Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Leo sucks in a hissing breath. “Careful. I’m serious, he can turn on a dime. One second, he’s purring, the next there’s blood everywhere and you don’t know who it belongs to.”
I laugh, relaxing into the joy of having a happy kitty in my arms. “Oh, pish. He’s delightful.” To Greg, I add in a playful voice, “Why is this bad man telling stories about you? You’re the best boy there ever was.”
Greg meows in agreement and loops a paw around my neck, as if he never wants to let me go. If there’s a better time to check for a heart shaped mark, I can’t imagine it.
I reach down, whispering, “Can I look at your other pretty foot, sweetheart?” as I cup his back paw in my hand. When he seems amenable, I tip it up and glance down to see four perfect pink toe beans above the larger paw pad.
And in the center of the pad…is a small black heart.
Just like I remember.
My stomach sinks at the sight, but I’m not really surprised. Deep down, I believed Leo was telling the truth from the beginning.
I believe he’s telling the truth about Greg being a jerk when it’s just him around, too. I mean, he’s probably exaggerating for a laugh, but some cats hate men. Or women. Or people with beards. They’re fickle that way.
But there’s just something about this man that makes me want to trust him. (And kiss him and run my hands through his shaggy hair and make him laugh at least four times a day for the foreseeable future. But the ‘trusting him’ part is the only one that squares with the fact that he’s my new boss and my cousin’s ex. Ugh!)
I release Greg’s paw and glance Leo’s way.
“It’s there, isn’t it?” he asks. “The black heart?”
I nod. “Vivian has some explaining to do.”
“Agreed. But maybe it can wait until we wrap filming?” Leo asks. “No offense, but Vivian is a world class manipulator. If you call her now, I’m afraid she’ll find a way to convince you that this isn’t Greg, I’m actually a horrible person, and you should go running back to Vermont as fast as your pretty legs can carry you.”
“I’m not that easily swayed,” I say, stroking the still-purring Greg. “But yes, I agree, that conversation can wait. Though I do have one more Vivian-related question for you, if you don’t mind.”
“Shoot,” he says.
“Did you cheat on her in a sauna while the two of you were on vacation in Maine?”
His chin rears back and his forehead wrinkles with righteous indignation. “Hell, no! We never even went to Maine. She said she hated the country, that she had, and I quote ‘spent enough of her childhood living in the sticks to never want to go back.’ The one time we went on vacation, it was to Paris for a long weekend, and she spent most of it shopping.” He takes a deep breath, smoothing the front of his shirt as he collects himself. “Though I do have a sauna at my cabin in Maine. I built it myself.”
“Wow,” I murmur, stroking Greg, who is now draped fully over my shoulder like a sleepy baby, his purring head beside mine. “A comedian, a producer, and good with tools. Is there anything you can’t do, Mr. Fenton?”
“I can’t cook, and I’m in an abusive relationship with a cat,” he says, glancing down at Greg, his brow furrowing. “I swear, he’s not like this. He’s gaslighting me. I know what you’re doing, Greg. Don’t even think about jumping into my arms when we’re alone. I won’t catch you. Because I know you’ll be after my eyeballs.”
I turn to face Leo more fully, but the teasing remark on my lips dies when I catch a glimpse of Greg’s expression in the mirror on the wall. Gone is the sleepy cat grin. In its place, is something far more diabolical, a menacing glare aimed straight at Leo.
“Greg?” I whisper. “What’s up? Why the angry face?”
Greg grumbles something in feline that I can’t understand but that makes Leo’s eyes widen.
“He said he hates it here,” Leo mutters, “and that he’ll rip my face off to escape if he has to. Just like that chimp in Connecticut.”
I scoff as I stroke Greg’s silky fur. “Oh no, he didn’t. But I think I might have a solution to this problem. Be good to Leo from now on, okay, Greg? And when the show is finished filming in two weeks, I’ll take you home with me. Would you like to come to Vermont and be our inn cat and sleep by the fire and get treats every day?”
Greg perks up, but it’s when Leo adds, “And terrorize the country birds to your heart’s content?” that his feline grin stretches wide again.