His smile widened, nearly blinding me with its beauty. “Satchel? Like a bag? How did she get that name?”
“Uh, I found her, um, when she was a kitten and brought her home. She fit in my bag, so I, uh, named her Satchel.” God, his smile should absolutely be illegal. Then I realized what he said. “Wait, how did you know she was a female?”
He chuckled. “She holds herself like a queen.”
I sensed there was more to it than that, but I didn’t press. “Well, let me go grab my stuff and we can head out. Do you want something to drink or anything while you wait?”
He shook his head, his face still downturned toward my cat. “No, thanks.”
I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, where my bag hung on a hook. I took a moment to make sure all the lights were off and Satchel had plenty of food and water before I went back into the living room.
When I entered, I stopped dead. Rhys was seated on the sofa with Satchel lying across his chest. While my cat wasn’t mean or violent, she was aloof toward new people. Especially men.
Rather than ignoring Rhys as she usually did when a new person came to the house, she was cuddled up to him, her head tucked against his chin, purring so loudly I could hear her from several feet away.
“Your cat is very friendly,” Rhys said, running his large palm over her back.
“Apparently, she is,” I replied dryly.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded.
With one more stroke down Satchel’s back, he gently set her to the side. “Bye, Satchel,” he murmured.
Despite my attempts to remain strong, I melted at his farewell to my pet. Satchel shot me an annoyed look when we headed out the front door, letting me know that there would be retribution for me taking her new friend away.
When we climbed into my car I had to bite back a laugh when I saw that his legs were folded up nearly double. He seemed completely clueless on how to fix the issue so I pointed at the base of the seat. “Just reach underneath and pull the metal lever then slide the seat back.”
He figured it out quickly, but didn’t buckle his seatbelt after I started the car.
“Be sure to buckle up,” I stated.
Rhys smiled, small but amused. “Why? I’m basically indestructible.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to pay a fine if we get pulled over.”
His smile widened, revealing long creases in his cheeks. Vaguely I wondered if they would be considered dimples but decided I didn’t care because they were attractive regardless. “I’ll pay the fine,” he replied.
“Yeah, but it’ll be on my record,” I retorted.
Though he didn’t say anything, his grin didn’t fade and he reached for his seatbelt without further argument.
“Thank you,” I murmured, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the driveway. “So, you weren’t specific when you said you wanted to look for a vehicle. Did you decide if you want a car or a truck? Or maybe an SUV?”
“I think I’d like something larger than this. But I have no idea what you mean by SUV.”
“Sports Utility Vehicle,” I explained, struggling to keep my expression neutral. Ava said that Rhys was different and probably older, even centuries older, but he seemed somewhat ignorant of modern technology.
“What’s that?”
I tried to think of the best way to explain it. “It’s a cross between a car and a truck, but the rear area isn’t open. The roof extends over the cargo space and there is a door in the back instead of a tailgate.” I knew I wasn’t using the correct terminology, but it was the best I could do.
“That sounds more like what I would want,” he stated. “I don’t care for trucks and most cars are too small for me.”
“Okay, do you have any idea what make and model you want?”
His look said it all. I bit back a sigh. This excursion would likely extend into several days rather than one. I despised shopping for cars and only did it when I’d driven my previous vehicle into the ground. My current car was nearly a decade old and I intended to keep it for a couple more years if I could. I hated all the people and the smugness that rolled off the sales person when we finally agreed on a price. A price that was more than I should be paying.
