Page 44 of Alfie: Part Two

I was impressed. Three days had passed without her changing the cat’s name.

She’d originally wanted a girl cat, but none had been available at the shelter—well, no kittens. She definitely wanted a kitten. But rather than waiting a while—the horror—she’d decided she wanted a boy cat. Who had since borne the names Max, Oliver, Bob, Shorty, and Poppy.

Alfie sent Colby and Trip up with the food, then made a beeline for me, and I could sense what he wanted. I wrapped him in a tight hug and didn’t let go.

“She will come around.” I kissed the side of his head. “I know that much. We just need to give her some more time.”

“How can you know?” he asked dully.

“Because I saw her today.” I cupped his face in my hands and pressed my forehead to his. “She misses you. She still tries to sling the bullshit where you’re the angel who gets coerced by the devil.”

A bit of mirth flashed in his gorgeous eyes, and he fought a smile. “Iampretty fucking angelic.”

I chuckled through my nose and brushed my lips to his. “No, you’re definitely not, my love.”

An angel would bore me half to death in a matter of weeks.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and he locked his arms around my neck.

“Thank you. I needed this moment.”

“Anytime.” I smooched his cheeks. “What’s for dinner? It smells fantastic.”

“Because you and Ellie are obsessed with the place and it happens to be close,” he chuckled. “Care to guess?”

Oh, I already knew, and someone was getting off twice tonight.

“I love you, I love you, let’s eat.” I gave him a hard kiss before I went to grab utensils. “Ellie! Let’s head upstairs! Daddy bought Sunday gravy!”

“Sunday gravyyy!” she cheered. “Sunday gravy, Sunday gravy, Sunday gravy!”

Damn. I guessed I didn’t have to ask if that was something they still ordered from time to time—or if she remembered liking it when she was little.

“In other words, you didn’t stop going there after our divorce.” I pretended to be a bit peeved, when, in reality, I only felt a little sad we’d missed out on our old traditions for so long.

We had a lot of catching up to do.

“It’s literally one block away, papi. But if it makes you feel any better, it was always Ellie’s demand when we drove past the place.”

That did help.

Halfway through dinner, the sun had set, and Ellie and Trip were done and wanted to watch a movie in Alfie’s bed—ourbed. It wasjust on the other side of the terrace doors, so it was nice to have them close just in case.

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with a three-story home. If Ellie was on the first floor, we wouldn’t know if something happened, and we wouldn’t hear her if she called. But when the option was bath time, I didn’t have to worry about them ending their movie night anytime soon. They’d stall for as long as they could. They even agreed on a movie without fussing, and that was a miracle.

“Don’t tell Daddy I let Poppy up here.” I settled the little cat on Ellie’s lap and had to take a picture of the three of them, all cuddled up under the covers.

“He’s gonna know if you show him the picture,” Trip said.

“So it’ll be our secret.” I smiled at the photo before pocketing my phone. “Enjoy your movie. We’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

“Daddy?” Ellie asked. “Was Shorty a better name? Daddy and Uncle Liam liked that.”

Gee, I wondered why. Wasn’t it a common nickname for Italian wiseguys?

“The important thing is whatyouprefer,” I told her.

She chewed on her lip and returned her attention to Poppy. He was a gray, stripey little thing with blue eyes and white paws, and I had to admit, I was warming up to having a pet around again.

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