Page 36 of Pack Scratch Fever
“Yeah. I yelled at him for that later. What you do is important, and it’s your passion. He had no right to talk to you like that.”
“I’ll believe it when I hear it from him,” I say bitterly.
He nods. “I have a feeling he’ll try to make it up to you,” he says, and I stare at him. But then, he mimes locking his lips and throwing away the key with a playful smile. “And that’s all I’ll say about that.”
My interest is piqued. “Really?”
“Really.” Then, he picks up the camera that’s resting against his chest. “I also wanted to see if I could help you out with some photos for the website. I know Maddox redid your site, but I think we could do some enticing portraits of the cats you have.”
My mouth falls open. “Wait? Are you serious?”
Blair and I had discussed hiring a photographer to redo all the cat adoption photos, but we couldn’t justify the cost.
Avery grins widely, excitement in his eyes. “Yes. I would love to. Do you have any time today?”
For you? I have all the time in the world!
I grin like an idiot, high off the excitement.
“We close in about an hour,” I say. “Would you be able to stay after and do the photos, then?”
“Of course,” Avery replies, and his scent intensifies, the sweet floral tea swirling around me. “You helped us so much recently; I would love to do this for you.”
I put my hand to my mouth, fighting the urge to cry.
“That would mean the world to me,” I choke out. “Thank you.”
My heart soars at his answering smile.
8
AVERY
Her scent.
Her goddamnscent.
I’m trying my best to be as polite as possible, but the Omega in front of me is beyond tempting.
This is nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
Piper is a ray of goodness, a beam of light I didn’t know I needed.
She’s witty, sarcastic, and clever. There’s a hint of sadness behind her eyes that I can’t place, but it only makes her more interesting.
She’s a story I want to uncover, a mystery I long to solve.
It’s rare to find anyone whocares so muchabout what they do.
Her passion for the rescue reminds me of the way I feel about photography—it brings me joy and gives me a deeper purpose.
And I want to share that joy with Piper.
I want to connect with her in that way.
The way her face lit up when I offered to photograph the cats will forever be ingrained in my memory.
She’s stunning, and she doesn’t even realize it.
