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Petunia tensed, her eyes zeroing in on a gently floating dust mote. Suddenly, she was a flurry of action, paws groping in the air, razor teeth gnashing. A moment later, she lay still, panting, her foe annihilated.
Alanna wondered what it would be like bringing the white-and-orange cat back to L.A. Could Petunia possibly be an office cat? How badass would that look, with Petunia sitting on the edge of Alanna’s desk giving every visitor a thousand-watt stink eye?
Something compelled her to bend forward on the bed. Screw the détente. She wanted to pet Petunia. They’d established a bond over the past few days. Alanna felt it. Surely Petunia did, too. The feline had even pooped in her litter box this morning, though she’d still pissed right next to it.
“Let me pet you,” Alanna whispered. She felt oddly vulnerable reaching out her hand. Petunia watched her with an icy expression. Alanna’s hand inched closer.
Yes, this was going to happen. She was going to pet her cat.
The doorbell rang downstairs. Petunia leapt up and slithered under the bed.
“Crap,” Alanna hissed. She clamored out of bed, hustled down the stairs, and threw open the door. “What?”
“Hi.” Sully stood on the other side of the door, a heart-melting combo of nerdy-cute and handyman-handsome. “Did, I… catch you at a bad time?”
“Oh.” Alanna stepped back to let him in. “I was… just almost having a moment with my cat.”
When she put it that way, she sounded like… well, like a crazy cat lady.
“Do you want me to give you two a moment?” The tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth somehow erased every ounce of her annoyance.
“Nope. Moment missed. Come in.” Alanna stepped aside and he entered the house.God, did he have any idea how much of an utter turn-on that tool belt slung across his hips was?
“Where’ve you been?” she pressed him, trying to ignore her naughty thoughts. “I was worried you’d hammered and dashed.”
It’d been three days since Sully’s initial visit. Aside from a text saying he was working on getting the parts, her trim, guitar-playing handyman had been radio silent. How long could it take to pick up a new staircase banister? Actually… she had no idea.
“Sorry about that.” He pushed up his glasses. “I had reserve service this weekend for the Marines, and I kind of got swept away with… well, you’ll see.” Pride hinted in his voice.
He was a Marine reservist? This surprising little factoid only intrigued Alanna more. What other secrets was her mild-mannered handyman hiding? Sully pulled a hand through his wavy hair, and she had to stop herself from biting her lip.More please.She’d missed him, Alanna realized. Which was absolutely, utterly, embarrassingly crazy. They hardly knew each other. And yet, she could have sworn his t-shirt seemed snugger across his chest than usual. Was it just her imagination, or had he added a layer of muscle to his frame since the last time she saw him? What did those Marine reservists do over that one weekend a month?
Get a grip on your tits, woman,she commanded herself. She was at serious risk of falling into a bad country song. Something about a city girl coming home and finding love in a small town. And the rough-necked, soft-hearted cowboy in question had even brought a battered red truck for the occasion.
Alanna glanced at the exhausted-looking truck sitting in the driveway next to Stella.
“You upgrade your wheels?” she teased.
He rolled his eyes behind his glasses. “I borrowed the truck from a friend.”
“Sully!” Dede came in through the back door, pulling her gardening gloves off her hands. “Do you want tea?”
“Wait, did you know he was coming over?” Alanna shot her mother an accusing glare. “And he doesn’t like tea.”
Her mom was all innocence as she removed her hat and hung it on a hook near the door. “He texted me yesterday. Didn’t I tell you? And maybe hedoeslike tea and just doesn’t know it yet.” She turned and struggled to close the sticky screen door.
“Here, let me.” Alanna walked through the kitchen and yanked the door shut with a short grunt. “I could have bought you that nice condo,” she said sweetly to her mother.
“This house has soul, right, Sully?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sully replied dutifully.
Dede bustled to the sink. Alanna watched, chewing her lower lip, as her mother struggled to fill the tea kettle, then used both hands to carefully turn the knob on the stove to light the burner.
“I’m going to make some extra tea, just in case you change your mind,” her mother said, and gave Sully a wink.
“Tea-pusher,” Sully accused her with a laugh. If he noticed her mother’s struggles, he didn’t say anything, and Alanna felt a welling of gratitude for that. Sully nodded toward the truck. “I’ll bring in the pieces.”
Alanna followed him out.
