Page 100 of Interference

I was just a dumbass.

In no time, we’d finished putting everything away. I grabbed my luggage and the bag full of toiletries, went upstairs to put it all in my bedroom, and then came back down to join him and the animals.

“You want some lunch?” I asked. “I was thinking of being lazy and doing DoorDash.”

Wyatt nodded toward the bowl in the sink. “I just ate, but if you’re ordering from that place with the frozen coffees, I’ll take one.”

I grinned. “You like those, don’t you?”

“Fuck yeah, I do.” He gestured down the hall. “I can grab some cash for the coffee and the tip if—”

“Nah.” I waved it away and took out my phone. “I’ve got it.”

I placed an order, and while we waited, we chilled on the couch. He caught me up on everything my cats had done while I was gone, and I loved the way he laughed when he told me about Lily and Bear both getting the zoomies and tearing through the house.

“The funniest part,” he said between chuckles, “was the way Moose just watched them like, ‘you guys are so undignified.’” He gestured at the cat tree. “And then five minutes later, he’s losing his mind over one of those catnip fish toys.”

I laughed too. “Yeah, that sounds like him. He thinks Bear is the least dignified creature on the planet, but then he turns around and acts like a complete idiot.” I shot Moose a look. “You’re a hypocrite, cat. Did you know that?”

He peered down at me with the same look he often gave Bear.

Wyatt just laughed, shaking his head. “I never knew cats could be this entertaining.”

“Never a dull moment. Even when they’re sleeping.”

“Yeah, true.” He turned a fond smile on Bear, who was sprawled along the back of the couch. “I wish I’d gotten a picture of him and Lily curled up last night.”

“Aww, really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. He kind of laid down half on top of her, and she was like, ‘Dad, the big kitty is squishing me!’” He patted his dog’s shoulder. “Two minutes later, she’s got her head on him and they’re both snoring.”

“Sounds about right. I’m glad they get along.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

We exchanged smiles, and my heart did some weird fluttery things that I didn’t think were entirely because of the cute stories about our pets.

I didn’t think they were? Yeah, right. I couldn’t deny the effect Wyatt was having on me. I still wasn’t sure if this was genuine attraction, never mind mutual attraction, but whatever it was… I liked it. He was fun to talk to. He was just chill and great to be around.

When I’d told him before that I liked having him and Lily here, that had been a serious understatement. This house had been empty and cold ever since Simon moved out, but then Wyatt had shown up and breathed new life into it.

I had no idea how long he’d ultimately stay here.

But I hoped he didn’t plan on leaving any time soon.

Chapter 28

Wyatt

I wasn’t going to say a word about the condoms Bear had knocked off the counter earlier, but that didn’t mean they were out of my mind.

I could read between the lines. Anthony and Simon had been together long enough, they’d probably ditched rubbers ages ago. Then Anthony had come home after rooming with his ex for two nights, armed with a box of Trojans.

Somebody was on the prowl. I didn’t think he’d met anyone—he wasn’t looking at his phone every twelve seconds or getting that dreamy, faraway expression people got when they were counting down the minutes before they saw someone. He didn’t have that loopy little smile after every glance at the screen.

Was it wrong that I hoped to God he met his hookups someplace else? It was his house and he had every right to fuck anyone and everyone here. I was in absolutely no position to even wish he’d go to their place or a hotel or something, because holy shit, that would make the me one hell of a choosing beggar. The man was putting me up and keeping me off the streets; hearing him getting laid was the smallest price to pay.

I just wasn’t sure there my elbow would survive the amount of jacking off it would take to stay sane while Anthony was having sex under the same roof.

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