Page 144 of Her Ex-Husband's Brother

“Are those two siblings?” Lennon asks.

The volunteer nods. “Brother and sister. They’ve been together since they came in.”

Lennon crawls closer, moving slowly so she doesn’t frighten them.

The boy lifts his head first.

She holds out one finger.

He sniffs it, decides she’s acceptable, and climbs straight into her lap. The moment she touches his belly, he flops onto his back with all four paws in the air, shamelessly demanding more.

His sister follows.

She burrows beneath her brother’s front leg, lays her head against his chest, and closes her eyes.

I know, in that instant, that we’re done for.

Lennon looks up at me with tears gathering along her lashes.

“Oh my God.”

I lean my shoulder against the wall. “Which one?”

“What do you mean, which one?”

“I mean which kitten.”

She looks genuinely offended. “We can’t separate them.”

“Of course not.”

“We’d have to take both.”

“I gathered.”

Her mouth falls open.

“You mean it?”

“I didn’t bring you to a shelter to emotionally torture you.”

“You absolutely could have.”

“True.”

She laughs, then looks back down at the kittens.

Her fingers move gently over the girl’s head.

“Oh my gosh, just wait until Owen meets them.”

The words leave her before she has time to consider them.

Her smile vanishes.

“Not that I mean to assume anything,” she says quickly. “I know meeting him isn’t something we should rush, and obviously it’s up to you and Priscilla. I don’t want to make anything complicated.”

“Hush.”