Page 25 of Under the Mistle-Foe

Jett was now looking at Spice with a contemplative expression. He glanced up and met my gaze. I would tell him to pick these two, it was obviously meant to be, but I wasn’t the one doing the fostering, and I didn’t have any weight to make decisions for him.

Our eyes locked for another second before he turned to Elias and stated, “I’ll take these two home with me.” My opinion of him grew even more.

Elias was ecstatic about the foster match, to say the least. We followed him to the front, with both Sugar and Spice inhand, then settled them into the carrier Jett brought. Sugar obediently climbed in herself, and while Spice was a bit more reluctant, he soon followed his sister in. Thankfully, Jett had the foresight to bring a bigger carrier that allowed the two to fit comfortably inside.

I stayed with the cats while Elias took Jett to go through the formal procedures. It didn’t take long for Jett to return with clearance for us to leave.

When we hopped into my car, Jett insisted on holding the carrier in his lap. He opened the flap at the top and stuck a hand inside to play with the cats. The cats instantly molded their bodies around his hand like water and cuddled together. The purring started again.

Jett and I turned to each other at the same time and burst out in laughter. Not too loud, though, so we didn’t disturb the sleepy felines. Our happiness rang out in the car, and there was a gentle warmness that filled inside of me.

Being here with Jett? It felt good. And I hadn’t felt good like this in a long time.

“You’re a nice guy, Jett. I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

CHAPTER 11

JETT

How coulda smile be devastatingly handsome and yet break my heart at the same time? Or maybe that was his devious plan, to look all charming while delivering the fatal blow to my ego.

I wasnice. And he was glad to have me as afriend. What was that saying?

Nice guys finish last.

They never got the girl in the end—or in my case, I’d never get the man. The man I’d been crushing on for way longer than I should have.

What sucked even more was the tiny glimmer of hope he would dangle over my head only to splash freezing water on me.

Like how yesterday he was all cute when asking what my plans were for today. Or the fact he’d actually come with me to the animal shelter, and the entire time it felt like we were fostering these catstogether.

Even if I was doing this alone, I’d be the best damn foster parent they’d ever seen, but it was the principle of the matter.He couldn’t be all eager to hang out with me, making today feel like a date, and then call me hisfriend.

What was worse was the way he got excited about going to the store to buy things for Sugar and Spice. We brought the cats into the store with us, setting them inside the cart as Remy dragged us all over to find bedding, toys, and all sorts of things for them. Christmas Falls didn’t have a wide selection, but we found everything they needed.

While I stocked up on food for the fur babies, Remy disappeared. He returned not too long after with matching Christmas collars with bows—one red, one green. His eyes sparkled as he insisted on buying it for them, saying it was a gift from Uncle Remy.

My tortuous mind kept wondering why he couldn’t be Daddy Remy.

With all the items in tow, we checked out and stuffed his car full with all the cat stuff. He was still brimming with excitement as he made the short drive back to my place. I was half-listening to him, but I was mostly lost in thought and self-pitying as I petted my foster babies. Spice had stayed calm through this entire adventure, probably due to having his sister help comfort him.

“Jett, you okay?”

It wasn’t until I heard Remy’s question that I realized the car had stopped moving and we were parked outside my house already.

Remy was watching me now with worry lining his face. I quickly put on a smile—anything that would hide my emotions. “I’m fine. Was just thinking about if I needed to cat-proof the house.”

His brows furrowed. “Are you sure? Your smile seems off.”

Damn him for being attentive enough to know when Iwas faking a smile. Why did he have to go and make me like him more when what I needed was the exact opposite?

“It’s nothing. Just got tired all of a sudden.” The skeptical look he shot me said he didn’t fully believe me, but that was the story I was going to stick with. “Let me get the stuff out of your car and I can be out of your hair.”

I was out of the passenger’s seat before he could reply and placed the cat carrier inside the house first. Remy was close behind me, helping me bring in all the items I’d purchased.

It took another few trips before we got everything inside. My body was still on autopilot, trying not to think about Remy and how kind he was being or how cute it was that he’d stop to tease the cats before heading out to grab another load from the car.

I wanted nothing more than to invite him to stay to play with the cats. Maybe I could even get him to spend the night…

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