“Oh, isn’t he a pretty thing,” Rya cooed as she walked over to my wash station.“What’s his name?”
“Harris,” I chuckled.“The couple who found him said they’d been driving on Harris Street, so that’s how he got his name.”
Rya reached down to pet Harris as she asked, “So, how about dinner before we head over to the Dollhouse tonight?”
“Just you and me?”
She nodded.“Koen will be working, and Dalton has a last-minute session that he crammed in before meeting us later.”
“I’d like that,” I told her honestly.“It’s been a while since it’s been just you and me.”
Rya immediately winced.“Yeah, I’m so sorry about that-”
“No, no, no,” I quickly rushed out.“I didn’t mean it like that, Rya.”
Six months ago, Rya had started dating Koen Wilder, and because he was completely obsessed with her, it wasn’t often that she went out without him, but not in a bad way.Though Rya was incredibly pretty and naturally so, she didn’t see herself that way, and there were times when she struggled with her self-esteem.However, Koen had a way of making her feel beautiful and special, and so I was all for them being together all the time if he made her happy.
Of course, dating Koen didn’t come without its challenges since he was the heir to Wilder Technologies, but they were working through that together, and truth be told, with the way that Koen looked at Rya, I was surprised that he hadn’t proposed yet.Granted, Rya would freak the hell out, so that was probably the only reason that Koen hadn’t gotten down on one knee yet.
“No, I know,” she muttered.“It’s just...I’m aware, okay?”
Now, even though I’d known Rya longer, she was closer to Dalton than she was to me, which wouldn’t be an issue if Dalton didn’t dislike me so much.However, since he did, and since Rya was very aware of this fact, we didn’t all get together as much as we used to.If Rya had to choose, she’d choose Dalton, and we all knew this.So, if Dalton was okay with me joining the crowd, he was only doing it for Rya’s sake.
Needless to say, with Koen taking up most of her time now, whatever little free time that she had now belonged to Dalton, and I was very aware of this.Nevertheless, I wasn’t bitter or resentful about the situation.I still considered Rya my best friend, and I was thrilled that she’d finally found someone who made her happy.
“I just don’t want you to feel bad,” I told her as I began lathering up little Harris.“I get it, Rya.I really do.”
“Well, Koen’s done taking it slow,” she said.“I’ve got one week to find a house that I like, or else he’s moving me into his condo.”
My eyes widened at that.“Oh, my God,” I practically squealed.“You guys are finally moving in together?”
Rya nodded.“We are.”
“Have you started looking?”
She nodded again.“Since we’re not buying, I’ve been looking at some rentals that I can afford, and I actually found this cute two-bedroom house on Wavistead.”
I immediately winced.“How...how did Koen take the news?”
Rya let out a heavy sigh as she kept petting Harris.“Not well,” she admitted.“Since there’s no need for him to rent, he sees it as a waste of money, and he’s also struggling with me paying half the expenses.”
“In all fairness, most guys would have a problem with that,” I pointed out.
“Well, in this economy, that’s not realistic,” she snorted.“It takes almost three jobs to survive comfortably right now.”
“Your boyfriend is a millionaire, and that’s if you don’t want to get technical about it, Rya,” I reminded her unnecessarily.“In all actuality, Koen’s a billionaire with a B.”
“Don’t remind me,” she chuckled softly.
With Harris all lathered up, Rya grabbed him, then lifted him while I rinsed him off, and he was definitely basking in all the attention.However, he wasn’t quite ready for all the pampering to come to an end, because when I went to set him down, he dug his little claws in, offended that I would dare stop loving on him.
“Ouch, sonofabitch,” I hissed, and Rya was immediately there to free me from his baby daggers.
“Are you okay?Is it bleeding?”she asked as she soothed Harris over my outburst.
However, before I could answer her, a masculine hand was grabbing my wrist to inspect my very artificial wound.When I looked up, Dalton was staring at my hand, his fingers pressing on the small scratch.Honestly, it was nothing, but I wasn’t about to cause an argument with Dalton at work.Besides, how rude would it be to reject a person’s help?
“Is he a stray?”Dalton asked, his voice a bit gruffier than usual.
