Page 105 of Say You Remember Me
“Hey,” I said, smiling despite myself.
“Hey,” he replied, his voice warm. “What’s up?”
“Am I bugging you? You look like you just got back from golfing.”
“I did.” He chuckled. “Went a few rounds with Owen and Evan on my parents’ course this morning. But I’ve got time. What’s on your mind? Did you like the house?”
“I did. It’s beautiful. Like, way prettier than anywhere I’ve ever lived before. But…I’m pretty sure it’s out of my price range.”
“Oh…” Ian frowned slightly, leaning closer to the camera. “What price range are you looking for?”
“Um…” I hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed to say it out loud. “I was hoping to stay under two thousand a month.Less would be even better. But I know that’s probably wishful thinking.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” he said, his grin returning. “This place is only a thousand a month.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “How is that possible? Is it missing windows or something? No furnace?”
He laughed, the sound rich and warm. “Nope. It’s in great condition—recently remodeled, actually.”
“Then what’s the catch? Terrible neighbors? Is it next to a landfill?”
“It’s actually a cottage on my parents’ property,” he said, a note of amusement in his tone. “Their driver, Vaughn, lived there for years, but he just moved in with his partner in town. So it’s vacant.”
“And your parents don’t have any other employees they want to rent it to?”
“You’re technically an employee,” Ian said with a teasing glint in his eye. “So they’d like to rent it to you.”
I looked at the photo again, my resistance wavering. It really was perfect.
“I can take you to see it when you’re back in town,” he said. “If you want.”
“Really?” I asked, my voice soft with disbelief.
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
Before I could say anything else, something in the background of Ian’s video feed caught my eye. A little black cat sauntered across the couch behind him.
He had a cat? When did that happen? Because I was pretty sure he’d told me before that he didn’t have any pets.
“Since when did you get a cat?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at the screen.
“Oh. Yeah.” Ian glanced behind him and smirked. “I forgot to tell you. A couple days after I got back, I saw this little guy out back. He looked hungry, so I gave him some meat.”
“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head with a laugh. “You fed him? Such a rookie mistake. That’s basically a binding contract. You’re his now.”
“I figured that out pretty quick.” Ian chuckled. “Rookie mistake, indeed. And well…now I have a pet cat.”
He set his phone on the coffee table, propping it up against something before reaching behind him to grab the little black bundle of fur. The cat squirmed briefly but then settled into Ian’s hands, its green eyes blinking curiously at the screen. Ian sank onto the carpet, holding the cat in front of him, his long fingers gently stroking its head.
“This is him,” Ian said, his tone oddly fond.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed, unable to stop the grin spreading across my face. “That is the cutest kitten ever.”
“I know.” Ian’s lips quirked into a boyish smile. “I haven’t had a cat since I lived at my parents’ house, but apparently, I’m a cat person now.”
And I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to swell any more than it already had. But seeing this big, strong, manly businessman sitting cross-legged on the floor, cradling a tiny black kitten, well…it was almost too much to handle.
I mean, I’d been doing my best not to let my feelings for Ian spiral out of control, but how was I supposed to keep my cool when he was so…adorable?
