The Needs of Human Pets

Sawyer is done. After the death of his only friend—his dog, Lawson—the weight of loneliness is too much to bear. Standing on the bridge, ready to end it all, he’s interrupted by a stranger with piercing eyes who claims to be his new pet and comes with an impossible A name.
Without thinking, Sawyer "Velvet."
Cold, hungry, and infuriatingly demanding, Velvet forces Sawyer to postpone his plans. Taking him home is one thing—keeping him is another. Velvet is particular, unpredictable, and utterly impossible to please. Yet, as days pass, a fragile rhythm forms between them. Velvet follows Sawyer everywhere—work, the park, even his bed—until Sawyer’s empty life is suddenly, inexplicably, full again.
Then, one morning, Velvet is gone.
The man Sawyer tracks down is nothing like the pet he knew. Cold, impatient, and distant, this Velvet doesn’t remember their shared warmth—or doesn’t care to. The choice Sawyer faces now is harder than the one on the walk away and return to the emptiness, or fight for a man who may never again be his.
An entangling, unconventional love story about grief, healing, and the things—and people—we save along the way.