Page 22 of Irresistibly Wicked

He heard the bedroom door open and turned as Shauna padded into the living room, her pretty dark eyes taking in the unfinished space. Her hair was pinned up in a ponytail now, and she wore a baby-blue sweatshirt with a dandelion on it, the seeds blowing in the wind, as if caught midwish. He wondered if she’d had many wishes come true in her life, and he had the strange desire to know what they were. Her faded jeans were torn on one knee, soft pink socks peeking out from beneath the long, frayed hems. It was those socks that tugged at him, out of place beneath the frayed denim and her guarded eyes, revealing another side to the hard edges she showed the world.

She lifted those troubled eyes to his before they drifted down to Kitty, and she smiled a little sheepishly, looking more rested and absolutely adorable. That tightness in his chest and the urge to protect her no matter the cost returned, and he knew in that moment that if she needed him to tiptoe through any minefield, he’d damn well become the best fucking tiptoer in the country.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, turning off the stove and oven as she came into the kitchen.

“Yeah, thank you. That bed is super comfy, and I opened the window. The sound of the ocean lulled me right to sleep.” Her brows furrowed, and she glanced around the kitchen. “Is it too weird having me here? Maybe I should go.”

“What do you think?” he asked Kitty in a hushed voice. “Is she trying to say she’s already tired of us?”

“No, I’m not,” Shauna said sharply. “How could I be? I walked into your house and immediately fell asleep. It looks like you just moved in and you’ve got a lot going on. I don’t want to be in the way.”

“You’re not in the way. I’ve lived here for a few years, but I haven’t gotten around to finishing the renovations. Besides, I figured you might be hungry. I made spaghetti.” He tucked Kitty in one arm and took the garlic bread out of the oven.

“It smells incredible, but you didn’t have to do that. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Angel, if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s shy about saying what I feel. If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have invited you. Okay?”

She nodded, and this time her smile was slightly less unsure, but he could tell she wasn’t used to being taken care of and still felt funny, so he went for levity.

“Good, now relax and tell me how cute my furry girl is.” He scratched the back of Kitty’s neck, and she purred.

“She is awfully cute. I love animals. Is she friendly? Can I hold her?”

“Only if you promise to give her more love than you think she needs. She’s kind of spoiled that way.”

“I didn’t know there was a limit to the love animals needed.”

“I think you just earned a spot at the top of our favorite people list,” he said as he handed Kitty over.

“Hi, cutie pie,” she said, petting the cat. “What’s her name?”

“Kitty.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “You love your cat so much that I had to promise to love her before I could hold her, and you gave her a generic name?”

“It’s not generic.” He drained the spaghetti and began filling their plates.

“That’s like naming your kids Girl or Boy.”

“First of all, I’m not a marriage and kids kind of guy, so nobody is in danger of growing up with those names because of me. Second of all, she chose her name. She showed up out front a few weeks after I got home from the hospital. She bolted out of the bushes and scared the hell out of me. She was all skin and bones.”

“Poor thing.”

“I put out food and water for her and sat out there every day trying to get her to eat, but she wouldn’t come near me.” He put garlic bread on their plates and set them on the island. “One day I said, Here, Kitty, Kitty, about a dozen times, and that was the day she came to me.”

She stifled a laugh. “That makes total sense. It couldn’t be because she was used to your voice by then.”

He was glad she was getting comfortable enough to give him a hard time. “It doesn’t matter if she was. The fact is, she didn’t come when I called her ‘sweetie’ or ‘baby’ or anything else, and if I’ve learned one thing about the female species, it’s not to question things that make them happy.” He put silverware, napkins, and Parmesan cheese on the island, then opened the fridge and nearly reached for a couple of beers. Thinking better of it, he said, “What would you like to drink? Water, Red Bull, soda, iced tea?”

“Iced tea is great. I can get it.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got it.” He poured two glasses and set them on the island.

“Why is one chair higher than the others?”

“I’ll show you.” He sat in the chair beside the higher one and made quick kissing sounds.

Kitty wriggled out of Shauna’s arms to the floor, then jumped onto the higher chair and faced Zander, staring at him. He scratched behind her ears, and she purred, tipping her face up. He kissed her chin.