Jake
I stared at him in disbelief, barely resisting the urge to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming or not.
What the hell was he doing here? And why was I running into this man wherever I went recently?
“You know,” I said, “I'm starting to get the feeling youarestalking me.”
“If stalking you entails being lured into your workplace because of the siren song of cute kittens, and I guess I am stalking you,” he replied dryly.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Before I could say anything else, a smirk appeared on his lips and he added, “Now the cat thing makes sense.”
I remembered what he’d said to me in the booth when I chose the cat border.
“I hope they bite you,” I muttered.
The good humor remained on his face. The kittens, who had been listening to our conversation, didn't seem to notice the awkwardness in the air. Instead, they were content to lick and nibble at Griffin's fingers, probably trying to get at the food in his hands.
“So you really just wandered into my store without knowing what it was?” I asked. “And that I worked here?”
“I knew it was a pet store, and then there were cute kittens in the window,” Griffin replied. “Of course I didn't know that you worked here.”
“Well, I do.” I put my hands on my hips. “Are you going to buy something or just mush over the kittens?”
He gave me a sheepish look. “Seeing as I don't have any pets, there's probably nothing of interest in the store for me, is there?” He tilted his head slightly, and gave me a little grin. “Except you and these kittens, of course.”
My eyebrows raised. “Me?”
Griffin watched me. He seemed to choose his next words carefully, but the easy smile on his face never faltered. “Yes. Seeing as we keep meeting each other like this, the universe must want us to spend time together. I would say that's interesting, don't you?”
I stiffened. Was he hitting on me right in the middle of my own store?
The air crackled with tension. Our eyes never left each other. We were like two predators sizing each other up.
“I don't believe the universe has any say in how I live my life,” I told him finally, “and frankly, I didn't consider you the type of person to believe that sort of thing either.”
He shrugged. “Normally, I don't. But this has gone on far too long to be a coincidence, don't you think think?” He kneeled down so that he was face-to-face with the kittens, who were ruining my attempt at a stern scolding by meowing and putting their pink paw pads on Griffin's nose. He seemed pleased with this situation.
I scowled. “Did youreallycome in here just to play with kittens?”
“Yes,” he said looking directly at me now. He tilted his head in a cocky way. “You know, Jake, you always seem to question where I am and why. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're acting like a jealous boyfriend instead of a man I've only met three times in my life.”
My jaw dropped. “What the hell did you just say to me? You can't just come in here and talk to me like that!”
My irritation bounced off of him like water off a duck's back. He held up a calming hand. “I'm only joking. I'm sorry if it bothered you.”
I scowled at him and wondered where he found the gall to talk to me like that. If it was anybody else I would have kicked him out of the store by now, and banned him for good measure.
But something made me hesitate. He wasn't entirely wrong. I didn't knowwhywe kept meeting up like this, but it did seem to be pure coincidence, without any machinations from either of us. There was no malicious intent radiating from Griffin. If he was actually stalking me, he probably would have done something about it by now.
And besides, the kittens liked him, so he couldn’t have been all that bad.
Then I recalled the moment at the café where he donated $50 to charity when he really didn't need to, considering Skylar was giving him the service on the house. So he was generousandliked baby animals. Not really the signs of a stalker or otherwise general weirdo.
“Am I bothering you, Jake?” Griffin asked all of a sudden.
“What?”
