Page 40 of Faking Romance

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Roxy

“Thank you,” I say as we approach the apartment building. “That was…well, thank you.”

He gives me a small smile. “I’m glad you liked it. I thought you might.”

He pauses and then starts to open his mouth to say something when there’s a small noise from some bushes nearby. We both stop walking.

“Did you hear that?” I ask.

He nods as he looks around. “It’s probably a rat.”

I roll my eyes. “Rats don’t meow.”

“It wasn’t really a meow, was it?” he asks, but as soon as the words finish leaving his mouth, there’s a sound that is most definitely a meow.

I walk over to the bushes along the front of another apartment building two buildings down from ours. I crouch down and use my phone to peer into the boxwood hedges. Two bright green eyes stare up at me.

“Well, hi there,” I say softly. “Aren’t you cute.”

“What is it?” Gray asks as he approaches me.

“It’s a dragon. What do you think it is?” I look up at him. “A rat?” I ask as I reach into the bush and extract a small black, fluffy kitten.

“I mean, it could be a rat,” he says with a laugh.

“We’re not a rat, are we?” I coo as I hold the kitten against my chest and stroke his dark fur. He begins to purr, his whole body vibrating with the noise.

“What should we do?” I ask, looking around as if someone will magically appear and say, “He’s mine.”

“I don’t know,” Gray says.

“Wait. You should keep…” I lift the kitten and hold it up to the streetlight. “Her.”

“What? No way. I don’t know a thing about cats,” he says, his eyes widening as he steps away slowly as if I’m holding a small bomb.

I hold the kitten out to him. “Here, just hold her. She’s very cute.”

“Yeah. Well, lion cubs are cute too, but I’m not about to hold one,” he protests as he continues to step back until he reaches the curb.

“Oh my God. Don’t be such a pansy. Just hold her,” I say as I thrust the kitten into his hands.

“Like this,” I urge as I show him how to hold it against his chest. The kitten curls up and returns to purring.

“See. She likes you.”

He gives me a pointed look. “She likes warmth and I’m sure food. I mean…how old is this thing? We don’t have anything a kitten needs.”

I pull out my phone and check the time. “There’s a twenty-four-hour pharmacy not far from here. It’ll have a few things. That should be enough at least until tomorrow. It doesn’t look that young. We can probably feed it kitten food.”

Gray sighs. “I can’t really keep a cat. They’re loud.”

“You and noises. Come on, let’s go,” I urge as I take his free hand in mine and drag him back toward his car. We get in and he hands me the kitten. It buries itself against me as Gray drives us to the pharmacy where I run in and get some essentials. When I come back, I find Gray laughing. I peer inside and see he has the kitten lying on his lap. She’s on her back, and every time he pokes her little belly, she holds out all her feet.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t a man and his new kitten,” I tease as I open the door.

His eyes go wide. “What the heck did you buy in there?”

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