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“I knew you liked us,” he says. “I mean, not at first. And not for a long time. For a while I kind of thought you might hate us, or at least think we were so boring it might turn you boring to be around us. And … I’m starting to ramble again, so I’ll stop before it can turn into a whole thing.”
Damn, Scarlett. How can these guys be so into you when they don’t even really feel like you like them?
It’s bad enough that my sister can’t see how sweet and sexy they are.
If I were her …
No, Sapphire. We’re not playing that game.
Rueben goes back to arranging the couches. When he’s done, he has them side by side in front of the TV, just slightly angled inwards so there’s a bit of a space in the middle. He moves past the vending machines and pulls a stool out from under a small breakfast bar area I didn’t pay much attention to when I was in here before.
He brings it over to the space between the couches and sets it down there. Then, he lifts the right arm of the sofa that’s closest to the door and takes a remote control out of the hidden storage area.
“You mind if I put the Sports Channel on in the background? I just want to check some stats before tonight. I missed a couple of last weeks’ games.”
“I don’t mind.” I sit down with the kitten, who’s started to purr in my arms.
He moves around the couch and sinks into the seat, right next to me.
“Wow,” Rueben says, glancing down at the kitten, his voice soft. “You must have the magic touch. He’s sleeping.”
“Well, he’s a baby. I’ve heard they like to do a lot of that kind of thing.”
“Maybe that’s true,” he says, hitting the mute button as he turns the TV on. “But you do realize you’re stuck here at least until he wakes back up now, right?”
He’s so cute. “I don’t think you’ve thought that through, Rueben. He’s taking a nap, he’s not down for the night.”
Rueben shrugs. “I guess we’ll see.”
He sets the remote down and puts his arm around my shoulders as he sits back.
It feels kind of nice, and it’s completely harmless so I just raise an eyebrow when he looks at me as if he’s checking that I’m okay with the move.
His lips twitch as he looks back at the screen.
“I knew you liked me.”
Chapter twenty-six
Rueben
We get about thirty minutes of relaxation time on the couch before the probie wakes up and decides he’s bored of Scarlett’s lap. He chews on her shirt and bats at my hands before he leaps to the ground and goes racing around the room like a mini-tornado made of fluff.
“It was definitely just a nap,” Scarlett says, giving me a wry smile as I’m forced to get up from the couch and attempt to capture the kitten before he can get up to anything he shouldn’t.
She gets to her feet at the same time and goes straight to the door to close it.
“Smart move,” I tell her. “Thanks.”
“Maybe I just don’t want him to make a mess in the kitchen,” she says. “I did just clean it.”
I laugh. “Bishop’s going to clean it again after he makes dinner anyway. That’s like his routine, or whatever. He can’t not do it. He tried last night, but he just ended up coming down here after he went to bed to do it then.”
“Cute and housetrained,” she murmurs. “Where can I get myself one of those?”
“Um, right here in this house,” I remind her, making her face flush just slightly.
I’ve got to admit, I like how different she seems today.
