2. Chapter Two #2
Sam shot me a look. An expression I chose to read as gratitude.
Miranda gave me a once-over. “Thank you. I don’t think I caught your name.”
“Soren.” I considered giving my last name, but decided not to. She wasn’t likely to need cybersecurity, so giving her a way to find me wasn’t necessary.
“Nice name.” She winked. “Persephone and I know our way around the store.” With that, she sashayed away. No other word for it as she gently swayed her hips.
Sam let out a sigh.
I arched an eyebrow.
He winced.
Give him something. “I understand. I really do.” Except did I? I was working off the assumption Miranda was flirting and Sam wasn’t comfortable with that. Of course, I could’ve been reading things incorrectly. I’d never met Miranda, and I barely knew Sam.
“Thank you. She…won’t take a hint.”
“Ah.” I held Sam’s gaze. His dark-brown eyes were luminous—despite the odd, bright light of the store. “Would it help if I pretended to be your boyfriend?”
His eyes widened.
“Or not.” Because, again, I might be reading things all wrong.
He cleared his throat. “Tonight sounds great, Soren. You want to come to my place? We can do takeout. I think I’ll be too tired to cook.”
I wasn’t surprised when Miranda put a bag of kibble and three tins of cat food on the counter. She pivoted her attention to me. “You said you were Sam’s friend.” An arched eyebrow.
“It’s new. We haven’t had the boyfriend discussion yet. I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
“Yeah, we’re boyfriends.” Sam offered a smile as he tucked Jack under the blanket. “I’ll stimulate his bladder in a second.” He squirted some disinfectant gel into his palm and rubbed his hands. Then he scanned Miranda’s items. He gave her the total.
She tapped her card on the reader.
Sam put the three tins into a small paper bag.
Miranda tossed the receipt in as well. She offered a smile I couldn’t quite interpret. “Until next month, Sam.” She turned to me. “Nice to meet you, Soren. I’m happy to see Sam’s found someone.” With that, she and Persephone left the store.
Within a heartbeat, Sam had Jack in his hands and was gently rubbing the kitten’s belly.
I peered into the box. “The heating pad isn’t plugged in.”
“Just for a few minutes. Once they’re fed, I’ll take it to the back again. If you don’t mind watching the store.”
“Of course I don’t mind.” I scratched Tibby’s ears. “We’re very free today.” I eyed the kittens. “Look, you obviously need help.”
He met my gaze with what I now recognized as bleary eyes. I couldn’t tell if he had bags under his eyes. But those eyes were red.
He sighed. “It’s only been two days.”
“And you’ll have to keep it up for how long?”
“Weeks.” He blinked. “But I have to do it. I tried to find a foster home, but haven’t been able to. I can’t let anything happen to them. And I’m sorry you felt you had to pretend to be my boyfriend. I’ve tried telling Miranda that I’m gay. She’s not big on taking hints.”
“Awkward.”
“Yeah.”
“Look, I don’t mind. At all. Whatever pretense you need to put up is fine with me.” Pretend to be your boyfriend? Yes, please. “What does this entail? Do we have to be spotted around town? I’m not here often. Heck, I don’t even know where you live.”
“Here. Well, not at the store. Three streets over. Easy commute.”
“And there’s no one in town to help you with the kittens?”
He shook his head.
I pursed my lips. “Let me make a phone call?”
He blinked. “Sure.” He sounded anything but sure. Probably because I was being cryptic.
I held up my phone and exited the store with Tibby. The sun was beating down, so I sought the shade of a tree. I hit Noah’s number and waited for the call to connect—praying he’d be there.
“Hey, Soren. To what do I owe the pleasure?” His voice came through clear with just a touch of that Tennessee accent that seemed to be disappearing more and more each day.
“Glad you picked up. I have a bit of a situation, and I need your advice. Is now a good time?”
“Sure. I’m between clients and just hanging at the house. Do you want to come over? Is it about Tibby?” Trust Noah to immediately assume I was calling about Tibby.
And since I was, sort of, I smiled. “I have an odd question for you. I’ve seen plenty of cute videos with big dogs and little kittens. How safe is that?”
“Are you planning to bring home a basket of kittens? Is this a hypothetical?”
“Let’s just say I came across someone with kittens who needed help. Now, I wouldn’t want to exclude Tibby…”
“I hear what you’re saying. The situation really depends on the dog.
With Tibby’s nature? I wouldn’t be worried.
You still need to do the introductions carefully as Tibby might not have a sense of how easily she could damage a kitten.
With her gentleness, though, I don’t foresee problems. What’s up? ” Asked casually.
“A friend has rescued a litter of kittens, and he’s having a rough time. I just thought I could help, you know? But I don’t want to just leave Tibby alone. Or in another room.”
“Got it. Look, I’ve got some time tonight. Do you want me to help guide you through an introduction? Help you figure out how best to approach the situation?”
“You could do that? I know you’re busy—”
He chuckled. “My evening client canceled—bad case of the flu. The owner, not the dog.”
“Always important to clarify.”
“Yeah, for sure. Is this at your place?”
“It might be. Or it might be in Hartsville. I can pay you, as well as gas money and—”
“This sounds like it would be a public service. Look, I was going to be working tonight anyway.”
“You could spend the evening with Christian.”
Another chuckle. “We do that every night. Sometimes he appreciates his space.”
I didn’t believe that for a moment—but I needed the help. “I’ll text you the location. Well, it also might not happen if my friend isn’t willing to accept the help.”
“Oh? Seems to me that you’re pretty good at persuasion. You managed to get the dog to listen to you.”
“Are you suggesting I can convince someone to trust me just by my charm and charisma?”
“Yep.”
“You are optimistic.” This time, I laughed.
“Okay, I’ll get back to you. Regardless, thanks for this.
For being willing to help.” As I ended the call, I realized I hadn’t said the friend was Sam.
Noah and Sam were close, so that wouldn't be an issue.
But Noah might want to know if Sam and I had resolved the Christmas kerfuffle.
Nope. We had not.
At some point we might have to talk about it—but now was not that moment.