Page 85 of One Quick Obsession

Don’t worry, I will always make fun of you.

Isabella

I’m going to text Scarlett with more of a list, okay?

Me

Okay. Not quite sure why you needed to tell me you’re going to text her.

Dorian

It’s a girl thing.

The group chat continued to explode, so I muted it like the good brother that I was.

While we didn’t have to have these family dinners anymore, it was nice to at least continue part of them. I didn’t know why the entire group was going to be there tonight, but I honestly didn’t mind.

That really was growth.

Though as soon as they annoyed me, I would probably get grumpy and leave. That would mean I would leave Scarlett behind however, so maybe I’d be forced to stay. Well then.

I shook my head and got back to work.

By the time my alarm went off that told me I needed to get ready for dinner, I felt good about the painting in front of me, and had even texted my agent back.

With a sigh, I walked back to the house, showered, and smiled as Scarlett walked into the house.

“Oh good. You’re ready to go. And I see Ranger has been keeping you company.”

I looked down at the nearly one-year-old stray cat we had found in the woods a couple of weeks ago, and shrugged.

“He’s okay.”

Ranger looked up at me and meowed. He then shook slightly, lifted his leg, and began a stretch that I wasn’t even sure Scarlett could do.

“You love that cat. You know it.”

“I think he needs a friend,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, he stays in the house all day, and we won’t let him go outside because there are predators out there, and he doesn’t really like the studio because I have to carry him over there. Maybe I can build something so he can just have a little cat walkway the whole time.”

Scarlett put her hands over her mouth, eyes wide.

“What?”

“You’re going to build a cat walkway just for the baby?” she asked as she lifted Ranger into her arms.

The orange tabby purred and rubbed his head under her chin, and I narrowed my gaze at the cat.

He didn’t let me pet him like that.

“What? I don’t want him to be alone. That’s why I wasn’t going to get a pet in the first place.”

“The cat distribution system made sure we got this one. But you’re right. He does need a friend. Would you like that, Ranger? Another cat? Or maybe a dog?”

“No, another cat. And a boy cat. This way they can be friends, and you don’t have to deal with dominance things that you do when a female cat enters the house. And we don’t know if he’s going to get along with dogs, and I don’t want to have that be an issue right away.”

Scarlett just blinked at me.

“What now?” I asked.