Fortunately, Felix has my back. He grunts and nudges my feet with his head. Looking down, he’s laying on his side between me and the coffee table.
“I think he wants you to rub his belly.”
I huff a laugh and reach down to scratch his furry belly, prompting him to kick with his back leg. “You’re a needy thing.”
When I look back over at Kelsey, I notice that she’s watching me, and not her dog. Even in this light, I can see the flush that creeps over her pale cheeks when I catch her staring, and I take a little bit of satisfaction in knowing that she still likes to look at me. Her eyes spot something on the coffee table and she reaches out from under the blanket for her phone. “Shit. It’s almost midnight. What time did your flight get in?”
“Just after eleven. When did you pass out and get trapped by my tiny cat?”
She sets her phone in her lap and gives me a sidelong glance.
“Probably around ten.” Her eyes drop to Oscar who’s still in my lap, while I absentmindedly pet her. “And she’s nefarious, OK? I bet you trained her to trap me here in some grand scheme so we could talk.”
She doesn’t realize it, but she just told me everything I needed to know. Suddenly, my brain is fully functional.
If she thinks I’m interested in her, she’s dead fucking right. I am.
More importantly, she thinks that, and she's still choosing to be around me.
“So you think I want to talk so bad that I’d plot and scheme to get your undivided attention? What would we be talking about exactly?”
Her eyes widen and this time her cheeks go bright red. I love the way her pale skin does her no favors in hiding theadorable shade of her blushing. She fumbles for words and I can’t help but grin.
“Cat got your tongue?”
Her flustered expression disappears at my tease. “Dork. You’re really going to use a cat pun when you’re holding that troublemaker who tried to smother me in my sleep?”
I shrug but don’t say anything. Instead I just keep petting Oscar with one hand and scratching Felix with the other because I made my point. She knows where I was going with that. I’ll take that little victory for the night.
I let out a long sigh and drop my head. As much as I’m trying to fight it so I can focus on talking with her, the stress of the day is starting to win out. I stop scratching Felix to wipe the sleep out of my eyes.
She sets her phone back down on the coffee table. “Are you alright?”
Her gaze roams over me—from my hands, up my arms, and finally to my face. The look is exactly the same as the one she leveled on me when Felix tackled me in the entrance to her apartment that night years ago.
Just like the night we met, it feels good to have someone look at me like maybe I’m not OK. Maybe I do need someone to ask how I’m doing. And just like that night, I soak it up.
I let out a deep breath and feel my body relax. I lean further back into my couch and notice that she doesn’t move when my back presses against her waist. Outside of TJ, my family are the people I’d normally vent to but they’re also the reason I’m exhausted so that doesn’t exactly work.
“Just worn out. Between working here, catering my sister’s upcoming wedding, and helping with the Seattle restaurant, it’s a lot. Even my family’s business back in Sterling Springs has needed me.”
“Oh.” Her voice trails up in surprise. “What do they do again?”
“My dad and younger brother run the family’s car repair shop.”
She seems to take a moment to process that before she gives me a funny look.
“Wait a minute. Is that where you took my car? You drove it all the way to New Mexico and back?”
I look down and laugh. “Yeah. It wasn’t my greatest idea, but it felt right in the moment.”
“You’re crazy. You know that, right?” Her eyes soften. “But I also never said thank you.”
My shoulder rises and fall. “You don’t need to.”
“Well, thank you anyway.” Her phone buzzes on the table which pulls her focus from me and I’m tempted to throw it across the room to keep her attention. She grabs it and groans. “Shit. That’s Monica just reminding me about opening tomorrow. I should probably be responsible and get to bed.”
She wiggles out from behind me and climbs off the couch. Felix rolls over and gets up with her. I grab Oscar and curl her into the crook of my elbow and sigh. “Well, let me walk you to your door at least.”