Page 20 of Just Between Us

My chin jutted out. “I can be alluring.”

Sylvie nearly choked on her water, and I cast her a glare.

“Well, what do you think?” I pinned Veda with a heated look.

Her eyes flicked down, then back up, a challenging smirk painted on her pretty face. “You cross a black cat and you’re bound to get scratched.”

Lark laughed and clapped. “Exactly!”

My eyes didn’t leave Veda’s as I studied her features. There was something about her snippy banter that drew me in—something oddly comforting and familiar.

And then it clicked.

Sparks danced under my skin. I raised an eyebrow in challenge. “I don’t know what you’re smirking at over there, little Miss Black Cat.”

She blanched, all color draining from her face as her movements went still. Her eyes whipped to mine, intensity flaring in their jade-green depths.

Confirmation sparked in the back of my brain, lighting me up.

Could it ... ? No. No way in hell the woman I’ve been obsessing over actually found her way into my small town.

My heart raced as I realized the pieces of her personality fit perfectly together.

“I think I’m a pug or something.” MJ sighed. “Black cats are so cool.”

Lark’s eyes bounced between my narrowed gaze and Veda, who was rooted to her seat but looked like she wanted to die on the spot. “We all just met our new guest. I’m sure Veda could speak to her own energy without us making silly assumptions.”

Veda offered Lark a tight, appreciative smile, but my eyes didn’t leave Veda’s face. I had to know if it was really her. “I don’t know ... black cats have always been my favorite. They’repreciousto me.”

Veda’s gaze lowered to the back of my hand. The muscles in her neck worked as she visibly gulped.

My heart skidded to a stop inside my chest.

Well, I’ll be damned.

My eyes pinned her in place as the corner of my mouth lifted into a cocky smirk.

I see you, MsBlackCat.

Defiance flashed in her eyes as she recovered, her cool expression masking what I can only imagine was an internal freak-out, because it was plain as day that we bothknew. “Black cat energy has its place. It’s especially helpful when some men are all talk and no action.”

Excitement tittered under my skin.MsBlackCathad admitted that my last video had left her wanting more, and Veda’s comments all but confirmed it was her.

I chuffed out a small laugh.

Challenge officially accepted.

Outing our online personas wasn’t something I was willing to do publicly. I needed time to plan—to plot.

So instead I diverted the conversation to lighten the mood and lifted my chin. “Duke knows all kinds of cat facts ... right, man?”

Duke’s eyes sliced to mine from a few seats down the table. A muscle in his jaw popped, and I couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin that spread across my face.

Once upon a time I had used his phone number to subscribe and receive excessive cat facts texts. It drove him nuts.

Sylvie had once let it slip that she used to tease him about it back when no one knew they were friends, so maybe, in a roundabout way, I had played a small part in her falling in love.

My sister’s hand flew to her mouth to cover the giggle that burst from her. Her husband grumbled but his eyes softened when they landed on his wife. They exchanged whispers, and when he leaned in to kiss Sylvie, my chest pinched.

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