie. Oh, and Cupid. Welcome to Highbury!”

  I think Frankie rolled his eyes a little as he said, “Thanks.”

  “What grade are you in?” I asked him.

  “Seventh,” he said. “I know I look old for my age.”

  Mateo groaned out loud. “We know you sound stupid for your age,” he said to Frankie, then turned to the rest of us. “I apologize for the human stain otherwise known as my brother.”

  Mateo had been so nice and polite … until his little brother came along. At that moment, I was pretty glad to be an only child, or at least not to be anybody’s younger sister.

  “We’re in seventh too,” Hallie told Frankie, and he shrugged. I bristled. He didn’t seem very nice.

  “Boys, where are you?” a woman’s voice called from the garage. “Your dad and I need your help!”

  “Coming!” Frankie called in the direction of the garage. “See ya at school,” he told me and Hallie, before racing back toward his house.

  “I should go too,” Mateo said, but he looked very reluctant to leave Annie’s side.

  “I could come over and help,” Annie offered with a shy smile. “Except I promised these two …” She glanced apologetically at me and Hallie.

  “It’s okay!” both Hallie and I said at the same time.

  “We can meet up another day,” I added.

  “Let me just go tell my mom where I’ll be,” Annie told Mateo. She waved goodbye to me and Hallie, knelt down to give Cupid a quick kiss on the top of his head, and ran back toward her house. Mateo watched her go with a dreamy smile on his face. He didn’t even notice when Hallie and I said goodbye to him and walked off with Cupid trotting along between us.

  I turned to Hallie. “I’m sorry Annie bailed on the cheer squad prep,” I said.

  “It’s really fine,” Hallie said, and for the first time that day, she was smiling. “I actually told my mom I’d help her with some chores around the house today, so it works out better this way.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay with it?” I asked. “I can see if Annie would meet us tomorrow …”

  Hallie shook her head. “No, Emma. Really.” She took a deep breath and added, “I decided I’m not going to try out for the cheer squad.”

  My stomach dropped. I’d been talking Hallie into trying out for the cheer squad since last year. I just knew she’d be great at it. “Wait, what?” I said. “Now I feel terrible! I shouldn’t have suggested—”

  “No, Emma, look—you’re not listening to me, okay?” Hallie said, sounding frustrated. “I was seriously wavering on the whole idea anyway, and I’m taking this as a sign. I feel really … relieved now that I’ve decided not to do it. So, that should tell you something.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I tried not to let my disappointment show on my face. I thought I was being helpful, encouraging Hallie to try out. “You’d be amazing, though … I mean, you’re such a good dancer.”

  We turned onto my street, with Cupid stopping occasionally to sniff at a tree root.

  “Thanks,” Hallie said. “But I think I’m more of a freestyler than a choreo girl. I’ll still get a chance to tear it up at the dance next month.” She shot me a grin.

  “Yeah, you will!” I said, newly excited. Next month was the Valentine’s Day dance at school, something Hallie and I had both been looking forward to. We’d gone together last year, and it had been a blast.

  “I was even wondering,” Hallie added, and her cheeks turned pink—but not from the cold. “If we might end up bringing dates this year? I heard from Autumn Hawkins that in seventh grade it’s practically a requirement to have a date to the Valentine’s dance.”

  “Really?” I said, surprised. I hadn’t thought about that part of the dance. I bit my lip. Who could Hallie and I take as dates? We definitely didn’t have boyfriends.

  But thinking about dates reminded me of Annie and Mateo, and I turned to Hallie with a smile. “Can you believe what happened with Annie and that new boy?” I asked. “It was just so amazing how Cupid—”

  “Set them up? Yeah, I caught that too.” Hallie laughed.

  I picked Cupid up and put his little wrinkly face close to mine. “You’re a wonder pup, yes, you are! I must have had a premonition when I named you Cupid. You’re basically a matchmaker.”

  We had reached my house, so Hallie gave me a hug and rubbed Cupid’s head before turning to go back to her house.

  Now, sitting in my bedroom with Cupid in my lap, a few hours after the Annie/Mateo meet-cute, I thought back to how my pug had gotten his name. My dad is a professor of ethics and philosophy at a small college in the neighboring town. He’s a huge fan of everything from the classical period, so I grew up learning all about Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates—but also all about the ancient gods and goddesses like Mars, Cupid, and Venus. When I finally talked my father into letting me have a dog for my tenth birthday, Cupid seemed like the perfect name. After all, one look into his big, round brown eyes and I felt like I’d been hit with one of the love god’s arrows. From the first moment I saw him, I loved that pug more than words could ever say.

