Page 48 of Ice Cold Rival

“I’d take this one home right now if I could. He gets me.”

I rubbed his forehead with one finger, right between the bat ears, and a loud purr rumbled from his little body. When I stopped, he swatted at my hand with an indignant meow. Kenzie chuckled and set him down, where he immediately curled up in her lap again.

“Yeah, I can see the resemblance. Happy when he’s being petted, then salty when you stop.” I raised a brow at her.

She threw a stuffed mouse at me, and immediately, three kittens went for my face to destroy the flying toy. Alexis knocked on the door not long after to let us know our time was about up. Kenzie took her time saying goodbye to the kittens and gave the black one a gentle kiss on his head before she set him on the top tier of the cat tree where she’d found him.

While Kenzie went to the bathroom, I sidled up to Alexis and asked what it took to adopt a kitten. She burst out laughing.

“I knew it. You’re gone for the girl, and she wants Satan in there.”

“You named that poor cat Satan?”

She gave me a hard side-eye while she locked up. “When you’ve been at this as long as I have, you know which ones are troublemakers. Pegged you right from the beginning. You know we’re a no-kill shelter, so Satan is safe here as long as he needs. Unfortunately for you, he’s popular. I don’t think he’ll be here much longer.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “You didn’t answer my question.”

She scoffed. “Yes, I did, just not the one you asked. Adoption is easy. Fill out some paperwork, pay the fee, take home your demon cat.”

“You don’t do background checks or something?”

Alexis propped her hand on her hip. “Do I look like the FBI? I know you, so you get special treatment. If you can live with Henry, you can handle Satan.”

“I’m not calling him that.”

She waved my objection away. “Call him whatever you like, but he’ll need regular vet care, food, toys, plenty of space to destroy, the works—and cats regularly live up to ten years. You ready for that kind of commitment?”

Her gaze shifted to Kenzie as she came out of the bathroom, and I picked up she wasn’t only talking about the cat.

I swatted at her, just like poor little Satan in the kitten cage. “Go away. And thank you.”

“I’ll hold him for a couple days,” she whispered, then straightened to address Kenzie. “It was wonderful meeting you. I hope you had fun. We always love when people can come in and help socialize the animals.”

Kenzie beamed. “I’ll definitely be back, and I want to talk to my sorority about doing some charity work with your organization if that’s okay?”

Alexis’ smile softened. “I would love that. Reece knows how to reach my personal line.”

They chatted as she walked us out, and I sighed, knowing I’d be back right after I called Gavin tomorrow. Kenzie was quiet on the drive to her place, staring out the window at the blurry trees.

“Reece?” she asked quietly. “Why don’t you spend more than one night with a girl?”

I stayed silent, juggling responses, until we pulled up in front of her house. “Why do you want to know?”

She unbuckled and turned to face me. “You’re not what I expected. The prevailing gossip says you’re a fuckboy who only cares about himself. I was fine with that assessment as long as you fulfilled your end of the deal, but I don’t think they know you at all.”

“Since when do you listen to gossip?”

“Since I became one of their favorite topics. I feel like I know a lot about you, and the one-night rule is the only part I don’t understand. You don’t have to tell me, but I’m here to listen if you do.”

Out of all our conversations the last few months, we’d never discussed who my family was—other than the night she’d fallen asleep on me. She thought I was a normal well-off guy with a family business and a potential future in hockey.

I knew she wasn’t interested in snagging a professional hockey player or she could have simply stayed with Kane, but the number of zeros in my bank account turned people. I wasn’t ready for her to treat me differently.

“It’s late. You should get inside.”

She shook her head. “You’ll tell me one day.”

“Maybe.” Likely, since I already had to fight the urge to spill my guts to her on the regular.

---