Page 96 of The Plus One Professional

“She doesn’t like men,” I said. Loudly. I wasn’t sure if I was actually yelling or if it just sounded like that in my head.

Either way, Cole ignored me and started petting Whiskey behind the ears. She not only allowed him to, but she started purring and rubbing her face into his palm. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“What are you the cat whisperer?”

He glanced up at me, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin that had my lady parts tingling.

“Oh, I get it. Cat. Pussy.” I pointed to my vagina. “The cat whisperer.”

He chuckled and then turned his attention back to my furry babies.Furrybabies. Now, everything sounded dirty in my mind.

“And what are your names?” he asked.

“May I present Lady Whiskerdown and The Duke of Pawstings,” I said in my best fancy accent.

“Someone is a fan of Bridgerton,” he commented.

“You watch Bridgerton?”

“My sister loves it.” He said as he stood. Duke and Whiskey followed behind him like ducklings after their mom. Cole walked right to the fridge, pulled a few things out, then opened several cabinets before grabbing a loaf of bread.

“What are you doing?” I asked him as I sat down at the kitchen table, almost missing my seat. Thankfully, I managed to land one thigh on the edge and pull myself the rest of the way.

“I’m making you a grilled cheese sandwich and some coffee.”

“Hmm.” I held my thumb up. “Yes on the grill cheese, no on the coffee.” I turned my thumb upside down and blew a raspberry.

Why did I just blow a raspberry? I couldn’t remember ever blowing a raspberry in my life.

I watched as Cole moved around my kitchen and felt myself getting emotional. I meant to lean forward on the tabletop, but instead, my hand slapped on it loudly—so loud that it scared Duke, who ran out of the room.

Cole did not seem spooked. He just looked over his shoulder and casually asked, “You okay?”

“Do you know that no man has ever cooked for me?”

“Then you’ve been with the wrong men.”

I let out a forced laugh. “Yeah, ya think?”

He looked serious as he flipped the bread with a spatula. I decided to rest my head on the table. I laid my cheek against the flat, cool surface and closed my eyes. Then, I started floating. Floating away.

“You need to eat.” A deep voice interrupted my floating.

I opened my eyes and saw Cole standing with a plate and a grilled cheese sandwich on it. As much as I wanted to float again, the cheesy bread did look and smell really good. My mouth watered, so I sat up and put it in my mouth. The first bite I sank my teeth into tasted like heaven. I decided to lay my head back down and eat. Eat and float. Float and eat. That was the last conscious thought I had.

40

COLE

Bailey’s headrested in my lap as I ran my fingers through her hair. Her eyes were closed, and she was softly breathing. She’d been asleep for a few hours, and I’d spent that time just being happy to be with her again. I wasn’t sure what had caused her to get so drunk, but I was glad I’d shown up when I did.

Lady Whiskerdown, who had been curled up asleep by my head on the back of the couch, stood, stretched, and jumped down, using Bailey’s legs as a springboard. The movement caused Bailey to stir. Her eyes flickered open. When she saw me, I could see that there was confusion in her gaze.

I grinned down at her as I continued running my fingers through her hair. “Morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?”

“Okay.” She blinked up at me. “What time is it?”

I glanced beside me at the armrest where my phone was sitting. “It’s just now four.”

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