4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Soren
Ihad never rambled so often in my life. Every time Sam said something, I suddenly had ten questions. A niece he cared for? An accident that devastated his family? A workout routine?
Yeah, I’d noticed he was trimmer. He’d never been that overweight.
He’d been…cute. Cuddly. Now, though? Smoking hot.
With the unique hairstyle to emphasize his high cheekbones.
My body kept saying yes please—him again.
My mind reminded said libido that things hadn’t ended well the last time, and I’d do well to remember that.
He and the kittens were here under my protection.
I placed the suitcase on the floor and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. In case night had fallen before he came upstairs. I’d already changed the sheets and put out fresh towels in the bathroom. Anything I could do to ensure he felt welcomed.
The scent of pasta reached me as I hustled down the stairs.
Sam sat on the couch with the box in his lap, and he appeared to be stroking the kittens.
“Hey, how about we eat while sitting on the couch tonight? Informal, right?” Just two guys shooting the shit…
“You don’t mind?” Sam frowned. “They seem to have survived the trip, and I’ve got the heating pad plugged in and warming up, but I’m still worried.”
“Well, let’s not stress about dinner. I’ll grab you a plate. What would you like to drink?”
“Water would be amazing.”
“Done.” I grinned as I headed into the kitchen. Having Sam so readily agree to my idea helped buoy me. I’d still have to be careful not to run roughshod over him. He was here, and that was all that mattered. He has to control the terms or he’ll likely run again.
I dished up two plates. “Parmesan?” I sort of yelled that and belatedly realized I might wake the kittens.
Tibby was being the awesome pup I knew her to be and was hanging out in my bedroom without whining or barking. Probably not happy—but behaving herself.
“That would be great.” Sam answered—although his volume was a bit lower than mine.
I added the parmesan as well as the meatballs. Then I prepared two glasses of ice water. I headed into the great room with a plate of steaming pasta, cutlery, and the water.
Sam gently put the box to the side, cleaned his hands with a wipe, and accepted the plate with a huge grin.
I put the water on a coaster on the side table. “Everything okay?” I gazed at him. “You didn’t eat lunch, did you? I remembered when I got to Foggy Basin that I’d forgotten my promise to feed you.”
He smiled. Tiredly…but a smile. “I was fine. I had crackers and some peanut butter. Lots of protein.”
“Damn—there’s not much protein in this meal.”
He cocked his head. “Meatballs have plenty. I’ve done okay for the day.”
“You’ll have to take me through what you eat so when I run to Dillons’ grocery store tomorrow, I can stock up on what you need.”
“Soren.” He sighed. “I’m fine. Whatever you have—”
I shook my head—effectively cutting him off.
“No way. You’re my guest. I want things to be as close to normal for you as they can be so you can focus on the kittens, your job, and your health.
A bit of grocery shopping isn’t much for me.
I’ll do it right when you get home so the kittens aren’t alone. ”
His gaze softened. “That’s kind. If you have to go out, though, I’m sure—”
Again, I shook my head. “Look, I can go for days without leaving the house. I’m always stocked up with everything I need. I do venture out for fresh food and company. Sometimes. The rest of the time, I’m good. Now, eat up. You need your strength.” With that, I headed back into the kitchen.
Sam was twenty-nine to my thirty-seven, but I felt incredibly protective of him.
Like he was way younger than he was. Hell, he was the manager of the pet store.
I didn’t know precisely what that entailed, but he always seemed damn busy.
All while raising his niece and now handling kittens?
That’s a lot of responsibility for a guy that young.
Except young was relative. Plenty of guys were fathers and had established careers in their twenties while other flitted around.
Christian and Noah were in the married-and-careers bucket.
I grabbed my dinner and water glass, then headed back to the great room. I chose the chair closest to Sam, put the water glass on the side table, and then plopped into the chair with a sigh.
He grinned. “Long day?”
As I snickered, I twirled some pasta onto my fork. “Not hardly. I did a few hours on the computer this morning, but that was it. I’ve got a crack team, and we just finished a huge project. Lolita—doubtful that’s her real name—ordered me to take some time off.”
Sam arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the boss?”
“Yep. Doesn’t mean I don’t listen to valuable employees. She’s got my phone number and knows how to reach me if something urgent comes up. Plus, she’s in New Zealand—which is nineteen hours ahead of us.”
