Chloe’s mouth drops slightly.“I…”
I’m not used to seeing her lost for words, not even for a second.
I tug my jacket to one side; Kat’s furry face pops out.
A small smile touches the corners of Chloe’s mouth.“Who is this little darling?”
“I found her on my back deck.Isn’t she cute?”
Her cheeks open into a smile.“She’s adorable.”
“Do you know who she belongs to?”
Chloe shakes her head.“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before.”
I sigh, glancing down at the furball.“I’ve been calling her Kat.”
She arches a brow.“You named the catCat?”
“With a K.As in Kathy… or Katorina.”She shakes her head again as I cradle the bundle of warmth in my hands.“Should we keep her?”I ask.
Chloe glances down at her basket.“Why, have you decided to stick around?”
I clear my throat.“It was a joke.”A terrible one at that.
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.“Oh, right.”
I stroke my fingers down Kat’s apricot fur, and the kitten relaxes into me.“How are things with you?”
“Fine.Busy.”
My smile fades a little as Chloe lowers her face to the kitten, her mouth opening into her gorgeous smile, and it hits me like a punch to the chest.
Shit.
Fuck.
I messed up.
I shouldn’t have said what I did about kissing Chloe—about it being a mistake.I didn’t mean to make her feel like it didn’t matter.
Because it did.
I knew it then, and I know it now.
She reaches out to give Kat’s neck a scratch, her bracelets softly jingling, her coconut scent filling my nose.As my gaze moves over her, something clamps down hard on my lungs.
Chloe’s throat bobs as she bends to pick up her basket.“Well, I’d better get back to Mugs.It was good seeing you.”
“You too,” I say, but she’s already gone.
CHAPTERTWENTY
CHLOE
I stareout my window at where Ethan works, shirtless and wearing a pair of safety glasses that—I can’t lie—are definitely doing it for me.
Don’t even get me started on how freaking adorable he looked yesterday holding that kitten so gently in his big, rough hands.
