Page 28 of Irresistibly Wicked

She set the tile in place, and he reached over to push the left side of it up higher. Their fingers brushed, and something warm fluttered in her chest. He smiled as he pulled his hand back. It wasn’t a cocky or flirty smile. It was the kind of smile friends shared, which made her feel silly for that flutter of warmth she’d felt. But hey, she was only human. They were working so closely, it was hard not to notice his rugged scent and the way his arms flexed and his jaw muscles bunched when he was concentrating on setting a tile in place.

She picked up another tile and said, “You’re very trusting. I could mess up your whole design.”

“If you were my wife, I’d let you mess up the design.”

And there it was, the playfulness that drew a light laugh. “Zander, you do not need or want a wife, and I will not drag you through my mess.” She climbed off the counter to stretch her legs, and Kitty bounded into the kitchen carrying something black in her mouth.

“What have you got?” Shauna crouched to see what she was holding.

“That’s her cut.”

“You’re kidding.” She held up the tiny black leather vest with Dark Knights patches on the back and eyed Zander with amusement. Kitty tapped Shauna with her paw, and Shauna petted her.

“Don’t give me shit about it,” Zander said. “I get enough of that from the guys.”

“I just think it’s funny that the big, badass biker dresses his kitty-cat.”

“I told you she was skin and bones when I got her. My cousin Baz is a vet, and when he was checking her out for me, she was trembling, and he suggested I get her a sweater.”

“That makes sense.” She held up the vest. “But this is a funny-looking sweater.”

He chuckled. “I know, but every time I took off her sweater, she’d drag it back to me. Then Mads bought her a few dresses, and I was like, no way. My cat’s got to be cool, so I had the vest made for her. And as you can see by the way she’s tapping you, she likes wearing it.”

“Is that why she’s tapping me? I don’t know how to dress a cat.”

“I’ll show you.” He snagged the vest, lowered his big body to the floor, and put Kitty in his lap. The cat sat right there, letting him put her front legs through the armholes and button it up her chest.

Shauna took out her phone to take a picture and saw another text from Brian. Her stomach knotted up. He’d texted earlier, and she hadn’t responded. She didn’t have the energy to fight with him or to hear endless apologies and empty promises. Not tonight. Tonight was hers. She was allowing herself one night to breathe in this happier, safer place, with a guy who didn’t need a damn thing from her and wasn’t screwing up her life. Was that too much to ask? One frigging night to pretend she was a typical young woman with a new friend and her life wasn’t complicated and Brian wasn’t a fucking mess.

She swiped past the text and took an insanely cute picture of Zander dressing Kitty. “You are unbelievable.”

“Thanks for noticing,” he said with a cocky grin.

“I meant dressing your cat.”

“I said don’t give me shit.” He picked up Kitty and rubbed noses with her. “Who knows what she’s been through all alone out there in the wild. If my baby girl wants to wear clothes, I’ll buy her a whole frigging closetful.”

Why did she find that so endearing? “I wasn’t giving you a hard time. I think it’s adorable.” She looked at the picture. He really was annoyingly attractive, and his love for Kitty only amped that up.

“Like what you see?”

“The cat? Yes.”

He appeared amused. “You can admit you’re checking me out, assessing me as temporary husband material.”

“You’re in the picture?” she teased.

“Best friends are supposed to build each other up,” he said to Kitty as he petted her. “First she calls me sloppy, and now this?” He glanced at Shauna with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “I might have to rethink this friendship.”

She could get used to this. Their friendship might be new, but their easy camaraderie and teasing made it feel like they were old friends who had history together and had earned the right to give each other a hard time.

“Although,” he said in Kitty’s ear, “she’s pretty good at tiling. Maybe we should keep her around. Think about how much work we could get out of her. What’s that?” He put Kitty up to his ear, pretending to listen. “She could be your temporary stepmom if she’d only let me help her with her friend?”

God, he was too much. She laughed. “Don’t bring your cat into this.”

The last thing a happy-go-lucky guy like Zander needed was her and Brian’s drama, but as they continued teasing each other and she took pictures of Kitty in her cut and Zander loving her up like she was the most precious cat that had ever lived, she kind of wished he did.

Chapter Twelve