Nick shifted the cat on his lap so Claire didn’t have to reach between his legs.She picked Mortimer up, told him he was a good boy and rewarded him with a head rub.As Nick admired the movement of her delicate fingers, he sort of wanted Claire to call him a good boy and scratch his head too.Sighing at his stupidity, he stood and stretched out his legs.
God, she was so pretty, but a small crease had formed between her eyebrows.
What was she thinking?Was she sad to see their moment end?He certainly was.
Nah, she’s probably just worried about her office reno.
Stella poked her head around the corner.“Is it safe to come in?”
“Of course, it’s safe,” said Claire.
Only, as Claire discussed feeding time procedure with Stella, Nick realized one thing might not be safe around Claire at all.
His heart.
Chapter Eight
By the time Friday morning rolled around, Claire was exhausted, but it was a good kind of fatigue.As if operating a cat sanctuary wasn’t enough, theHandymenteam had kept her busy whenever she wasn’t occupied with the kitty population.Luckily, they hadn’t had to do any rescues that week, which definitely kept things quieter, but she knew a call could come in at any time.Claire’s team worked closely with the local Animal Control office, so her ear was always to the ground.
Lacey had involved her and the volunteers in some of the more basic renovation work, but she understood they also had a business to run.
Unfortunately, every time Lacey asked Claire to take on a new renovation project, it involved Nick.
It wasn’t that Claire disliked working with him.If anything, she liked working next to him a little too much.Feeling the heat emanating from his body, letting his deep baritone voice wash over her.
Simply hearing him say her name was an issue.Growing up, she’d never liked her name.She’d always thought it was boring.It was just one little syllable.Of course, she didn’t feel that way anymore, but it was even better when Nick uttered that one syllable.There was a hint of luxuriousness in his tone, as if he was fingering a piece of silk.
It probably wasn’t a good idea to picture him fingering anything.
It was all playing havoc with her senses, to say nothing of her judgment.As a result, she ended up playing a tricky game of trying to avoid him while simultaneously wanting to explore what was happening between them.
What the heckwashappening between them?She wished she knew.
Considering how much time she spent thinking of him and visualizing him, it was entirely possible that her exhaustion was mostly mental.
Of course, she had no time to be tired.She’d promised to host a party for Nick on Saturday, and she had lots to do.Even though Lacey had taken care of the catering, Claire still wanted to give the house a good cleaning.It had been ages since she’d hosted anything resembling a party.
Frankly, it was time.
Before she could even begin to think about cleaning her house, she had to cross a few work-related issues off her list.First and foremost, she had to send her next newsletter.Claire sent a weekly newsletter to all her donors and her supporters.Mostly, it was filled with cute pics of cats that were up for adoption, but she also liked to acknowledge any new donations and adoption success stories.It was a fun task, but could be time-consuming.Because it was a gorgeous sunny day, she grabbed her laptop and a blanket, and headed outside to sit on the one piece of lawn that Eli’s team hadn’t dug up yet.
Working outside also had the benefit of being out of Nick’s vicinity.He’d spent the morning going between her office and his mystery project in the back yard, so she was safe on her spot on the lawn.
If she couldn’t see him, she couldn’t lust after him, or so she chose to believe.
Satisfied with her game plan, she opened up her laptop and began to format her newsletter.Her header image always included a picture of Mortimer, seeing as he was the Manager of the sanctuary.Claire scrolled through some of her saved pics, looking for one she hadn’t used before.
Just then, she remembered the one she’d taken of Nick holding Mortimer.
She pulled out her cell phone, but hesitated.
She’d looked at that photo many times since taking it, and was starting to wonder if she was developing some sort of obsession with the hunky contractor.
“Oh, this is bad.”
The last man to have inspired such an infatuation in her was Arthur.
Even though she knew it was time to let go, Arthur had always been the king of her heart.