“Oh. I’m not sure I know what that means. I don’t spend a lot of time dealing with time zones. Except one of our major distributors is on the east coast, and I swear they all quit working at, like, three.”
I chuckled. “It means that while it’s six o’clock here, she’s only at one in the afternoon. I’ve got another employee who works in Geneva and covers the time when east coast and I are asleep.”
“How many employees do you have?”
“Thirteen, as well as a couple dozen contractors who I can bring on board for any project or in case of an emergency.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “That many?”
“Sure. We have clients in numerous countries. Plus other contracts we pick up.”
“What exactly do you do?” He cut a meatball and ate half.
“Primarily incursions. We test the security of a company’s computer system. See if we can hack it. What the vulnerabilities are. What their privacy settings are and if we can compromise personal information.”
Sam frowned. “That sounds complicated.”
“Probably about as much as running a store. You’ve got cash, inventory, delivery scheduling, employees…” I held his gaze.
“Yeah. But no one’s security is at stake.” He scratched his chin. “It’s not life or death.”
“Sure. But if you run out of a certain kind of food, then you have disappointed owners. If you buy the wrong toys, then you’re stuck with inventory you don’t need. If you don’t schedule employees, then you have gaps.”
He grimaced. “I need to hire another person. But Quinta’s due back any day. If I hire someone, then they’ll be relegated to just a handful of shifts once she’s home. I just can’t figure out why she hasn’t come home yet. But it’s college and I don’t necessarily understand all that.”
I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Just that I thought the school year was over, but Quinta says she’s got more going on. And I don’t want to push—her academics need to come first. That said, I could really use the help.”
“Yikes. So the kittens arriving when they did couldn’t have been worse timing.”
“Nope. But then surprises rarely happen at good times. And, in my experience, they’re never good.”
That comment took me aback. He’s never had a good surprise?
Is that from his childhood onward or just since the accident?
And why does it matter so much to me? Because I wanted him to smile more.
To have good things happen to him. Still, I didn’t respond, and we fell into a companionable silence as we ate our dinners.
I was capable of cooking more complicated fare, but I’d aimed for easiest tonight.
Getting everything done in time for Noah’s arrival was most important.
Just as I had that thought, the doorbell rang.
Sam startled.
“It’s just Noah.” I rose. “Give me a second, and I’ll grab your plate.” I put mine down on the coffee table and made my way over to the front door.
Noah stood on my stoop with a grin on his face. His eyes glittered and his dark skin shone in the waning light.
“Good timing. I just need to put the dishes in the kitchen. Come on in. Don’t worry about your shoes.” I offered a rueful smile. “I have a dog who loves the lake and who sheds. I spend a lot of time sweeping and mopping the floor.”
“Oh, I get that. I’m lucky Christian doesn’t mind sharing that stuff. Well, I do more because, frankly, he’s a better chef.” He stepped inside and I closed the door. He stepped forward. “Oh God, that view is amazing.” He continued toward the wall of windows.
Accustomed to that reaction from visitors, I headed toward the couch—only to find it empty and all the plates and glasses gone. I peeked into the box to find the kittens asleep. I caught movement from the corner of my eye and turned to see Sam step back into the room. I smiled. “Thanks for that.”
“My pleasure. Hey, Noah.” He stepped toward the man.
They had the same dark skin, but Noah was significantly shorter. Like half a foot. Since Sam and Christian were the same height, Noah was a sight shorter than his husband as well.
They always made a striking couple of opposites. Redheaded and fair-skinned Christian and handsome Black Noah.
Noah extended his hand to shake Sam’s. “It’s been what, three days? How much trouble have you gotten yourself into?”
Sam winced. “A bunch.”
“We’ll get it sorted. You’re here and getting help—that’s what matters.”
At that moment, Sam’s alarm went off. He switched it off. “Feeding time.”
Noah grinned. “Awesome. I get to watch, right?”
“Sure.” Sam rummaged in his backpack and pulled out the container of food and the feeding bottle. “I’ll be right back.” He caught my gaze. “You can introduce him to them.” With that, he took off.
I beckoned Noah over and gestured for him to sit on the opposite side of the box from where Sam had been sitting.
He peered into the box. “Three?”
“Yep. The white-and-orange one is Peaches.”
He chuckled. “But, of course.”
“The black-and-white one is Jack, and Carlos is the gray one.” I glanced toward the kitchen, but Sam had yet to appear. “Dr. Genner is worried about that one. Sam couldn’t really articulate why.”