Page 49 of Known By You
This badass international spy woman was gone for my cat, and I couldn’t help but be very pleased about it. I’d alsoneed to clarify that the kiss last night wasnota problem, only my slow reaction to it was.
And, ideally, take a minute or two to reciprocate.
“So you found him on Silver Street?” she asked, her fingers balling into a fist like she was physically restraining herself from petting him.
“Yep. Right after we… parted ways.” My gaze flicked up to hers right as she looked away.Okay.Not going to take that opening to talk about last night.
I ran the pad of my finger over the short fur on his forehead, and his little purr started up. A strangled sound came from Liz.
“You gonna make it?” I asked, absolutely gulping down the way she was down so bad for this little beast.
She pressed a hand over her heart. “I don’t know. I’m not normally this into kittens but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this adorable.”
I chuckled and the sound startled Kit awake. Sleepy eyes blinked open slowly until he was fully awake and gazing at Liz.
“Oh my goodness, you are the sweetest thing that has ever existed.”
Her voice was soft and sweet and so unlike anything I’d heard from her, it had me grinning like a maniac.
“You are obsessed with my cat.” No small amount of wonder laced my words.
She only had eyes for Kit as she inched forward and let him catch her scent before gently petting his head. “I am completely and instantly obsessed. His wish is my command.”
I cackled at this, and he startled, pushing off my chest and hooking a needle-like claw right through my shirt and into the flesh underneath. At least I’d cleaned upwith the world’s fastest shower and put on a layer—it likely saved me a few puncture wounds.
“Ah, okay. Sorry, buddy.” I bent and set him all the way down. He was spindly-looking like this—all skin, bones, and fur. The thorough wiping-down I’d given him last night had revealed his black fur, but I was eager to give him a bath. Dr. Monroe had advised I wait a few days if I could, and I saw the wisdom in that.
His little meows started up and I recognized the warning sign. “Woops, okay. Come with me.” I snatched him up again and hustled down the hallway to the utility room where his litter box was located.
“Come on back if you want,” I said as I sat him down in the litter. He’d gotten the hang already, but he hadn’t had the run of the house just yet. The vet had advised me to start him out in one room for at least a few days so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed and so he could learn the box and such. So far, that was working well. He had a good little alert system for needing a litter break.
“Is this his room?” Liz asked from the doorway, surveying the washer, dryer, utility sink, and the corner where I’d set his litter box. At the far end, I’d made him a little bed of towels and a soft blanket until I could get something more official.
“This is it until he’s ready for his territory to expand. I’m happy for him to have the run of the place when he’s ready, but I’m told it might be a bit too soon. He’s also malnourished and was a bit dehydrated, so that’s the focus for the next few days.”
I glanced at her, expecting to see her smiling at the little guy as he dug out some litter, but her eyes were on me.
“You are all in on this cat dad thing.”
“Is that so surprising?”
A beat of wariness pulsed in my chest. I didn’t like the sensation, but I couldn’t pretend moments like these didn’t grate at times. It wasn’t necessarily people being surprised by things I did that bothered me as much as the low-lying suspicion they fundamentally didn’t understand who I was. I knew exactly where that came from—thanks, fam—and normally had a better handle on logically dismissing those kinds of things. But after a pretty restless night of sleep, it wasn’t coming easily.
Liz’s brow furrowed lightly as her gaze tracked the kitten. “No, actually. It’s not at all.”
I shrugged one shoulder, but warmth spread through my chest. We both kept our focus on the little black fur puff as he made his way out of the litter box with clumsy legs.
The genuine joy radiating from Liz was irresistible, and the way she laughed and talked so sweetly to this little wisp of an animal made me want to stay right here with her and soak it in for as long as it lasted.
So we did.
Not quite a full hour passed before the kitten did as kittens do and curled up in his mound of blankets and circled into a sleepy black cinnamon roll. I stood and reached a hand out to help her up, which she took.
The contact of her palm against mine, her small hand connected with my larger one, did stupid things to my brain. I almost pulled her into me in one fell swoop, but my mind had some lingering threads of control, so I waited until she was steady on her feet and released her.
We slipped out of the room and shut the door behind us, leaving the tiny one to sleep without being disturbed. I made my way to the kitchen, intent on washing my hands and offering her a drink and ideally asking her to stay for dinner, if I could just find theright way in.
“Thank you for letting me meet him. He’s precious.” She took her turn at the sink while I dried my hands on a clean towel.
