Page 5 of Finally Moore

“Stray?” Jax asks as he strolls up the back alley.

“Nah, she seems clean. At least I think she’s a little too groomed to be a stray.”

Jax watches from a distance as the cat continues to purr and snuggle against me. “It seems to like you.”

“It probably smells food.” I love cooking but the downside is that everything I wear smells like whatever I’ve been prepping for the day.

“Or maybe this is the universe’s answer to you quitting dating.”

I roll my eyes for the second time this morning. “Seriously, I told her that like an hour ago.”

“Yup, and I’ve spent the past sixty minutes listening to her cry that you’re going to die a lonely, grumpy, old man while waiting for some woman to leave her husband. Guess we can add crazy cat dude to the list?”

“It’s not mine,” I remind him.

“No, but it sure seems convenient that you declare you’re throwing in the towel, then BAM! This cat shows up. One that clearly loves you.”

“I’m not throwing in the towel, just waiting.” I pick up the furball in question. I expected it to try to bolt, but instead it curls up in my arms.

“See?” Jax waves a hand in my direction.

“It’s cold,” I attempt to justify, because I refuse to believe that the universe is condemning me to become the crazy cat dude in town. I mean, it would kind of be nice to have someone to come home to after a long day…

Nope, don’t go there, Scott.

I’m not letting my best friend and his dramatic wife get into my head. This is not some destiny thing. Besides, as a chef, owning a cat is unsanitary. I shiver at the thought of being constantly covered in pet hair, having this furball crawl all over my counters…

Maybe a dog?At least that solves one of two problems. Can’t do much about the hair but my counters would be safe.

No.I’m not getting an animal to replace the human companionship I’m obviously lacking.

“Yeah, speaking of cold, where’s your coat?”

I shrug. “Kitchen’s hot. Besides, I was just running out the garbage. Wasn’t planning on building a snowman,” I tell him, and Jax bursts out laughing. “What?”

“It’s fucking perfect.”

“What is?” My brows knit in confusion. It’s official. The back-to-back pregnancies have caused my best friend to go insane. It’s the only viable explanation for his sudden hysterics.

“Well, your sister has always said if you’re lonely—”

“I’m not getting a fucking cat,” I grumble.

“No?” He arches a brow. “Because it sure looks like you are.”

“Fuck off. It’s freezing. Obviously this thing is too clean and friendly to be a barn or stray cat, so it must belong to someone. Go inside, grab my jacket and keys, and tell Gia she’s in charge while I’m out.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the vet. See if this giant fluffball has one of those chips or something that says who owns her. Or, hell, maybe the staff will recognize it.”

Jax eyes the cat for a moment. “I doubt it. It looks like your average, fat house cat.”

“Still, it’s worth a shot.” As a bonus, it gets me out of this annoying conversation.

When it comes to my surface-deep brothers, Robbie and Jake, I expect this. Those two nitwits wouldn’t know romance if it bit them on the ass—it truly is a wonder they found women willing to put up with their shit. But to hear my sister and Jax, individuals who value and appreciate romance just as much as I do, completely dismiss what I’m doing… well, it’s making me wonder if I’m just a big fucking lovesick fool…

No. This is just temporary. I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but when Amanda is free, I’ll be right here waiting for her. I’ve spent the past year going on enough shitty dates to know this particular woman is worth the effort.

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