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“Thank you for your help.I really appreciate it.” Savina peeked through the half-open door of the dining room. Izzie was curled up in the freshly cleaned pen, the babies nursing contently against her.
“You’re welcome.” Hal stood behind her, his warm breath against her neck as he studied the babies. “How much longer will you be fostering them?”
“Not too much longer. They’ll be weaned soon, and Rayna has already lined up some new foster homes for them.”
Rayna was Rayna Abrams, a local plumber and the founder of Little Whiskers Rescue.
“What about Izzie?” Hal asked.
“I’ll keep fostering her until she’s adopted. What time is your thing tonight?” Savina walked toward the kitchen. She needed to put some space between Hal and her before she did something crazy like fuck him right there in the hallway.
Hal followed her and leaned against the counter, staring blankly at her. “My thing?”
“Your plans,” she said as she washed her hands with the hand soap next to the sink and dried them.
As Hal washed his hands, she opened the fridge and grabbed water for both of them. “You said you couldn’t go to the restaurant because you had plans.”
“Right. Uh,” faint red coloured his cheeks, “that might not have been entirely true.”
She grinned at him. “If Harper finds out you lied about having plans, she’ll probably steal your figurine collection and hold them for ransom.”
He laughed. “Probably.”
She hesitated and then crossed the kitchen to open a far drawer. “Speaking of which.”
She handed him the small bison figurine, her stomach weirdly nervous. “I found this a few months ago at a thrift store in Riverton. You probably already have it, but I bought it just in case you didn’t.”
He took the bison from her, and the look of delight on his face calmed her stomach. Hal had collected the vintage Wade figurines for as long as she’d known him, and his impressive collection was displayed in a glass cabinet in his living room. She didn’t remember seeing the bison, but it had been a while since she’d seen his collection.
“I don’t have this one. It’s from the Animal Series One, and it’s the only one I’m missing from that series,” he said.
She took a drink of water. “Well, I’m super happy I bought it for you.”
He studied her. “I am too. Thank you for thinking of me even when we weren’t….”
“Friends anymore?”
“Talking as much,” he said.
She picked at the water bottle label as awkward silence made the kitchen air feel thick like molasses. She needed to apologize for last night and could no longer put it off.
“Hal, I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye this morning.” She risked a glance at him, surprised by the compassion on his face. “It was a shitty thing of me to do.”
“I understand.” He set the figurine on the counter and took a drink of water.
She frowned. She should have been happy that Hal was so understanding. Instead, she was confused as hell. “Why aren’t you angry with me?”
“Because I’m not an asshole,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He sighed. “I’m not going to be angry because you feel guilty about sleeping with me.”
“I don’t feel guilty,” she said.
Exasperation crossed his face. “Lying about your guilt isn’t healthy. You shouldn’t -”
