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“Go for it.” Cooper gestured toward Humpty.
The moment Alice opened the cat carrier, Humpty barreled out, jumping off the table and leaping from the floor to the counter, where there was a sink with some cabinets above it. Cooper moved to catch him, but he zipped around the room so fast that he made it challenging. His size didn’t slow him down one bit.
It was a scramble, but I managed to get ahold of Humpty and held him in my arms while he wailed in protest. Cooper grinned. “You’re faster than me.”
“Well, I’m used to catching cats who hate coming here.”
I stepped to the side of the table, carefully placing Humpty on it, all the while keeping a firm hold on him. Several minutes later, Alice had checked him over and glanced at Cooper. “It’s definitely his anal glands. Farrah can help with that. It might comfort Humpty if you stay in the room. Meanwhile, I don’t know when he had his last annual appointment, but we can schedule one for him.”
Cooper shrugged. “I don’t know. I got him as a rescue. How about I schedule one on my way out?”
“Sounds good,” Alice replied. Just then, the chime from the reception area rang out in the hallway. “I’ll handle that. You’ve got this?” She glanced at me with her brows arched in question.
“Absolutely. Anal gland expression is my expertise,” I deadpanned.
She chuckled before departing the room. That left me in there with Cooper and Humpty. Everything went to shit. Literally.
Humpty was absolutely not a fan of the process and made his displeasure known with dramatic wailing and irritated wiggling. By the time it was all said and done, I was totally flustered, and Cooper was doing his best not to laugh. I finished the job, and we got Humpty cleaned up and back in his carrier. He was so offended by the situation he wouldn’t even accept a treat from me.
After I washed my hands and changed out of my lab coat, I looked over at Cooper. “Well, that could’ve gone better.”
Cooper threw his head back with a laugh. My belly swooped.
When he leveled his gaze with mine again, he said, “I really appreciate this, and I will definitely be using you all to do this in the future.”
ChapterTwo
COOPER
The vet tech stood in front of me. We had just wrangled Humpty back into his cat carrier, and I could feel him looking at me. He was deeply offended by the situation. Maybe I hadn’t had him that long, but he let his feelings be known.
Meanwhile, the vet tech, whose name I couldn’t seem to recall, turned away to wash her hands in the sink. My eyes snagged on her blond ponytail. It curled up at the end, swinging with every motion she made. She was tall with slender shoulders. My eyes trailed along the dip at her waist and the generous flare of her hips. My greedy gaze shifted lower over the lush curve of her bottom.
I should’ve been grateful for the distraction Humpty offered. Yet it didn’t do much good. This woman encompassed all of my focus.
She said something as she turned around, drying her hands on a paper towel. “Cooper?” she prompted.
I gave my brain a hard kick.Focus.
“Yeah?” I returned as if I didn’t even notice she had said something before that. My awareness had heard her distantly, but I didn’t know what the fuck she said.
“I was asking how long you’ve been in Willow Brook.” She blinked, and her eyes looked even brighter and greener when her lashes lifted again. She glanced away when the door to the exam room opened.
Alice, whose name I actually remembered, looked at her. “Farrah, I was wondering if you can be out front in a few minutes? My next appointment will be here soon, and I’m running behind with this one.”
Farrah? How the hell had I forgottenthatname?
Farrah nodded. “Yep, we’re just finishing up. I’ll walk Cooper and Humpty out.”
Alice gave me a quick smile. “Nice to meet you, Cooper.” Her eyes shifted to Humpty. “You as well, Humpty.” She looked back at me. “He’ll get over it. I promise.”
“I hope so. Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll see you and Humpty when he’s here for his annual checkup.”
Alice left with a wave just as Farrah let out a low and throaty little laugh. Everything this woman did was like a direct hit into a vein of desire. What in the ever-loving fuck was going on with me? I wasn’t in the habit of getting so sucked into a woman that I couldn’t even remember her name—much less being affected by a woman’s laughter.
Humpty hissed from his crate.
