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“End of what discussion?” I’m confused. “I do like cats. I had cats and dogs growing up. What are we talking about?”
I tried to convince Aaron to get a cat, because he said my apartment was too small for a dog. Honestly, it is. It works for Avery and Sully because Avery’s penthouse is massive and Sully’s also extremely lazy. But the cat? No, Aaron wouldn’t even go for that. He told me he was allergic, but several old photos of him with his childhood pet subsequently determined that that was a lie.
“Claire.” Avery touches my hand. “Quit while you’re ahead, trust me.”
Harper shoots up from her seat and dances through the patio door, singing, “I’ll be right baaack, with a special surpriiise.”
With a deep sigh, Avery flashes me a look that tells me that whatever is about to happen is my own fault. “You walked yourself right into this one. I can’t help you now.”
Harper returns two minutes later cradling a tiny ball of fluff in her arms. Vivi goes wild, clawing at Avery for help getting down, and nearly takes Harper out by the legs.
“This is Chester,” Harper tells us, setting the orange and white fluffball down on the table. He stands on four wobbly legs, bright blue eyes moving around the table.
Vivi climbs onto Harper’s lap and reaches her hand out. “Here, kitty, kitty.” She looks to Avery. “Maybe Chessy like i-cweam.”
Avery dips the tip of his finger in the melted vanilla remnants of Vivi’s bowl and holds his finger up. The kitten comes lolloping over, tiny tongue covering his finger. And then Chester saunters right on over to me, climbing up my chest and settling onto my shoulder.
“Oh.” I pout at Avery. “Oh my God.” I meet Harper’s gaze. She’s practically bouncing in her seat. “Does he have a home?”
Harper smirks. “I don’t know, Claire. Does he?”
“You mean…you want me to take him?”
“I’m bottle-feeding him for a couple more days. You could take him home next weekend if you’re up for it. No pressure, though.”
I take Chester off my shoulder and check him out, kissing the stripes on his forehead. He looks like a tiny lion with his thick mane.
“Don’t look at me,” Avery says on a chuckle the second my eyes land on him. “I told you, you walked yourself right into this one.”
“I’m at your place every night,” I try to bury on a whisper, unsure of how that might sound to his family. “I don’t want to leave him home alone all the time.”
But then there’s Sully. Besides the obvious—Avery’s condo being significantly more spacious and gorgeous than mine—the reason we’re there so often is because of Sully.
I’m also not fond of the idea of giving up sleepovers with Avery. I’ve had a taste of drifting to sleep and waking up with his warm body tucked around mine, and there’s no part of me that wants to give that up.
“And we wouldn’t,” Avery insists gently. “If you want him, that’s not something you need to worry about. You know I like cats, too.” He tucks my hair behind my ear and scratches Chester’s chin. “He can hang out at my place.”
“What about Sully?”
Avery peels Chester from my grasp and plops him down on the ground where Sully’s sleeping. Sully cracks a sleepy lid, lifts his head, and covers Chester’s entire face with his tongue. Chester stretches and curls into the tiniest ball, right there in the crook of Sully’s neck.
“You want the damn cat?” The curl of his lips tells me he’s amused.
I’m sure my grin detonates my entire face. “Yup. I think I want the damn cat.”
***
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Claire
Stifling a sleepy yawn, I slide into the cool sheets. Avery and I just had quiet sex on the couch like a couple of horny teenagers trying not to get caught. I accidentally gouged the leather, which earned me a swift slap to my ass, so I’ll probably do it again.
I watch Avery stroll out of the bathroom in only his boxers and my loins start gearing up for round two, except there won’t be a round two. They’re going to be sorely disappointed when they get the memo, because, hot damn, that man’s torso is a chiseled slab of tanned marble.
And he’s smiling.
“What are you smiling at?” Besides the obvious, which is my sleeping niece cuddled in the middle of the bed, where Avery’s deep brown eyes are glued.
