Page 54 of Accidentally Amy

“No.” He raised his eyebrows and gave me a Stern Daddy look. “I hate these little pains in the asses, but it’s easier to just do what they want so they shut up and leave me alone.”

I tried not to smile, but it was impossible. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he said firmly, and I coughed to cover my laugh.

He walked the food over to a mat in the corner, where he dropped the bowl and the cat. Another cat—Hole, I presumed—appeared out of nowhere to join Goodyear for the feast.

“I think I can handle this. Doesn’t look too tough,” I said, watching them go to town on their food. I glanced over at Blake, and he was loosening his tie. I felt frozen for a second, immobilized by the movement that seemed intimate, like something I shouldn’t be seeing.

I said, “If you want to go change out of your work clothes, I promise not to rifle through your things.”

“But can I believe you?” he teased, pulling off his tie and unbuttoning that restrictive top button. I heard his words, but my eyes were stuck on his throat. They didn’t want to move, for some reason, but I blinked fast and forced them up.

“Sure,” I managed, slightly dizzy. “Why wouldn’t you?”

He raised an eyebrow, reminding both of us of my Scooter’s theft, and I rolled my eyes.

“Okay,” he said. “But if I catch you digging, there will be consequences.”

“So intimidating,” I quipped.

His phone rang as I said it, and when he took it out of his pocket and looked at the display, he let out a little groan. “I have to take this—it’s work.”

“Perfect. Go take it in your room but shut the door so I can rifle in peace.”

He gave me a look that wasalmosta smile before raising the phone to his ear. “This is Blake.”

Blake

When I walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later, I didn’t expect to seethat.

Izzy was sitting on the island, dangling her legs back and forth while eating a slice of pizza and watching another old episode ofTop Chefon my TV.

It wasn’t that she was doing anything unusual or wrong, itwas that she looked so unbelievably at home. Like she belonged there.

I got that fucking buzz in my gut that I’d been interpreting as an annoying don’t-be-an-idiot alarm bell as I approached her.

“I like your shirt,” she said, giving me a smart-ass smile as her eyes stayed on my Frank ReynoldsSo anyway I started blastingT-shirt.

“I’ve got basketball tonight, and this is our uniform,” I explained.

“So it’s obviously quite serious,” she said, grabbing a half-empty bottle of Stella from the counter and lifting it to her mouth. “Want one of your beers?”

“Yes. Thank you so much.” I walked over to the fridge and grabbed one, then returned to the island. The bottle opener was beside her on the counter—rightbeside her—and her smell engulfed me as I grabbed it and uncapped the beer.

What the fuck was that—shampoo? Lotion? Perfume? It was like vanilla and baby powder but hot.

“Your cats love me now, by the way,” she said, and I had no idea if she was kidding or not.

But it was always that way with her.

“Do they,” I said, opening the pizza box and grabbing a slice.

“Well, no—but they will. I have a plan,” she said, picking up a crust from her plate.

“And that would be…?” I asked, raising the piece to my mouth while watching her nose crinkle as she grinned at me. I was still fucking obsessed with her nose crinkles.

She tilted her head. “Between me and the boys.”

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