Chapter 12
Teddy wasn’t going to lie. It didn’t suck to be greeted with squeals and bouncy hugs after a long day at the clinic, dodging Kylee’s innuendos while trying to prove to Dr Nolan that he was the right guy to look after the clinic when he went away.
“Hey, Sammy.” He ruffled the boy’s brown hair. “Long time no see, my friend. Where’s your mum?”
Sam shrugged and turned around. “Mum! Teddy’s here!”
“Samuel. Did you open the front door? What’s our rule?” Jessica’s stern tone floated down the hallway, and damn, it shouldn’t have been such a turn-on.
“But it’s Teddy. I know Teddy.” Sam’s hand slipped inside Teddy’s, and he dragged him down the hallway. “Come see Blue. She sleeps a lot.”
Last night, the vet had confirmed that the newly named Blue was a girl and guessed she was about six weeks old.
“Hi.” Jessica appeared in front of Teddy.
Christ, she looked good. Her hair was damp, which made the curls more pronounced.
Not for the first time, he had an urge to tug gently on the end of one and watch it spring back into place.
She’d tied half her hair up, but some tendrils had already escaped, framing her face.
“Ready to try this again?” She raised her brows at him.
By the time they’d finished at the vet, Sam had been flagging, and Jessica had asked if they could reschedule.
Teddy didn’t know much about relationships, but he’d heard his mother—and father, for that matter—say that marriage was about compromise.
Might as well start as they meant to continue, even if it wasn’t real.
Teddy held up the bags he was carrying, filled with different toys and other cat accessories.
“I found a few things for Blue.” There’d been no time for a lunchtime walk today once he discovered how much stuff was on the market for kittens.
Walking away from the cat jumpers had been unexpectedly difficult. “How was her first night?”
Jessica’s eyes softened. He’d bet that little fluffball had already wormed her way into Jessica’s heart. Something hit him in the chest. It wasn’t jealousy. Even though he was pretty sure no one had ever looked at him like that.
“She did pretty well.”
Teddy glanced around the kitchen. “Where’s her bed?” The vet had loaned them one last night because all the stores were already closed.
Jessica ducked her head and mumbled something.
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
Another thing that made him feel things he shouldn’t? Joking with Jessica in her kitchen. It was way too fun already. So was her huffy, loud sigh that indicated she knew Teddy was about to tease her.
“In my room.”
“Aww, Sunshine, I knew you were a big softie.”
“No one can hear you right now. There’s no need to pretend.” She rolled her eyes.
Teddy pulled out a cat toy and pointed the fish that was dangling from the end of the stick at her. “I don’t need to pretend to enjoy teasing you.”
He could do this. He could practice being a good boyfriend.
Jessica shook her head, but if Teddy wasn’t mistaken, a tiny smile bloomed on her pink lips before she turned away from him, stirring something on the cooktop. Whatever it was, it smelt fantastic. One day, he’d have to learn how to cook properly, but luckily for him, today wasn’t that day.
He finished unpacking the things he’d bought for Blue and noticed the paperwork on the table.
There was a draft pre-nuptial agreement and a Notice of Intended Marriage.
Part of it had already been filled out in Jessica’s scratchy handwriting.
A laugh bubbled up his throat when he saw the name she’d written down.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” he said.
“Your middle name is Angel? Maybe that should be your nickname.”
“Sunshine’s fine,” she said dryly.
“I’m shooting for better than ‘fine’, thanks very much.”
See. Look how good Teddy already was at practicing to be a good boyfriend.
Jessica sighed, but her eyes were brighter than before. “Here’s a revolutionary idea: you could just go back to Jessica. Forget you ever saw Angel.”
He laughed. This was going to be the perfect reset from the old Teddy to the new, improved version of himself.
Jessica was great, Sam was a hoot and while he wouldn’t be spending that much time with Blue—the James family was staunchly Team Dog—he was a big fan of the kitty already.
She’d been so snuggly last night, and apparently Teddy was a big fan of snuggles.
“But Angel’s such a sweet name.”
“I assume my mother was high on painkillers when she chose it.”
Teddy picked up a pen and started adding his details to the paper.
“At least you got something unique. My middle name is Matthew, which means the exact same thing as my first name. Tell me you’re the fourth son without telling me you’re the fourth son.
Although”—he paused, hoping Jessica would turn around.
When she did, he grinned—“it’s a double serve of ‘gift of God’, which I think we can all agree is accurate.
” He added an exaggerated eyebrow waggle before winking at her.
“Careful, Teddy,” Jessica said, her lips curving into a smile he wasn’t used to seeing on her face. One he liked being directed at him a little too much.
“What?”
She pointed at the ceiling. “This roof has only just been replaced. We can’t have your ego blowing it off the house again.”
He clutched at his chest, and warmth spread throughout his body. “Sunshine, you wound me.”
“You’ll survive.” Jessica turned back to the stove and started serving spaghetti bolognese.
“Want to know what I think?” Teddy said, abandoning the paperwork and picking up one of the crayons in front of Sam.
“Hmmm?” Jessica tossed over her shoulder.
Teddy pointed at himself and then at her. “This is going to work.”