No answer, just more purrs and nuzzles.
Carrying the cat in my arms, I bring him into the playroom and deposit him on the top of a cat tree. He flops over onto his side, and I rub his stomach.
“You really do look you swallowed a bowling ball,” I mutter. “Holy shit.”
I’ve never seen a cat this happy before.
I pick up a wand toy that’s on the floor and dangle it in front of him.
His pupils grow so wide that it swallows the yellow of his eyes, and then he attacks.
Despite his size, Ash is nimble and has no problem leaping off the tower to catch the toy mouse that’s at the end of the plastic wand.
The cat has more energy than I expected him to, and soon, other cats are joining in to try and catch the toy.
“You got to tell me how to win her over,” I say to the cats. “What does she like? What’s her favorite food?”
A chorus of meows and mews is my only answer.
“Damn,” I murmur. “Too bad I don’t speak cat.”
But I continue talking to them.
“You know she’s my scent match, right?” I whisper. “And I didn’t think that would happen.Ever.Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for her? And then I find her at a cat rescue, taking care of you guys? What are the odds, huh?”
Batting paws are their only response.
Ash rubs my legs, his puffy cheeks marking my jeans.
“You have to be my wingman to make this work,” I tell him. “Since I’m giving you a house and all, youoweme.”
He yawns, unimpressed.
I scoop him back into my arms, discarding the wand toy. But that doesn’t stop a kitten from latching onto my leg with needle-like claws.
“Okay, stop,” I say, awkwardly shaking my leg, but the menace continues to cling to me. “Hey, don’t do that—ow!”
“Need some help?” a voice asks, and I turn to see Maeve, watching me with her arms crossed. Her brow is furrowed, as if she’s disturbed by the scene.
“Sure,” I mutter. “Can you hold Ash while I unstick this guy from me?”
While she holds Ash, I gently remove the kitten from my leg and watch it scamper away.
But that strange expression doesn’t leave Maeve, and suddenly, I realize I never heard her come in.
Oh, shit.
“How much did you hear?” I ask.
“Enough.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” she sighs, looking down at her combat boots. “Look…don’t fuck her over, okay?”
I frown. “I wouldn’t. Ever.”
Maeve can’t know that yet, but I already like her just for how protective she is of Blair.
