I walked over and picked up the crazy feline. “Sorry. Are you okay? That was Izzy’s cat. He doesn’t come out often. He’s shy.”
Hunter rubbed his head, then raised his eyes to the cat in my hand. His eyes widened. “Does he…have one eye?”
I petted the top of its head. “Yeah. He was a stray that Izzy used to feed when she lived with her mom. Must’ve gotten into a fight and lost it at one point. He doesn’t have a tail either.”
“That’s one ugly cat.”
“Hey, be nice. Catpernicus has feelings, too.”
Hunter arched a brow. “Catpernicus?”
“Izzy’s into astronomy. We call him Cat for short. He likes to sleep in the closet. Poor thing digs himself under the discarded teenage clothing heap in her room. I think he probably had it rough on the streets.”
I dug my nails into the top of Catpernicus’s head, and he pushed up and licked the inside of my wrist while starting to purr.
Hunter grumbled, “Lucky pussy,” and went back under the sink.
Fifteen minutes later, my sink was fixed.
“I really can’t thank you enough.”
“No problem.” Hunter washed his hands and grabbed the other bag, which I now noticed was still full.
“Did you buy extra parts in case you needed them?”
“Nope. Got a flat-head screwdriver?”
“Sure.” I went to the junk drawer and pulled one out as Hunter emptied the contents of the other bag. Inside was a Baldwin lock and key set.
“Changing the lock on your front door while I’m at it, so that asshole can’t help himself inside while you’re in the shower one day.”
I’d never thought of that. But now that he’d said it, I was glad he was doing it, because I wouldn’t sleep tonight with that idea planted in my head.
“Wow. Yeah. Thank you. That’s great.”
***
“I should get going.” Hunter polished off the beer I’d given him after he’d finished fixing my sink and changing my door lock. Since Izzy had texted that she was going over to her friend’s after the boys’ basketball game, I didn’t have anything I needed to do for the rest of the afternoon or evening.
“Do you want to stay and watch a movie or something? I could make you a late dinner since we ate a late lunch?”
Hunter crossed to where I was standing to toss out the beer bottle, then brushed a lock of hair from my face. “I should go.”
His hand lingered
on my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin as our eyes locked. God, I wanted him so badly I ached. I longed for his other hand to cup my face the way he had during the kisses we’d shared. It was so intimate, so passionate. But as always, fear kept me from telling him that or acting on my feelings.
Hunter read the fear in my eyes and nodded with a sad smile. “I definitely should go.”
We walked to the door in silence. When he opened it, a sense of panic washed over me. “You’re going to Mom’s for dinner tomorrow night, right? She invited you?”
“She did. But I’m going to tell her I can’t make it. You should take your date, instead.”
My date. I had zero desire to take Marcus to Mom’s. In fact, I had zero desire for Marcus. Unlike the man who stood in front of me.
“Will I see you again?”
“I’m here for two months. If you need anything, give me a call. Plus, I’ll check in on how Izzy’s stats improve.” He held out his hand for the first time, instead of kissing me like he’d done every other time we’d said goodbye. “Friends, not fucking?”