“Together.” The whispered word sounded weighty coming from her lips.
Before her hand dropped away from my face, her fingers curved, combing gently through my beard. I remembered her doing it several times that night—and I remembered liking it just as much then as now. A low hum of contentment purred in her throat as I tilted my head to nuzzle her palm.
“Okay, then. Let’s eat,” Eden said.
“Stay there. I’ll come around for the food.”
As I opened the door and took the bags from her lap, I saw the uncertainty had fled, leaving in its place a spunky, grinning woman with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. It was sexy as hell and I had to remind myself of all the things I’d said to her—gentlemanly behavior, just dinner, getting to know each other.
Okay. I could do this.
I let her into the house, not realizing she’d stopped in the doorway until I reached the countertop dividing the big open space into living room and kitchen. When I turned to look ather, she stood stock still, staring down at my slender black cat, who gazed up at Eden in return.
“You have a cat.”
“I do. Shit, you’re not allergic, are you? I didn’t think,” I said, moving toward the two of them.
“No, I’m not. But…you have a cat.”
“Yes,” I said, drawing out the word in my confusion. “That’s Jiji.”
Eden’s gaze shot to my face. “Not my favorite Studio Ghibli movie, but it’s up there.”
The fact that she recognized it made something in my chest shift and settle. My last girlfriend, if you could call her that when we’d only gone out a few times at Maverick’s insistence, had been of the belief that cartoons were for children.
“What’s your favorite?”
“Howl. I’m a sucker for a man in a poofy shirt.”
“Duly noted. I try to save mine for special occasions, but maybe you’ll get lucky. I could be persuaded to pull it out of storage.”
Eden smirked in my direction. “You really are a nerd.”
“Takes one to know one,” I teased. “Youwereat Comic Con, after all.”
“True, and I enjoyed it, once I figured out what the hell was happening. I accidentally booked a room at the wrong hotel. I had a meeting with a supplier the next morning in the city.”
“Is that why you left?” I asked softly, hoping she wouldn’t think it was an accusation.
Eden nodded, glancing back toward Jiji just as the cat completed his inspection of my guest and sauntered toward her. Without hesitating, Eden dropped to her knees on the ugly brown carpet and held out her hand for the cat to sniff.
“He’s a little particular, so don’t be offended if he…”
My warning trailed off as my finicky cat started rubbing his face against Eden’s fingers like he’d found a long lost friend. As she scratched his cheeks, he edged closer until he was almost on her lap. Even from a few feet away, I could hear Jiji purring, but Eden’s responding coos flooded my veins with warmth.
Nothing could convince me this woman was a perfect fit more than that.
Then Jiji rolled onto his back, inviting Eden to rub his belly, and before I could issue a warning, the cat latched onto her wrist with his teeth and all four limbs.
“Oh, you are ferocious,” Eden whispered. “What a fierce kitty you are. Fierceandpretty, you sweet baby.”
Jiji licked the base of Eden’s palm, then bolted across the room to eviscerate the bottom post of his climbing tree.
As I offered a hand to pull Eden to her feet, I said, “That settles it. You passed the ultimate test.”
She beamed up at me. “Excellent news.”
I unpacked the bags of food, offered Eden her choice of beverages from the fridge, and popped the tops of two cherry colas as we settled at the breakfast bar to eat. Eden dug into her pad thai, so I gave her a few minutes before I launched into conversation.
