I shrug. “You are the chosen one.”
I swear I see a corner of his mouth quirk up.
Most guys from my past that Dolly chose would be kicking him away by now. I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised that although Ty does seem a bit overwhelmed with the attention, outside of that, he’s totally fine with Dolly. Which is great because we have nowhere else to go.
“Why do you have a tomcat named Dolly?” He scratches down the cat’s back, and Dolly eats up every tiny touch from Ty’s calloused hand.
I laugh. “First off, the full name is Dollyboy.And it’s because I didn’t know anything about cats when I found him and thought he was a girl. DollyPartonwas too long, and I found out later that Dollyboywas just right.”
Ty arches a brow. “But didn’t he have?—”
“Laterit became more obvious. Specifically when he had to beneutered.” I shake my head. “I wasn’t a cat lady then.”
“You said you found him?”
I can’t help myself. I crawl to the floor right next to them both. “Had to climb a tree to get the poor thing down. I couldn’t find him a home. Everything fell through. So he’s stuck with me.”
Finally, Dollyboy relents, moving over to butt his fuzzy white head against my side. I cradle him in my arms. “He likes to be held like a baby,” I inform Ty.
He arches a brow and nods as though he’s never seen someone hold a cat before. Which maybe he hasn’t—at least not like it’s an infant. He pushes to his feet. “Bathroom is right outside the door, in case you didn’t notice. My bedroom is on the opposite end of the hall.”
I stare up at him, and within two seconds, he fidgets.
“I just wanted you to know which one’s mine in case you ever need anything,” he adds.
“How many bedrooms does this place have?”
“Five.”
It’s my turn to raise my brows. “Five? And there’s only one of you?”
He shrugs.
I peer up at him. “I had to share a room with my sister until I was fifteen, and then we finally moved to a bigger place.”
“That’s who this room was for.”
“My sister?”
He stares at me, then shakes his head.
“That was supposed to be a joke,” I inform him. “Yoursister was going to move in? I was wondering why it was decorated so feminine.”
“I furnished it as a birthday gift to her.”
“So why isn’t she here? Where’d she go?”
He leans a shoulder into the wall. “To Anthony’s. She got engaged.”
The bitter look on his face is kind of scary. Whoever Anthony is better be thankful he’s off somewhere else and not here right now.
“You seem fond of him,” I say.
Ty chuffs and pushes off the wall. “Just be thankful he showed up and ruined my sister’s plans, or this room wouldn’t be open.”
“Ruined her plans?” I blink up at him. “You think herfiancé ruined her plans? Kinda sounds like heisthe plan, Ty.”
His hands disappear into his jeans’ pockets, his brow furrowing.
