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“Well, maybe you could call Aspen and invite her over. With her son, of course. I bet he’d love to meet the puppy. And I’d like to meet Tobin.”
I looked at James’ face as I passed him. His expression was solid shock, eyes wide, jaw slack. Red stained his cheeks. So Catie had been right. He had a thing for Aspen. I was definitely going to look for more ways to put them together. What would happen if I accidentally assigned them to the same hotel room on our upcoming tour? Of course, I’d also assign myself a room with a king-size bed, a luxurious tub for two, and move Catie in with me as we traveled from city to city. I’d be too busy to worry about what James and Aspen might be doing. I’d be busy doing it all with Catie.
I was still smiling at the path of my thoughts as I followed her into the kitchen. Good God, each sway of her hips felt like she was bumping up against my crotch. My dick swelled in response. If just the sight of her butt clad in those sexy jeans could do this to me, my imagination ran wild with what her hands or mouth might accomplish.
As much as I wanted to lift her up on my kitchen island and properly introduce my body to hers, I put those thoughts in reserve.Later,I promised myself. “Let’s stash all this in the kitchen then get Elvis and Frank acquainted without the cage between them.”
She dropped the hamper on the counter and then unloaded some of the things right into the refrigerator. “I like that idea.”
I unhooked Elvis’s leash, and then took the carrier from James. After I set it on the floor by the cabinet holding the coffeemaker, Catie hurried over and unlatched the gate.
“Here goes nothing,” she commented as she reached in and took hold of Frank. She cuddled him to her chest, whispering into his twitching ear. “It’s okay, Frank. I won’t let him hurt you. Elvis likes cats, and I know you like dogs. Sweet Cream might get jealous. Maybe we’ll have to get him out here too.” She stroked her fingers along his skull and down his back as she turned to face us.
I had taken a knee and had my hand wrapped around Elvis’s collar, holding him back. The dog remained calm, not straining in the least to break my hold. But that old tail was swishing and swashing away.
Catie took three steps toward the wide entrance from the kitchen to the hearth room, and folded down to the ground, holding Frank close. With a tiny smile on her lips, she released him, letting him settle in her lap. Frank’s purr rumbled in the room.
“Okay, bring Elvis a little closer,” she instructed, her hands still smoothing Frank’s pelt.
I complied, scooting close enough our knees almost touched. I gathered Elvis in my lap and mimicked Catie’s movements, until we were in sync petting our respective animals. Elvis whined a little, a fine howdy-do for his new acquaintance. I moved backward, to allow the animals a little more room. Elvis pushed his snout toward Catie’s lap. Frank’s nostrils flared, then he put one paw on the floor, as though to move in my direction.
He looked back at Catie, who patted his rump, encouraging him to complete the journey toward the dog. Elvis lowered his head between his paws, a submissive gesture to let Frank know he was top cat. And Frank liked that apparently, because he crept off Catie’s lap and inched cautiously closer to me. I loosened my grip on the orange collar, but didn’t remove my hand, just in case.
I moved again, scooching around to sit next to Catie. I took her hand in mine, and directed my attention to the cat and dog meet-and-greet going on.
Elvis remained still, except for that tail, while Frank strutted around him, sniffing and investigating this new phenomenon. He batted a paw on Elvis’s shoulder, and Elvis woofed, letting his sloppy tongue hang out of his mouth. James came over with a small piece of cheese and handed it to me, to present to Elvis as a reward.
“Smart,” I commented. “You done this before?”
James grunted. “My sister had a dog then brought home a stray cat.”
Elvis lurched forward to take the treat. Frank jerked backward, but Catie touched his back, letting him know she was there to protect him. The cat inched forward again; nose low. Eventually, they were nose to nose, sniffing each other. Frank sprang forward and Elvis shied back, but then laid down and rolled over, exposing his belly.
That seemed exactly the right thing to do, because Frank crept over and settled alongside the dog and delicately punched a paw to his chin, as if petting him. Elviswhoofedquietly and Frank scooted closer, until Elvis rolled, trapping Frank under his front paw, as though hugging.
Catie tensed, ready to retrieve her pet, but relaxed when she saw that Frank was okay.
“I think they like each other,” I said, gazing first at our pets, all cozied up together, and then looking into Catie’s shining eyes.
“I think it’s safe now to take ourselves out of the picture here, and let nature take its course.” Catie uncrossed her legs and climbed to her feet.
After sitting there another minute, where neither animal moved, as if content to just lay like that for the rest of the afternoon, I joined her and James standing at the kitchen island.
“Seems like they’re pretty decent friends now,” James commented over the rumble of Frank’s purr.
I propped my elbows on the counter and glanced at Catie. “Not the oil and water reaction I was worried about. I think we can call this experiment a success. What do you think, Catie?”
“Yep. I’d say it was.” Her smile hit eye-burning bright, and I couldn’t look away.
“About that picnic…” James reminded us. “I’m kind of hungry.”
That drew my gaze, and I won’t lie, just a bit of frustration. But Catie had invited him to join us, and I could always find a reason to send him away later, if he didn’t catch the vibes between this sexy woman and me. But I was certain he’d catch on and excuse himself right after the meal.
“Burgers or steaks?” I asked.
Both Catie and James replied “Steaks” so I pulled the ribeyes I’d thought to thaw earlier from the fridge. I saw that Catie had unloaded fixings for salad, then spied bright gold in a plastic container. “You brought corn on the cob?” My mouth watered as I asked.
“I know it’s a little early, but it looked too good in the store. I love sweet corn. How do you want it fixed? I can boil it, or if your grill is big enough, I guess we can roast it over the coals, although I’ve never done that. Remember, I don’t like to cook, but I can boil water.”
