Chapter 37
Angela
The coffee won’t come out of the machine fast enough.
Yawning, I lean on the counter, put my head in my hands, and beg the hiss and gurgle of boiling water to come to an end.
To say I slept poorly would be overselling the situation.
I’m not sure I slept at all. To make matters worse, the sky offshore is dark and dangerous.
The mood is ominous. Sunshine over my head, but doom heading my way.
A check of my weather app confirms my suspicions. While I was preoccupied with Garrett, a tropical storm spun up in the Atlantic and set the Keys in her sights. The prognosis looks scary but survivable, though lord knows the weather can change on a dime.
The good news is Garrett might be trapped on this island with me a few days longer. The storm might give me some extra time with him, but then what? I groan at the thought, so like the ones that kept me awake last night.
What now, Angela?
What now?
We sign on the dotted line tonight. We have dinner with my family and then…what?
Surely, Garrett has a life to get back to, but what about me? About us? Is this the end?
I scoff. The end of what, exactly?
The relationship he was super clear he didn’t want?
A part of me dreads what’s coming. The meeting. The dinner. Garrett leaving.
I’m not ready to give him up.
A better person would have talked to him about it last night. Explained what I was thinking. How I’ve been feeling. But no. Not me. I ran away faster than you can say, “So where do we go from here?”
Ugh!
Who am I right now? Angela Hutton doesn’t run away from difficulty. She puts her head down and does what needs done.
The end.
After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I pace into the living room, which instantly brings Garrett to mind. His hand on my head as I took him deep into my mouth. The silky warmth of his dick against my tongue. The way it felt when he pulled me to my feet, bent me over the couch and—
Nope. The living room is not the place to be.
I about face and head to the deck. I’ll watch the storm stir the ocean, the palms lash in the wind. I’ll count flashes of lightning and wonder how long until I hear thunder.
Being with Garrett is doing something to me.
I’m…weaker. More vulnerable. I’m thinking with my hormones instead of my head and if I’m right…
if I actually have feelings for him, then I need to talk to him about it.
He deserves to know what’s going on and I deserve a chance to speak my truth and see what happens.
I fight an urge to call Nick. Not only does the time zone thing always mess me up—I have no idea if he’s at work or fast asleep right now—but I don’t want to admit to him how awful I’m being. He’s so good. So genuine. So…
…he’s one of the best people I know and if I tell him this story, he’ll be disappointed in me. He’ll tell me to stop being an idiot, put all things Garrett Cooper out of my mind, and get my head on straight. He’ll tell me to forget the craziness between us and focus on the job at hand.
And he’d be right.
I just don’t think I can do it.
After talking myself out of a rare bad mood, I grab the kitten food and head outside. Fluff hops onto the porch while Orange dashes away, only to think better of it and slink back. “The weather’s going to be bad for the next couple days,” I say as kibble clatters into bowls.
Surely, they have a place to go. They’re basically wild animals, and therefore better equipped to handle this kind of stuff than I’ll ever be.
But the thought of them out in the storm…wet, cold, scared…it breaks me. I’m going to have to figure something out.
Maybe Garrett knows—
His name brings a boatload of stress…excitement…anticipation…
It blends together and washes through my system. I growl in frustration, scaring the shit out of Orange, who disappears into the bushes probably never to be seen again. Fluff jumps off the porch, then right back up again, cocking his head as if to say, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Sorry,” I say. “I’m driving myself a little crazy here.”
The wind picks up, blasting my hair into my face as Fluff makes his way to the food bowl. I have to figure out some kind of shelter for them.
This storm looks like it’s going to be a doozy.
By the time I’ve showered, the weather forecast has worsened. A line of dark clouds marches in from the ocean. The palms whip back and forth while the waves crash and roll, attacking and retreating again and again, abusing the beach with their rage.
I’m so nervous I can’t sit still, and the weather is the least of my concerns.
With tonight’s meeting at The Hut being the only thing on my agenda, I’ll worry myself into oblivion if I don’t find a distraction.
So, I do the only rational thing in this situation.
I drive to the pet store, grab a litter box, a scratching post, and more toys than any animal needs, then head home.
The kittens are on the porch when I pull to a stop and don’t scurry away as quickly as they normally do.
Maybe they know I’m a place of safety. That I mean them no harm.
Maybe they want me as much as I want them.
Maybe I wasn’t stupid to cultivate this relationship.
Or maybe I’m losing my mind and spinning the story to make myself feel better about the mistakes I’ve made with Garrett.
After unloading the bags of cat gear, I stand with my hands on my hips and stare at the door. What now?
…What now, Angela? What now…?
It’s not like I can so much as touch them…
After some internet searches, I choose the easiest option and cross my fingers. Propping the door open, I leave a trail of treats from their favorite bush right through the house and into the guest bathroom. Then, with nothing better to do, I camp out in my living room and wait.
But not for long.
Fluff appears first, always the brave one, with Orange skittering along behind, too afraid to be without his brother.
They follow the line of treats right into the guest bathroom, where I have two bowls of food and a litter box waiting.
While they chow down, I quietly close the door, then stare in shock.
I laugh lightly, happiness warming my heart as a roll of thunder sounds outside. “I think I just adopted a pair of feral kittens.”
A teeny tiny mew sounds in agreement.
The reading I’ve done suggests getting them used to the house one room at a time. I’ll let them acclimate to this one while I choose an outfit for the meeting, then check on them before I leave.
I’ll wear the red heels tonight.