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Delicious? Where in the world had that come from?
Okay, she could admit that Chris was beautiful. He had broad shoulders and muscular arms that weren’t overdone. His jeans hung low on his hips and she knew that his legs were sculpted and strong.
This was not something new. She’d always been aware that Chris was good-looking, but for some reason, she’d never really stopped to appreciate it. He was just…Chris. Not a slab of man meat to be ogled and drooled over, like Chris Evans.
He spun around, using the spatula as a microphone as he belted out the words to a Three Doors Down song, only to choke in mid lyric when he saw her.
“Hey, you’re up!”
“You’re perceptive,” she said, dryly. “And you’re chipper. Got any coffee made?”
“Already on my second cup, which is why I am feeling good.” He came close and kissed the side of her head with a loud smack. “Plus, my amazing best friend left me medicine and water to cure my hangover.”
“You must have a gut made of steel. I’d be puking until noon if I imbibed as much as you did.”
“You’re also smaller than me.”
“I guess.” She pulled away from him to grab a mug from the cupboard, silently cursing the unfairness.
Pepper sat off to the side, watching the stove as though he was waiting for Chris to drop something tasty for him. His black tail, tipped with white, swished across the off-white tile floor. His golden eyes didn’t even flick her way when she said good morning.
“Have you been feeding him again?” Kelly asked, coming up alongside Chris.
“Not today.”
Kelly presented him with her fiercest scowl. “You’re contributing to the begging of a feline. This is a punishable offense.”
Chris glanced over his shoulder at Pepper. “Sorry, tubs, but your mommy is being a tyrant.”
Pepper’s attention diverted to her, as if he understood that she was the barrier between him and delicious, fatty meat.
“Don’t give me that look, it’s for your own good.”
The tuxedo cat simply sniffed at her and left the room, his tail swishing regally in the air.
“Nice, now he’s mad at me.”
Chris laughed. “It’s a cat. He doesn’t actually understand the words coming out of my mouth.”
“Oh, he knows that I’m the reason he was denied table scraps and he’ll be seeking revenge. Just watch, I’m going to find a massive hairball on my bed later.”
Chris’s golden skin turned green. “Woman, I am cooking! You’re going to make me lose my appetite.”
“You? Not possible.” She noticed his hair was wet and breathed in. There was a clean scent of soap beneath the bacon. “Did you shower?”
“Yeah, why? I smelled rancid.” He seemed defensive as he turned her way. “It’s not like I used your thirty-dollar girly soap. I always keep stuff here for when I crash.”
Kelly wasn’t staring at him because she was worried he’d used her stuff. The image of naked, soapy Chris under a spray of hot water had popped unbidden into her head, rendering her momentarily speechless.
She shivered, trying to collect herself.
“I know. I just thought you might be worn out today and be grumpy.”
“Actually, not at all. I’m pumped. And I can’t wait to play with the new iPad my wonderful, generous best friend gave me.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Kelly poured some black coffee into her cup and realized her hand was shaking. She tried to tell herself it was the lack of sleep affecting her motor skills and not the flashing image of her best friend naked in the shower that had rocked her nerves, but then she’d be a liar. Could her hormones be in overdrive due to the sexual starvation she’d been in for almost eleven years? Did her body just wake up like, “Hello, all males in the vicinity, I am ready for mating!”
