Page 26 of Under the Mistle-Foe

That didn’t happen, of course. Instead, I was being a rude host by keeping Remy in the entryway. I couldn’t let him into my space when my emotions were feeling this big.

Who knew if I’d do or say something that would effectively end this friendship? And god, even if my longing for him was slowly killing me inside, I still wanted to at least be friends with him.

“So…” I started. We stood by the entranceway, staring at each other and shifting on our feet. “Thanks for coming with me today, and for helping me get everything for the babies.”

Remy tucked his hand in his pants pocket. A piece of his long hair fell over his face and he reached up to tuck it behind his ear. “I can stay and help you set everything up?”

The earnestness in his question had my self-control wavering. I wondered if I would ever be able to build an immunity to this man. To one day be in the same room ashim and just see him the same as everyone else. But that day wasn’t today.

“Maybe another time? I think it’s best if I get the cats settled in first,” I replied.

Remy looked almost…dejected by my answer. I told myself not to read too much into it or get my hopes up yet again, because I would only end up getting hurt in the end. So I turned away and forced myself to look at the cats.

Focus on the cats and don’t look at Remy. Don’t look at him.

I’d heard cats slept most of the day away, and it was obviously true since Sugar and Spice were still cuddled up together and sleeping inside the carrier.

Honestly, I was surprised these babies weren’t fostered out sooner. Sure, Spice had a littlespiceto him, but they were pretty chill overall. Not to mention so freaking adorable.

“Okay.” It took everything in me not to look at him at the sound of his soft voice. He didn’t have the stereotypical smoker’s rasp, but it was smooth like velvet and sounded so good to my ears. “I’ll see you tomorrow then? At the diner?”

This time I did look up, because why was there a hint of desperation in his tone? What did it mean when your crush, who made it a point to categorize you as a friend, wanted to see you every day?

There was also the fact that I had no clue what his type was. Sexuality wasn’t a huge deal around these parts—another reason why I loved Christmas Falls. The residents here didn’t care who you loved. It didn’t need to be announced like it was a big deal, because it wasn’t. Everyone was accepted.

I realized the only issue with that mentality was that I had no way of knowing Remy’s preferences unless I straight-up asked him, and there was no way in hell I was doing that. Because what if he told me he was straight? What if he wasn’t…

I couldn’t really be too sure, because I’d never seen him dateanyone. In high school, he was always so focused on his dream of taking over the diner from his dad. He was there every day after school, diligently helping around the place like the little boss.

His smiles were more carefree back then, though I’d seen hints of the old him in the past few days. Less stressed, lessgrumpy.

He was anything but grumpy at this moment. More vulnerable as he quietly waited for my reply and watched me with those shiny eyes. How was I supposed to do anything but agree with whatever he wanted?

Remy left with another one of his carefree smiles, while I stood there feeling a little lost and a whole lot hopeless. But I wasn’t able to stay in my thoughts for long before the meowing started.

Sugar and Spice were finally up from their third nap since I’d met them and were eager to leave the carrier.

I comforted them in a baby voice—because who didn’t talk to their pets like they were babies? Then brought them to the downstairs spare room. I’d read online that it was best to have cats settled inside a smaller room first before introducing them to the entire house.

They sniffed every corner of the room while I brought in all their items: bowls, litter box, cat tree, cat beds, window perch, every single toy the store had, and the collars Remy had bought them.

I hadn’t intended on getting collars for them since it seemed too much like claiming them when I was only fostering them until the animal shelter was fully back up and running.

Glancing at the happy kitties once again snuggled up together in the cat bed looking so darn cute, then at thecollars in my hand, I sighed. I could already smell a foster fail brewing.

Two hours later, I’d gotten everything inside the room organized as well as the cat tree set up. Sugar and Spice had taken to the thing immediately, climbing up and down the towers while wearing their little Christmas bow collars. Remy had good taste.

And there I went, thinking about the man again. Even when he wasn’t with me in person, he stayed in the vicinity of my thoughts. I set up my laptop inside the cat room, thinking work might distract me.

As soon as I settled into the chair, Sugar climbed onto my lap and made herself at home. Not to be left out, Spice jumped on the table and whacked my laptop screen, probably curious about the contraption.

“Not your toy,” I gently scolded him and moved him to the side of me so that I could work.

I only managed to wake up my laptop before Spice waltzed his way over again and sat squarely on my keyboard. He slowly turned his head toward me with a glare that practically yelled, ‘I dare you try to move me!’

I laughed and gave him little headscritches, which he graciously allowed. It didn’t seem like I was going to get much work done today, but I was completely willing to work overtime if it meant I kept these little babies happy.

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Sugar and Spiceand, most importantly, not thinking about Remy. The cats helped some with that issue, though I couldn’t say I was entirely successful in keeping the sexy man from my thoughts.

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