@o-fish-ally
Please update the forum when Livvi comes over and the fish immediately forgives you.
@gillfriendenergy
If that fish swims right up to the glass for her, I will scream.
Chapter 22
Kenzie
“No matter the question, you just hop on the Fur-Ever Homes forum and other pet owners will help you?” I scroll through the conversation about a blue tang fish on Trevor’s phone.
“Pretty much.”
I asked if there had been any news about Princess, the potbellied pig Trevor made the video for, and he handed me his phone since he’s driving us to our next date location. Looks like Princess is still without her forever home…and I’m still confused as to where exactly we’re going.
All I know is that it’s something elegant since we’re both in formal wear. Normally, the idea of being somewhere I’m not familiar with and stepping outside my comfort zone wouldmake a tornado of angry hornets swirl in my stomach. But the worried way Trevor handed me a dress box when we’d gotten home from the hospital still makes my ribs ache.
“If we’re going to go out tonight, there’s a dress code. I—” Trevor cuts himself off as his hand rubs the back of his neck. “I know this seems like a lot, me buying you two outfits in one day, but I promise it’s for practical reasons. I don’t want you to think I’m showering you with meaningless gifts.”
“Why would I think that?”
A hard exhale leaves his mouth before Trevor meets my gaze. “That’s what he did.”
“This,” I say, setting the dress box on the kitchen island before looping my arms around his neck, “has nothing to do with him.”
Immediately after the breakup with Aaron, all I thought about was what I’d done wrong. I completely ignored all the red flags waving in front of my face and blamed myself. Talking to Mallory had been like wearing corrective lenses after years of blurry vision. What Aaron and I had barely constituted as a relationship.
Not in any true sense.
Not in the way I’d want—the way I deserve.
Meanwhile, I already had that kind of relationship with someone I considered my big brother. We had fun together, enjoyed each other’s company, and took care of each other. I can hardly count the number of times Trevor has shown up for me over the last year.
“As far as I’m concerned,” I say, threading my fingers into his hair at the nape of his neck, “that unfortunate blip never happened. It must have been scrubbed from my memory by the powerful drugs they gave me.”
I shake my elbow where a blue Coban wrap protects the puncture wound from the IV. When Trevor frowns at the bandage, I use my fingertips on his jaw to bring his gaze back to mine.
“You hired me then offered me a place to live, and after an exceedingly long time”—I pull ayeeshface just to make him grin—“I finally came to my senses and saw what had been in front of me the whole time.”
Trevor’s gorgeous eyes do a sweep of my face before the tension slowly seeps from them.
“I should probably stop paying you to watch Banks so there’s no blurred lines. Because…” He takes an unsteady inhale. “I wouldn’t need to pay my girlfriend to care for our cats.”
My smile feels powerful enough to light my hometown. “No, you wouldn’t.”
As Trevor’s truck bumps along, I run my fingertips over the gorgeous jewel-toned silk that’s an exact match to the color of my eyes. The dress fits perfectly—almost as if it was handmade just for me. The parts of my body I don’t particularly love but force myself to appreciate through my daily affirmation practice, like my thick thighs and small chest, feel gorgeous beneath the dress’s glossy finish. After pinning my hair into a half-upstyle I learned from a tutorial, I’d felt confident striding into the kitchen to meet Trevor earlier.
He’d been cradling both cats, murmuring sweet nothings to them while looking devastating in a three-piece suit. The way the fabric hugged his shoulders and tightened at his waist felt like a personal attack on my ability to think straight. Then he’d glanced up with a shy smile, having no idea that I was seconds from needing to head back to the hospital so they could monitor my outrageously high pulse.
“Have I told you how gorgeous you are?” Trevor’s eyes flit to my face.
A light laugh tumbles from my mouth, even though my cheeks are on fire. “Several times, actually.”
His low hum feels like champagne bubbles tickling up my spine. “Not nearly enough, then. But”—he rubs his palm over his jaw—“I’d probably lose my voice before I could properly articulate how breathtaking you look tonight.”
His gaze snags on mine again before sliding over my body like a physical touch. I shiver, though the cab of the truck is quite comfortable. Clearing his throat, Trevor quickly refocuses on the road, his fingers squeezing the steering wheel.
