Mr. Whiskers could never.
Riley and Cruz are coming home tomorrow, and while I’m excited to see them after weeks apart, I’m even more relieved about the fact the babysitter will no longer have to sit in that house all day every day reporting on his every move.
He sleeps most of the day, and yet for some reason Colten is paying the poor girl extra to have an hourly update about his movements.
Lord help us if we ever have kids because something tells me he’s going to be wildly over the top.
The thought stops me in my tracks.
It is way too early to start thinking about that kind of commitment, especially because it’s something I’m uncertain I even want for myself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, and they tend to love me. But the idea of that kind of responsibility, of having to keep a tiny human alive…I’m not sure it’s for me.
A tendril of dread wraps around my chest. Is that something Colten wants?
We haven’t had any serious talks yet, and maybe that’s a mistake.
While most couples have the luxury of getting to know each other over years, we won’t have that kind of time. We only have sixty days from when we’re matched to decide whether we’re compatible, otherwise, our names are thrown back into the algorithm.
And while we are certainly compatible in bed and with surface-level things, we may not be when it comes to big life decisions like marriage and kids.
We should have started having these conversations as soon as we matched, but we haven’t had a normal courting period, with me almost being kidnapped on more than one occasion.
Pancake drops her toy at my feet and stares up at me expectantly, pulling my thoughts from the darkness.
Colten is so good with her, a natural cat dad if there ever was one, so I can’t imagine he’s against the idea of children. But knowing what I do about his childhood, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted nothing to do with being a parent himself.
A little paw comes up and taps me, and my chest warms.
How Colten knew I needed a pet I’ll never know, but I’m so freaking grateful he did.
I lift her off the floor and hold the little ball of fluff against my chest, breathing her in. If she doesn’t enjoy the love, she doesn’t make any move to escape.
Eventually I release her, allowing her to continue playing while I reach for my phone.
It’s been hours since I heard from Colten, and I’m starting to worry. I don’t ever want to be one of those women who keeps track of where their man is, but his job is dangerous. I’ve always worried about him, even before we were more than just friends, but now that there’s more to our relationship, my anxiety goes through the roof every time he steps out the door.
How the hell does Riley do it?
Or perhaps she’s just stronger than I am.
I flick through a few notifications, deleting emails for online stores I should have unsubscribed from years ago, but there’s nothing that requires my immediate attention, which means a day of reality television and snacks is in order.
Usually when I’m feeling this way, I would head to Pilates or take myself for a solo date to my favorite restaurant, but leaving the apartment is a cardinal sin as far as Colten is concerned, and honestly, I’m not ready to go anywhere without him.
I’m about to drop my phone back to the cushion when it starts buzzing in my hand. My brow dips when I see the number calling.
The Mafia Matchmaker.
It’s too early to be checking in on our match, especially seeing as most people would have only been on one or two dates at this point.
“Hello, Lexi speaking,” I say, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Miss De Luca, I’m so glad I could reach you.” A bubbly voice comes down the line. “I just wanted to let you know that we’ve recently identified several files that appear to have been tampered with, and unfortunately, yours was one of them. Now rest assured, we are re-running the algorithm to ensure your match itself wasn’t impacted, so there’s nothing you need to do on your end.”
I’m quiet for long seconds, my mind whirring with panicked thoughts. Oh god. Could it have been my attacker?
I shake the thought off as impossible, seeing as their security is so complex, and if that were the case, wouldn’t he have not matched me with Colten? He’s made multiple threats against him if I allow him to touch me, so that wouldn’t make any sense at all.
