Page 9 of The Neighbor's Son

This is becoming a problem.

He meows from the kitchen, waiting on me to serve him. With a groan, I follow the presumptuous cat to where he sits by the refrigerator.

“Got a taste for milk and now you’re an addict.” I laugh as I make him a small bowl. Since I don’t have cat food, he gets a can of tuna. “You can’t stay here forever, little dude.”

But what if he did?

It would sure fill the empty void Derek left.

Someone knocks on my back door, and I scream in surprise. Nothing can deter the cat from his feast, though, and he continues to happily eat.

I make my way over to the door and nearly trip over my own two feet when I see Brayden peeking in through the window.

My skin flashes hot and I absently tug at my shirt, wondering if it looks too tight. There’s not much I can do to make myself feel or look better between here and answering the door, so I resign myself to not worry about it.

Easier said than done.

“Hey,” I say, opening the door a crack. “What’s up?”

Brayden arches an eyebrow and smirks. “I think you know what’s up.”

Meow.

I close my eyes and groan, knowing I’ve been caught. “To my defense, I didn’t invite him.”

Brayden laughs. “Now that I know you’re harboring a fugitive, can I come in?”

Brayden Foss in my house?

Wouldn’t be the first time. He’s fixed a few things in the past, some by himself and some with Reid.

But now…

Now it feels different.

“Uh, sure,” I say a little too breathlessly. “You can try and wrangle this cat since he doesn’t listen to me.”

I move aside so Brayden can enter. As he passes, I get a whiff of his clean scent. Then, my thoughts wickedly travel to thoughts of him having just showered.

Do. Not. Think. About. That.

My skin is on fire from embarrassment. What is it about Brayden that gets me all flustered?

“Well,” Brayden says as he squats beside the cat to scratch its head, “if it isn’t the notorious Mo himself. Your human is looking for you, man.”

Mo meows as if to complain.

“She calls him Mean One, or Mo for short.” Brayden looks up at me, a cute smile on his face. “He seems pretty sweet to me.”

“I don’t think Mo likes it there,” I tell him, scrunching my nose. “She has so many cats. So. Many. Surely, she won’t miss one.”

He scoops Mo into his arms and stands. The cat protests with loud meows, but doesn’t try to get away, instead, enjoying the scratches Brayden gives him. I can’t help but step closer so I can pet Mo too.

“Dad says she has too many,” he says, deep voice vibrating over my skin. “They bicker about it a lot.”

“You hear that, Mo?” I say, leaning forward to kiss the cat. “Maybe you can come live with me instead.”

When I lift my eyes, Brayden is watching me with unguarded intensity. My confidence may be low, but our attraction to each other is undeniable. Of course, the first guy I feel a spark for would be the neighbor’s son.

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