Page 13 of Hate To Love You

There go my nipples, thinking about cuddling up to Apollo and all his muscles. Ugh. It’s his manly body that’s wreaking havoc on my senses. My own body is a big-time traitor. That might be part of his plan. Use his physique to seduce me into giving away my dad’s secrets, maybe? Knowing Apollo, probably not, but I don’t know him anymore, do I?

“That’s…that’s nice.”

“Cats often roam all night too. I don’t think they’re naturally nocturnal. Maybe I should get one to give Bitty Kitty a friend. They’re supposed to get along great.”

“Cats and skunks?”

He shrugs. “So I’ve heard.” He starts to grin. “Have you seen that thing online where it pokes fun at the things that aren’t cats? The skunks and raccoons and possums?”

“I have.” It’s awesome, so awesome, but I don’t want to show any excitement. I’m careful to keep things neutral or scowly in order to keep my internal feelings just mine and out of reach.

“Maybe I should get a second cat. Except it will actually be a possum.” He hoots with laughter. Seeing him light up like that makes my chest constrict.

He’s so perfectly unselfconscious. I forgot how he could be that way. How he could just let go. How, half the time, he was goofy and funny just for me. I could never stay in a bad mood when Apollo was with me. We laughed. We laughed so freaking much back in the day.

Then he left.

And there were a bunch of hard years.

“Or you could get a real cat. Some granny cat that needs a home.” Granny cats have a special place in my heart. Or grandpa cats. The old ones that people tend to overlook or not want because they’re not as fun as kittens or they need extensive vet care. It’s sad. It actually breaks my heart.

I’ve wanted an old cat for a long time, but my dad just never wanted a pet. I stopped asking for things after my mom left. She wasn’t coming back.

“That’s an excellent idea!”

I don’t want to participate in any ideas. I just want to get our dads back to talking, get Dad’s company out of a bad place, bring goodness to the rest of the world, fulfill my obligations of this deal, and move on. I’m not going to give any bits of myself away in the process, at least bits that aren’t mandatory. I’m not even going to lend them.

“Inviting our dads here is a great idea too! I’m going to call mine right now. I’ll make it very obvious that your dad can’t make it this weekend. You can call yours and make it equally obvious that mine can’t make it.”

“And then they’ll know we schemed, and they’ll never trust us again.”

“They’ll realize we schemed together, and if we can put aside our differences, maybe there’s a way for them to put aside theirs. We have one good shot at this. Yes, they’ll be mad. They might even want to leave, but we won’t let that happen. We’ll make sure they stay here, have a great weekend, and come out on the other side talking to each other at least. If they’re talking, then that’s the first major hurdle. I think they might even be open to something else we can all do together if we get this right.”

“It’s an important weekend, then.” If we get it wrong, I’m going to be stuck here forever. The only reason I agreed to this was for my dad, so if we get it wrong, I’ll be stuck here that much longer.

“Very important.”

“Has your dad seen this place yet?” I ask.

“He’s been here a few times over the years, but he doesn’t get it. He thinks it’s silly.”

“It’s not silly! It’s the most wonder—” I catch his smirk. “You evil poo pants! You tricked me into saying that.”

Magic. That smile. Pure. Magic. “Okay, I did. My dad thinks the house is a little bit odd, and he doesn’t get it, but he doesn’t hate it either, and he’s never said it’s silly. I just wanted to hear you say you thought it was great.”

“Admissions made under duress don’t count. Getting information by trickery doesn’t either.”

“Okay. Fair enough.” He pauses, scoops the last of his food off his plate into his mouth, and pushes back from the table. “I can’t wait to show you the pool.”

What pool? Duh. Duh, times a thousand. Obviously, he has a pool. The guy is a swimmer, and he’s rich.

“Let me guess. One of those mushroom things that waterfalls all over the place.”

His eyes go all golden and twinkly, and my tummy gets fluttery. “It’s just a regular pool, but it’s Olympic-sized, and it’s saltwater. You’ll love it.”

“I hate swimming.”

“You used to love swimming,” he points out.

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