“Sure. I haven’t been out of Luna County in a while.”
“You want to go on a road trip with me, my boyfriend, and a veterinarian to save some cats?”
I was expecting some flirty, jealous banter, but not this.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m addicted to your company,” he says, then holds up my phone. “And those cats are prettyfucking cute. I’ve been looking to adopt for a while; maybe it’s meant to be.”
My mouth falls open. “If you adopt Agnes and least one of her babies I’ll love you forever,” I blurt.
He quirks an eyebrow. “I mean, shit, then it looks like I’m a cat dad again.”
I want to kiss him, but I hold myself back from doing it.
Instead, I just grin, my face hurting from smiling, and take my phone back.
“I’m really glad I’m not in your class anymore,” I breathe, and he chuckles.
“I’m glad, too. I would never go on a road trip with one of my students.”
It isn’t until he’s walking me to my car that I realize the gravity of what he’s agreed to.
I’m going to be alone with my scent match and two crushes for hours at a time.
Also, my brother is going to kill me.
Ivan won’t stop laughing.
We’re lying side by side in bed, each of us on the same chapter of the cozy cat murder mystery.
“I can’t concentrate while you’re laughing at me,” I whine, and he gently plucks the book out of my hands. I readjust to lay my head on his chest, and he wraps an arm around me.
“I’m not laughingatyou,” he amends, kissing the top of my head. “I’m laughing at the situation, and the fact that I was right.”
“Right about what?”
He pulls one of the blankets over me, a soft throw with pink and lavender cats printed on it. I snuggle into the fabric, my inner Omega sighing in contentment.
“I knew you liked Fang, and you whacked me in the face with a pillow for it.”
“Yeah, well…it was more complicated when I was in his class,” I mutter.
“And now he’s so enamored with you that you’re getting free guitar lessons out of him,” he says, playfully tugging on strands of my purple hair. “God,we should have started dating a long time ago.”
I scoff. “We’re making up for lost time now, aren’t we?”
His lips press to the top of my head. “Yeah. We are. This weekend is going to be great.”
“I’m not sure how Fang and Logan will interact,” I grumble, “But I know you two will get along great.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Logan,” Ivan says. “As long as Fang is a good person, it will be fine.”
I close my eyes and sigh. Sometimes the words Ivan says seem too good to be a true. There’s always a whisper in the back of mind, a constantwhat ifthat spins around in my head.
What if my panic and worry come back tenfold? What if something happens, and then he and Logan decide they don’t want anything to do with me?
Fang doesn’t know about my irrational thoughts. What if?—
“Hey,” Ivan says softly. “Where did you go?”
