But she’s had a shitty day, and whether it’s my fault or not, I don’t like seeing people have shitty days.
Even Laney.
Maybe especially Laney.
She’s letting me push her first into the second bedroom like she’s given up the will to fight. Like I’ve broken her in two days. Not even twofulldays at that. Actually, not even twenty-four hours.
Jesus.
I’m known in some circles as the guy who makes people feel better about themselves.
Not the guy who tears them down.
But there I went, falling into old habits and waving around my dick for fun.
No more.
I’m better than that. Have been for a lot of years now.
Time to remember it and quit fighting this.
“Go quick so they don’t get out,” I murmur into her hair, which now smells like a salon in the sunshine, as I open the door and put my hand on her lower back to steer her inside quickly.
She does.
I slip in behind her and close the door in time to hear her soft gasp.
Miss Doodles, the gray tabby mama cat, looks over at us from her perch on the bathroom sink in the open-plan primary bedroom and sizes Laney up while one of the kittens nurses.
“Oh, god. It really is cats and not porn,” Delaney whispers.
All of my muscles tighten, but I make myself focus on what I know she knows. “You don’t like cats? What about kittens? Kittens are awesome.”
“My parents say cats are the devil.”
“Your parents are judgmental nutjobs. Cats areawesome.”
She side-eyes me.
But there’s something about that suspicious look that doesn’t fully feel suspicious.
It feelswounded.
“I do a lot of stupid shit, but I don’t lie,” I tell her. “No reason to when you live without regrets. So when I say cats are fucking awesome, it’s the truth.”
“You just called my parentsnutjobs.”
Shit.
But if I’m pushing things, I’ll push things. And I’ll do it with a smile. “Again, no lies detected.”
She’s not amused.
Be better, Theo. Be fucking better.
My eyeballs still sting, so I catch myself once again before I rub them in utter frustration at the complete lack of belief in her body language, reach deep, and pull out an even bigger megawatt Theo Monroe smile. “Your parents are lovely human beings who are mistaken about cats. And cats are awesome for useless, hell-bound demon-spawn like me. We fit. Great companions. Cut from the same cloth.”
Even with the smile, she takes me seriously. She wrinkles her nose, and while she doesn’t tell me I’m not a hell-bound demon-spawn, the next words out of her mouth still surprise me.
