Blue Roses(38)

“I know you’re talking to the cat,” he says, pretending to have hurt feelings. For the last two weeks, Muffin has been coming to visit a lot, and Luca jokingly acts like a jealous boyfriend. He and the cat seem to be bonding on their own, though, often snuggling up on the couch together watching their favorite crime shows. Well, Luca likes his crime shows and Muffin likes a warm lap.

I stretch and roll to the side, tipping Muffin off me and into my arms. I bury my face in my fur and inhale. He likes to sleep in fresh laundry, and he always smells so good. He pulls away and marches off, flicking his tail in disgust.

“Why do you keep sneaking over here?” I ask the cat. He flicks his tail and gives me a hurt look. “Oh, Meenie’s not giving you enough attention.”

I sit upright on my couch and shake my head to clear the sleep. It’s only nine o’clock in the evening, and I must have conked right out after dinner.

I turn and give Luca a shy smile. “Was I snoring? Or drooling?”

He flicks the switch to get his coffee brewing. “You’re my Sleeping Beauty,” he says.

“Luca, I don’t understand how you can drink coffee in the evening and still sleep.”

“It’s half-caff.” He grabs one crutch to help him walk, and brings me a cup of tea with a speed that’s surprising for a guy in a cast. “Careful, it’s hot,” he says.

I smooth down my hair, feeling self-conscious, and take the tea. “You take such good care of me.”

“Hah!” He hops back to the kitchen to watch the coffee maker finish brewing his cup. “You’re the one who looks after me,” he says. “Trust me on this one. For a guy who grew up with just his father, I notice when a woman is being good to me.”

“Who wouldn’t be good to you? You’re adorable.”

He snorts, which only makes him look more adorable.

“You’d be surprised,” he says. “I don’t like to talk about the past, because it’s all in the past, but I’ve dated some women with some weird ideas about how things should be. Some real Barbie doll types.”

“Like that real estate agent? Somehow, I can’t imagine you putting up with that for long.”

He laughs, his sexy voice a deep rumble. I bite my lower lip. We haven’t made love since this morning, and I’m already anticipating our next session. Just the mention of other women is making me want to claim Luca, body and soul.

The coffee maker finishes gurgling, and he hops back over to the couch and sits next to me.

“Cheers.” He clinks his mug against my tea cup.

“Sorry I fell asleep after dinner like that. I was up late last night, worrying about my sister.”

“Meenie? Why?”

Muffin jumps up on the couch with us and starts testing out whose lap is better. Luca pats the cat with his big hands, stroking him hard enough to pull Muffin’s upper eyelids back so he looks like he’s in a wind tunnel. The cat loves it, preferring Luca’s lap over mine. The little traitor.

“Well, it’s Tuesday. She’s at her self-help group tonight, which is why the Muff-meister is over here. I’m worried that the group is becoming her main relationship. Do you think maybe it’s a cult?”

Luca chuckles. “If she shaves her head and takes an interest in the tambourine, I’ll get worried then.” He leans over and plants a kiss on my lips. I don’t like the taste of coffee, except for on Luca’s mouth. I could taste that all night.

“Meenie’s always had trouble with relationships.”

He sips his coffee, listening without commenting.

I continue, “When we were eight, she’d hold boys down and kiss them. I swear this one family moved away from the neighborhood because they thought she was bullying their son.”

Luca fights a smirk. “She’s quite the girl. I like your sister, and not just because she reminds me of you. She’s got a good heart, and she cares about other people. You know, I’ve got a mechanic at the shop who might like what she has to offer.”

I reach up and pat his chest. “You’re the one with the good heart.” I keep rubbing, enjoying the ridges of his muscles under his shirt. He grabs my hand and kisses my fingertips.

“It’s too early to pull out the bed,” he says.

“Tease.” I pull my hand away.

“We could watch some TV, or we could put on some music and play that Scrabble you have in the closet.”

I jump up from the couch and race to get the Scrabble board. Muffin leaps into action like we’re having a fire drill and scrambles out the open window. Tail held high, he crosses the back lawn to the main house.