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Oh, is he blushing? I should give him more compliments.

"And because you care about animals. Because Daisy adores you. Because you are a loyal friend and someone who loves big." As the date he prepared on-the-fly shows.

He goes still and slowly turns to me. The tie he was about to slip over Blanche’s head lands on his hand instead. "I don't know what to say."

"That's a first." I chuckle and reach for him. "Say thank you, put the tie on Blanche, and tell me what food you brought."

Two seconds later, the tie is tied, and he produces Styrofoam containers out of the paper bag.

"I went for Asian. I hope that's okay with you. We've got fried rice in here, spring rolls, some vegetarian sushi because squishy raw fish is not my thing, and guess what? More spring rolls, because Evan told me you love them."

“For once, Evan was right.” The food smell keeps getting better and better, and damn, I’m hungry.

He reaches back into the bag. "Oh, right."

His entire arm disappears into the backpack I didn’t even notice until now, and he takes out chewing bones for the dogs, handing them out one by one.

"You know, because it'll be easier to get into their good graces than your brother's. Apart from Evan, I guess."

"Do you fear the inevitable 'hurt her and you'll suffer' already?" I chuckle and open the first container. The scent of fried rice hits my nostrils, and my stomach rumbles.

"I'm not too worried about it." He hands me a pair of chopsticks. "If they had a problem with me, I'm pretty sure they would've told me before now."

"Touché."

"Here." He also hands me a spoon.

We get comfortable on the couch, which in his case means a lot of squirming until he finds a position his new tattoo doesn’t hurt in, and eat in the dim, passive glow of the fairy lights.

Sometimes I wonder if Kieran and I have much to talk about. Our lives are so different. Yet somehow, we never run out of topics to talk about.

For example, Marjorie and what she means to the shelter. Kieran tells me about his tattoo and how coming out to Nic and Lauren went.

“What did Evan say once they were gone?” Our empty containers are on the counter and safe from most food-curious animals. We’ve gotten more comfortable on the couch, Kieran’s legs extended far, mine under me as I lean my head against his shoulder.

“He mainly gave me shit for how scared I was to tell them.” His entire body vibrates with a chuckle. “Considering the first thing Nic said was something about how she could have set me up with the cute guy who fixed her air conditioner, I even get where he’s coming from.”

“So, no more dirty little secret?” I bet Evan will miss pulling out this nickname.

“No.” His expression softens, and I have a hunch he’s not only talking about Evan. “No more dirty secrets.”

I blush. Oh God, the way he’s staring at me is making me nervous. “How about we go upstairs and warm up the mulled wine?”

“Sounds perfect.”

We return all the animals to their kennels for the night and go upstairs. Only Dick trudges after us. Kieran's got the bottle of mulled wine in his hand and his jacket flung over his shoulder as he takes in my apartment.

"Welcome to my humble abode." I make a vague gesture. "Go ahead and make yourself right at home."

"Love what you've done with the place," Kieran declares, examining the family pictures hanging on my wall. "Is that Evan as a child?" He points at an image of a little boy smeared from head to toe with what I believe is strawberry jam.

"Yep." I giggle and slide my arm around his side. He puts his arm around my shoulders as the two of us stare at the gallery.

"What are you thinking about, Kieran?" He's unusually quiet, and I’m not sure if silence is a positive or negative thing with him.

"Nothing important," he mumbles, but I shake my head.

"That wasn't my question."