He dropped his hands in defeat as the kitten clung to his shirt, and he sat down on the couch.
Mia pulledup to her place and parked her car in the driveway. Jackson’s truck was already in the driveway, surprisingly. She had expected him to still be at work. She glanced up at his living room window, where the curtains were moving. But he wasn’t standing there.
She stepped out of her car and tilted her head as she watched the curtains. They continued to sway and eventually she saw a little body climb around the back side. Her eyes widened, and she rushed over to Jackson’s front door, knocking before letting herself inside.
“Jackson?”
“In here,” he said.
She moved to the living room to find him sitting on the couch, an array of kitten items all over the floor. A kitten was perched on his shoulder and two were climbing the curtains. Another sprinted across the floor, batting a ball.
A laugh burst out of her. “What happened here?”
She walked to the curtains and gently took the kittens off before setting them on the floor and dangling a toy in front of them. They both pounced on it.
“I made a mistake.”
“And that would be?”
“Trusting that the cute little furballs would stay cute little furballs once I brought them home. They tricked me. Instead, I have four demons disguised as kittens.”
Mia laughed. “How can you call these cute little things demons?”
He looked at her, his eyes wild. “You saw them climbing the curtains! They were also climbing me and the couch. It’s been an hour and I’m already wondering why people voluntarily get cats.”
Mia snorted. “Because they’re excellent companions.”
“Dogs are excellent companions. Cats are terrorists.”
Mia stood and moved over to the couch, sitting down beside Jackson and gently tugging the kitten off his shoulder. She stroked its soft fur for a minute before setting it down on the floor where it joined its siblings in chasing a ball.
“Do you want to tell me why you purchased four kittens?”
He dropped his head against the back of the couch and let out a heavy sigh. “This isn’t how this was supposed to go.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was supposed to be a large box with a bow and four little kittens holding red roses in their mouths. The presentation was going to be immaculate.”
She furrowed her brows. “I’m confused.”
Jackson sat up straight and took her hands in his, turning toward her on the couch. “These past few weeks have been hard. Watching you date other guys…” He shook his head. “It’s been torture.”
Mia’s heart rate picked up, but she couldn’t speak.
His thumbs smoothed over the backs of her hands. “I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. To show you I know you. That I am the only one who can give you what you need. The only one who can treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”
Is it possible that he was telling her everything she had wanted to hear her entire life? That he had finally developed feelings for her?
She tried to push down the excitement, worried she’d get her hopes up only to find out he meant something else entirely.
“So you got me four cats?”
He chuckled. “I went intending to get one. I wanted to surprise you since I know you’ve been wanting a kitten for a while. But then when I got there, they were all so cute. I couldn’t pick just one.”
“So you got four.” She laughed.
“Yes. But no one told me they were demons!” As if on cue, a kitten ran over to them at full speed and climbed the side of the couch. He widened his eyes and gestured at it.
