Kade
Need someone to check on Princess Buttercup while I’m away. You free?
Me
Always free for my favorite niece.
Kade
She’s a cat.
Me
Yet she’s still better company than you.
Kade
Rude. Leaving tonight. Be back in a week.
I’m mentally packing before I even look up at Ace, though he’s watching me from across my living room with an expression that indicates he already knows what I’m about to say.
“Kade needs someone to cat sit,” I announce, “so I’m staying at his place.”
Ace’s jaw tightens slightly. “For how long?”
“A week.” I set my phone down. “Before you start, his house is more secure than a government facility. You approved the security system yourself.”
Rhodes, who is next to Ace on the couch, looks up from his laptop. “You want to stay there alone?”
“I won’t be alone. Princess Buttercup will be there.” I cross my arms, daring them to laugh at her name.
Vander shifts slightly by the window, his version of paying attention. Ace is quiet for a moment, and I can see his cogs ticking over. “When does Kade leave?”
“Today.”
More silence. I wait, ready to argue my case. When Kade first offered me a room in his house after the stalker incident, I refused. I would not let someone chase me out of my own apartment. So instead, Dad bought every other apartment on this floor. He gave one to Ace, one to Vander, and now one to Rhodes.
“We’ll take you,” Ace finally mutters. “But I’m doing a full sweep first.”
I blink. “Wait, really? No overprotective bodyguard excuses, or ‘I have to call your father’ nonsense?”
“Really. But you check in with us daily. And never leave the house alone.”
“Deal.” I quickly head for my bedroom before he can change his mind, yelling behind me, “I need to pack! Princess Buttercup likes when I bring my fuzzy blanket.”
I hear Rhodes mutter something about the cat’s name, but I don’t care. I’m too busy going through what I need. Clothes, camera equipment, laptop, phone charger, and that blanket Princess Buttercup loves to sleep on.
A week of freedom. This is going to be perfect.
Two hours later, I’m practically vibrating with excitement as we pull up to Kade’s house. “I haven’t seen Princess Buttercup in weeks.”
“That is the most ridiculous name for a cat,” Rhodes murmurs from the front seat.
“She’s a princess, and she deserves to be recognized as such,” I retort.
The property’s front gate opens automatically as we approach, the scanners responding to the tag in our vehicle combined with our number plate. Kade’s place sits on two acres in an exclusive gated community, which even I have to admit is impressive. There is a fountain in the circular driveway, a perfectly manicured lawn, and stone columns at the entrance.
“This is over the top,” Rhodes comments.
