“See?” Kai says, straightening up.
I grab the sock and glare at the ferret, who’s already retreating into the shadows again. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” I mutter.
Kai chuckles, and the sound catches me off guard. It’s low and it’s brief, but it’s there. “Maybe keep a closer eye on your things next time,” he says, his tone annoyingly smug.
“Maybe keep a closer eye on your ferret,” I shoot back.
***
“Why can’t Kai drive again?” I ask, tugging on my coat, the zipper catching slightly as I glance toward the door, and Christian standing next to it. I don’t know why Christian agreed to drive me back, or even talk to me in the first place, but whatever his reasoning is, I’m grateful.
“He got his licence taken away. Crashed into a tree,” he says simply, putting on his own coat, and I don’t bother asking him to elaborate. “Sue, I’ll be back in a few,” Christian calls out.
Almost immediately, Sue appears from somewhere—honestly, I’m not sure how she does that. It’s like she’s summoned. She nods at Christian but doesn’t spare me a glance. Not even a flicker of acknowledgment.
I wave awkwardly out of politeness, but she’s already turning away, disappearing as quickly as she arrived.
Okay then.
“She definitely doesn’t like me,” I mutter the moment we step out into the cold.
Christian glances at me as he unlocks the car. “She’s protective. Kai’s like a son to her.”
I snort. “Protective of what?” I gesture to myself. “What am I going to do?”
Christian doesn’t answer immediately. He slides into the driver’s seat. “Gabriel, my uncle and Kai’s father, he’s strict,” he says, starting the car. “It doesn’t make sense to her why you’re here. Kai never usually brings anyone over. She’s just confused.”
I frown, watching the surroundings as we start moving. “She seems almost suspicious of me,” I say.
Christian sighs, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel for just a moment. “Listen,” he says, his tone careful. “I don’t know what goes on in her head. But if I were to guess, I’d probably say she thinks Kai hasfeelingsfor you, and she knows it would never work out.”
I blink, my head snapping toward him. “What?”
He doesn’t look at me; his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “It’s just a guess. Don’t overthink it.”
“You can’t just drop something like that and tell me not to overthink it,” I say, my voice rising slightly. “Kai doesn’t have feelings for me. That’s… that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard all day.”
Christian raises an eyebrow but still doesn’t look away from the road. “I know he doesn’t, but that’s what Sue thinks.”
The car goes silent after that, and I just stare awkwardly out of the window before blurting, “Kai has a ferret.”
Christian glances at me briefly before returning his focus to the road. “Ah, so you’ve met Percy. That… was Liam’s doing.”
I turn to him, shocked. “A ferret, Christian. A ferret.”
He chuckles softly, the sound surprisingly warm, and just… surprising in general. “Let me guess: he stole something from you.”
“Somethings,” I clarify, pouting. “My sock, my mascara, and my hairband. Pure evil, that thing is. I didn’t even know you could have a pet ferret.”
“Oh, you most certainly can,” Christian replies, a hint of amusement in his voice. “He walks it too.”
My jaw drops. “You aren’t serious.”
“He doesn’t let anyone but Kai walk him. Liam and I tried once. We learned our lesson.”
That gets a laugh out of me. “What happened?”
“Let’s just say Percy can move a lot faster than we thought,” Christian says with a grin. “And he’s very resourceful when it comes to hiding.”
