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“And then your mom called, and you didn’t want to invite me to the whatever it was—dinner or something.” Arden rushed to add, “And I’m not saying you should have. There’s no reason you should invite me to everything. I just thought it was another clue that you weren’t into me.”

Sam tented his fingers against his lips. “Okay. First, I thought you had probably had enough of us. Given that you came here for some alone time, I didn’t think you would want to spend every evening with the Kellers. And second, what about all the clues I gave you that I was, in fact, into you?”

Arden laughed. “Oh yeah.”

He reached for her hand again, stroking it with his thumb. “Perhaps I should have been more explicit. I mean, clearer with my words.”

“Come to think of it, your actions did speak pretty loudly.”

He leaned closer, a delicious smile dimpling his cheeks. Arden inhaled his musky scent, and her blood tingled in response. “I thought so.”

“How did you get here in time?”

“Alex called me as soon as you left. And then I ran really, really fast. I saw you take your seat right before the lights went down.”

Arden laughed. “I thought I told Alex not to bother.”

“Sibling code.”

“Sam, I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you came here. I went to your place thinking I might miss The Nutcracker, but that was a risk I was willing to take. And now I get both, and… I think I’ll remember this night forever.”

“You’re not the only one.” He cradled her jaw with one hand and kissed her.

After thinking she would never kiss Sam Keller again, Arden savored every moment of it.

The lights in the lobby blinked, signaling the end of intermission. They broke apart, smiling giddily at each other.

Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they headed back to their seats. “To be continued?”

“To be continued.”

Chapter 31

Phoebe

Here, Mittens! Psst, psst, psst.”

Phoebe and Jonathan crunched through the undergrowth beneath the trees bordering Arden’s property, their phone flashlights illuminating a few feet ahead of them at a time.

“Why didn’t I notice he was missing during daylight hours?” Phoebe moaned.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him.” Jonathan walked ahead of her, swinging his flashlight from the ground to the trees above.

He had come immediately after she’d called. Just like she’d known he would. He had a good heart. Plus, he loved cats. It broke Phoebe’s heart that she’d hurt him. And the fact that he’d come here when she needed help with no questions asked, in spite of all that, well… Phoebe’s insides were a mush of confused feelings. She could tell it would take her a while to untangle them.

“Did you hear that?” Jonathan stopped, and Phoebe crashed into his back.

“Sorry.”

He reached back to grip her upper arm, shushing her.

Mew. Mew.

“Was that him?” Phoebe hissed.

“I think so.”

“It sounds like he might be hurt.” Dread settled heavily in Phoebe’s gut. “What are we going to do? I’m going to have to ask Arden where his vet is, and then she’ll—”