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“Of course not,” he responded automatically.
“Well, alright then. Goodnight.” And with that, Alanna Sandoval, woman of his dreams, turned and walked out of his life.
“Goodnight,” Sully muttered under his breath and leaned against the door frame. At least he got to watch her tight little rump swish from side to side as she walked down his driveway. That woman was a hurricane to be sure, and he already knew he’d risk life and limb to jump into the storm.
Wait. Sully jerked away from the door.
What was that about a crazy cat lady meeting happening at his rental property?
Ch. 14 Alanna
Well,thatwas embarrassing.
Alanna could practically feel Guy Next Door’s eyes on her back as she walked down his driveway then cut across his dirt lawn, but no way was she turning around or cluing him into her humiliation.Damn, he’d been even cuter than she remembered. His honey-brown hair looked better with a little tousle in it, and a man with real work in his clothes was an undeniable turn-on.
Too bad he lived in a house that looked seconds away from caving in on him. Extra too bad she hadn’t managed to catch his name.
Stop,she told herself sharply as she stepped onto the porch of the correct house.No flirty-flirt thoughts. You’ve got business to attend to.
Right. Mission Cat Exorcism.
Alanna hit the doorbell and waited. The porch light revealed a charming cottage house, painted a crisp blue. She had to admit Neighbor McHotty was right. The porch was delightful with its white painted railings, cherry-stained floorboards, and the old-timey porch swing waiting for occupants. McHotty claimed he’d built the porch. Alanna imagined him bending over, pounding a nail into a beam of wood, or whatever men did when they built porches.
Yummy.
The door flew open, revealing a petite woman with waves of auburn hair and a slight sheen of panic in her hazel eyes.
“Hi, are you here for the, uh, cat meeting?” she asked, her voice surprisingly deep and smokey.
“Yes. Alanna Sandoval.” Alanna thrust out her hand.
“Tess.” The other woman gripped her hand lightly in a short shake. “Come in, and… I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Alanna walked into the house and tried not to gape.
“Pretty much all of it,” Tess admitted.
So, this was… interesting.
Was monk aesthetic a new decorating trend? The living room was completely empty. No, that wasn’t quite true, Alanna corrected herself. A lawn chair and an upturned laundry basket sat in the middle of the room. A half-completed model airplane perched on the laundry basket. It wasn’t one of those high-skilled model airplanes that ex-middle managers spent hundreds of hours assembling to while away their retirement until the sweet embrace of death. This model looked like some kind of child’s set.
“I have snacks.” Tess beckoned to a breakfast bar separating the kitchen from a small, equally empty dining room. Alanna looked over the offerings—a loaf of wheat bread still in its plastic bag, three un-opened yogurt containers next to a pile of plastic spoons, a box of Raisin Bran cereal, and two bottles of wine.
Holy Peter, Paul, and Ringo.
“I know it looks bad,” Tess admitted.
Understatement of the century. Alanna had been to plenty ofbadevents—never thrown by her, of course—and this was an epic insult to every single one of them.
“You see, I just moved here last week, and I haven’t exactly gotten around to buying furniture,” Tess explained, “…or bowls or silverware or…”
“Cheese plates?” Alanna offered.
Tess tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Or cheese plates.” She looked down at her socked feet. “And, well, the other thing is, I kind of forgot I’d posted this meeting.”
Alanna raised an eyebrow.This should be good.
Tess gave a weak laugh. “Stress plus cat anguish plus waaaaay too much wine. The next morning, I had a vague memory I’d done something on my laptop, but I kind of thought it was a dream.”
