The Favor

I nodded. “Let’s just keep moving. The last thing I want to do is bump into them. I’d only lose my shit, which they’d both just love to see happen.”

Ashley curled her arm around my waist and guided me forward. “They’re not worth it, hon.”

“Here, fucking, here,” clipped Hanna.

Stepping into the foyer of Dane’s house later that day, I let out a long sigh and felt my shoulders droop. God, I was tired. Tired of the people around me acting like assholes.

I didn’t want to be so pissed by Heather and Owen’s sly little move. I didn’t want to waste that emotional energy on them. But how could I not be pissed that my ex-fiancé —a man who I’d once trusted not to hurt me—was now, at the very least, co-conspiring with the woman he knew hated me as much as I detested her? How could I not be pissed that said woman wouldn’t just concentrate on living her own life instead of always setting out to shit all over mine?

I’d tried shoving the whole thing out of my head as I browsed the stores at the mall. I’d told myself not to give the assholes the power to fuck up my day. But, yeah, it hadn’t worked.

Although I’d assured my friends that I was fine, neither of them bought it. Still, they’d thankfully let me be—likely well-aware that talking more about the matter would only make me angrier.

Not once in my life had I returned from the mall empty handed, but I just hadn’t been interested in shopping; hadn’t been in the mood to buy anything or have fun with my friends.

Questions kept pricking at me. Were they dating? Were they conspiring to cause trouble? Were they—

“Vienna?”

Blinking, I looked up to see Dane on the landing, his expression so carefully blank that my nape tingled.

“Come up here,” he said, his tone flat.

I didn’t move from where I stood. “Why, what’s wrong?”

“There’s something you need to see.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

He turned away and walked out of my view, replying, “Like I said, there’s something you need to see.”

“Define ‘something,’” I called out. No response. “Dane, what is it?” Again, nothing. Cursing, I stalked up the stairs, ranting, “Dammit, Dane, just tell me what’s wrong. My imagination is going haywire here.”

I found him in my bedroom, his face still utterly unreadable. My stomach did a slow roll. “What is it?”

“Follow me.” He walked into my closet.

I trailed after him, stopping only when he halted near the shoe carousel. “What is it?”

His gaze briefly slid to one of the shelves. “Look.”

I looked. And I did a double-take. My lips parted, and my body went utterly still. I had to be seeing things. I really had to be. Because there was no way that there’d be a—

“It’s your ‘something blue.’”

I blinked at Dane. “My what?”

“You told the planners you had something old, something new, and something borrowed, but that you needed something blue,” Dane reminded me. “Well, now you’ve got it. In fact, her name is Blue. I’m guessing her previous owner named her after the color of her fur. Not very original.”

“Her?” I echoed, feeling my mouth dry up. “You found her?”

“At the cat rescue center, yes. Her owner died. There was no one to care for her.”

Whoa, back the fuck up. “You … you went to a cat rescue center?”

He nodded. “I went while you were at the mall. I didn’t go there looking for a Russian Blue cat. But when I saw her and remembered what you told the planners, I figured she’d do.”

I swallowed. He’d gotten me a cat. A cat. And now I was feeling all choked up. With one act, he’d turned a shit day into the best day ever. The backs of my eyes burned with hot tears, and my throat began to ache.

I turned back to the gorgeous feline, who was curled up in a ball on my shelf, looking wary and cautious.

“Well, do you want her or not?” he prodded, impatient.

My eyes widened. “Of course I want her. I’m just shocked. I mean, you don’t really like animals.”

“But you do. And you wanted a cat. Now you’ve got one.” He crossed to the shelf, eyeing her just as he’d eyed those meerkats at the zoo. “She’s not so bad. Just a little unsettled. Which is probably why she’s hiding in here.”

I swallowed again and nearly choked on the knot of emotion clogging my throat. I hugged him tight. “Thank you,” I rasped. “Really, thank you. She’s the best gift anyone’s ever given me.”

His arms came around me, and he rubbed his jaw over the top of my head. “You’re welcome.”

I closed my eyes. “Why?” I asked, my face in his chest. “Why did you do this for me?”

He squeezed my nape. “You know why,” he said, his voice low.