  Forgetting about my journal entry for the moment, I scratched Cupid under his chin. “You’re the best matchmaking pug in the whole world,” I told him. I didn’t actually know of any other matchmaking pugs in the world, so it seemed a safe bet. “The best!”

  “You are going to give that little dog a very big ego,” said a voice from the doorway, and I jumped in surprise.

  “Oh, Dad—I didn’t see you there!” I said. I stood up from my desk, scooping Cupid into my arms.

  Dad didn’t usually surprise me—he was too tall to do much sneaking around. He was skinny, and his kind expression meant no one was ever intimidated by him. As usual, his dark hair was sticking in all directions because he was constantly running his hands through it.

  “I’m sorry I startled you, sweetie,” Dad said. “I came up to tell you that Theo is here. His family just got back from their trip.”

  “Finally!” I said. “I still can’t believe he missed New Year’s!” But Dad didn’t respond because I was already rushing past him and heading downstairs, Cupid at my heels.

  Theo and I had been friends ever since he moved to the neighborhood when I was in first grade. His parents are both archaeologists, so they often travel all over the world with Theo in tow. They were supposed to be back yesterday, in time for the neighborhood New Year’s party, which Dad and I had hosted this year.

  “Where are you?” I called when I reached the bottom of the stairway and didn’t see Theo in his customary spot in our living room.

  “Kitchen,” Theo said, and I rounded the corner to find Theo leaning against the counter. His dark brown hair was in need of a cut; it swooped low over his green eyes.

  “Finally you make it downstairs,” Theo said. He put down the sandwich he’d already somehow made to kneel and pet Cupid, whose little tail was wagging with joy. I sighed. When you have an utterly adorable dog, you get used to being greeted second.

  “Nice to see you too,” I said as I watched Cupid enthusiastically lick Theo’s face.

  “I missed good old American sandwiches,” Theo said, standing up and taking a huge bite of the one he’d made.

  “Well, we missed you at the party last night,” I said. Cupid trotted back over to me and I lifted him into my arms so he could lick my cheek.

  “Ourfly waz drayed.”
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  “Maybe you should finish chewing before you talk,” I told Theo.

  He swallowed the giant bite. “Our flight was delayed. And we were at this really small airport in western Egypt. There were no places to get food, and we were afraid to leave the airport in case our flight was called.”

  “You guys stopped for food somewhere on the way home, though?”

  Theo swallowed another big bite. “Yeah, but I was still hungry.”

  “Of course,” I said with a laugh. I sat down on one of our kitchen barstools as Theo resumed eating his sandwich. I set Cupid down, and he curled up around the stool’s legs.

  “So how was the party?” Theo asked. “What did you and Cupid wear? Did you do an outfit change halfway through like you were hosting the Oscars?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I wore one very nice sparkly black dress, thank you very much. And Cupid looked smashing in his matching suit. Didn’t you, boy?”

  Cupid barked in agreement.

  “You get through the hosting duties without having a meltdown?” Theo asked, taking a big swig from the can of sparkling water he’d also found in our fridge.

  “What do you mean?” I said huffily. “It was just the neighborhood party. We have the same food and games every year.” Theo was one whole year older than me, a fact he never failed to bring up on an almost-daily basis. And he liked to act “older and wiser” whenever he had the chance.

  “I know, but you do get kind of intense when it comes to planning events,” Theo said with a mischievous smile.

  I watched him polish off one of the three pickles he’d chosen to go with his second dinner. “I do not ‘get intense,’” I told him. “Anyway, you missed the entire event, so you don’t get to say anything about it.”

  “I’m sorry, Em. I wanted to be there. I know I missed our annual trivia game.”

  I shrugged and tore off a paper towel to pass to him.

  “I should get out of here,” Theo said as he finished his sandwich in two big bites. “I have a ton of homework to do. Although I forgot to bring my science book and my math notebook home from school before my trip.”

  I cleared my throat and pointed at the other end of the counter, where a neat pile of Theo’s schoolbooks was stacked.