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Though her smile shone briefly again, she turned away to continue wiping down the tables.
“Hey.” He closed the distance between them in three strides and curled his hand around her slender wrist. The knot in his chest loosened. Wariness mingled with warmth brewed in her blue eyes. He could lose himself in her eyes. Inher.
“I want…” He cleared his throat, rubbing his fingers against the soft skin of her inner wrist. “I want you to know I’m not a player. I’m not trying to change your mind by…uh,this. And even if I were, I’m not stupid enough to think it would work. I’m—”
“Hunter.” She hesitated and bit down on her bottom lip. “I know.”
Relief filled his chest, but before he could speak, a set of claws snagged on his jeans.
“Oh, dear.” Aria clucked her tongue and bent to pick up Jumbo, who’d been about to use Hunter’s leg as a scratching post. “He’s either hungry or possessive.”
“So am I.” He glowered at the cat, whom he swore was grinning wickedly.
“Why don’t you two get to know each other?” Aria plunked Jumbo into his arms. “I’ll be right back.”
Jumbo pierced him with a cold stare. The instant Aria closed the door behind her, the cat leapt to the floor, dragging his claws over Hunter’s arm on the way down.
Infernal creatures.
He sat on the sofa, eyeing all the other cats who were lolling around in various states of swishing and stretching. They had it damned good here with plenty of food, toys, and a south-facing window that captured a lot of sunlight.
Not to mention…they had Aria. If Hunter were a cat, he couldn’t imagine a better life.
He caught sight of Fang huddled behind an upholstered chair. The old cat peered at him with his single eye, his torn ear twitching. His posture was guarded and defensive, as if he were expecting a blow. Hunter knew the feeling.
“Hey.” He leaned forward to get a better look at the cat. “You want to come out of there?”
The fur on Fang’s back quivered.
“There’s a good patch of sunlight over here.” He pointed to the warm, bright square on the weathered floorboards. “That other cat…I think he’s Buster...needed a drink, so you might want to grab the sun while you can.”
Though he was surprised to find himself talking to a cat, Hunter was damned near shocked by the fact that he almost expected Fang to respond.
The cat blinked his eye. Hunter shifted cautiously closer to the chair. Fang stiffened at the movement, hunching farther into himself. Though Hunter didn’t know the first thing about feline behavior, he figured it had to be a good sign if the animal didn’t run away from him.
Not unlike human behavior.
“Here’s a turkey and cheese sandwich.” Aria came back in with a glass of iced tea and a plate. She pushed the door shut with her foot and set the food on the table in front of him.
“Thanks, but you didn’t have to—”
“I have a dozen sandwiches on hand.” She cut off his words with a wave of her hand. “I’m still trying to figure out how much food to order. At the end of the day, I donate what hasn’t sold to a food pantry, but I still haven’t regulated costs as much as I need to.”
Hunter barely stopped himself from offering to help calculate her expenses. He turned his attention to the sandwich, though he was no longer hungry.
Aria leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she studied him.
“Where do you go when you travel for pleasure?” she asked.
He blinked at the unexpected question. “I don’t vacation much.”
“No fun, right. But when you do,” she persisted, “where do you go and what do you see?”
He scratched his jaw. “I went to India a couple of years ago and saw all the sites. Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, Varanasi.”
“And what have you seen in Bliss Cove?”
“I’m not here on vacation. I’m here to work.”
