Page 24 of Baby I'm Yours

With that in mind—Hunter may act cold and untouchable, but he’s obviously having a hard time facing his mother’s death—I give the Captain one last squeeze. “Okay. I’ll take him inside and be right back.”

“I’ll load your bag,” he says, frowning when he grabs the handle and finds it clearly much heavier than he anticipated.

But he doesn’t say a word, only carries it toward the open trunk the driver must have popped from the inside.

The cat café is quiet when I enter through the back door. The morning regulars are long gone and our after-school crowd won’t hit for another hour or two. Kira looks up from where she’s restocking the pastry case, her eyes widening as she watches me carry the Captain over to the cat play structure, where he immediately leaps into action, exploring like the overgrown kitten he is.

“What’s up?” she asks. “I thought you guys were leaving for the airport at one.”

“I am butwearen’t.” I sigh and force a wobbly smile. “Turns out the trip isn’t cat-friendly. Is it okay if I leave him here with you?”

“Of course,” she says, nodding harder as her cousin, Kit, appears behind her. “The more the merrier. We’ll keep an eye on the Captain and everything running smoothly until you get back. No worries.”

If I get back, I think. Aloud, I warn, “Just remember he’s a wild and unrepentant humper. And super gay.”

“Aw, me too, Captain. We’re going to get along great.” Kit gives a thumbs up, her green eyes crinkling at the edges.

The joke makes us all laugh, banishing some of the sadness.

“If he gets too aggressive with the other boy cats,” I continue, “you can put him in a time-out in the kitten zone in the back. The kittens are big enough to fend for themselves now. They don’t really need a protected place to sleep the way they used to. Usually, after he’s been in time-out for a while, the Captain will calm down and remember how to respect boundaries.”

“We can handle it,” Kira assures me. “I promise, everything will be fine. Go. Have an amazing adventure in the city. You deserve it.”

Kira thinks I’m heading to New York for a six-month French pastry intensive with a famous chef. I wonder if she’d be as supportive if she knew what I’m really up to…

I have no idea, but I can’t tell her.

I can’t tell anyone, not even when this is all over. The contract I signed yesterday makes that very,veryclear. I can’t even tell my friends I’m in the city until much later in the process. In the meantime, I will basically be held captive in Hunter’s apartment aside from visits to his mother’s place.

And I’m sure it’s a very nice apartment, but still…

I walk back outside to where Hunter waits by the car, feeling adrift without the Captain snuggled in my arms.

I’m really on my own now. On my own, and on my way to a brand-new place, where I won’t know anyone except this thrilling, terrifying, maybe as-bad-as-he-keeps-telling-me-he-is man in the fancy suit waiting for me by that big black car…

Hunter opens the back door for me. On my way into the shadowed cab, I catch the briefest glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes before his usual, bored-and-above-it-all mask slides back into place.

He’s nervous, too. This is just as real—and maybe nearly as terrifying—for him as it is for me.

Somehow, that makes me feel better.

“Ready?” he asks as he slides into the leather seat beside me.

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I nod. “As I’ll ever be.”

He shuts the door behind us, sharp and decisive, before calling through the tinted partition between us and the driver, “To the airport, please.”

As the car pulls away, I resist the urge to look back at the café.

At my old life.

Instead, I look forward. Toward whatever comes next.

After all, when one is potentially walking straight into a shit storm, it’s best to keep an eye out for…shit.

Hunter

The plane sits on the tarmac, its engines idling as we wait for clearance to takeoff. Elaina’s gone quiet since we boarded, her usual bubbly fire replaced by something that looks suspiciously like anxiety.

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