“Braswell?” Cade asked, coming up into a sitting position himself. “He’s giving you free self-defense lessons?”
I took in his scowling face and said, “Yeah, so?”
“He just wants in your pants.”
“No he doesn’t.”
“Yeah, Lila, he does.”
“Does not.”
Cade pushed his hand through his hair, obviously frustrated, and I was happy to note, a little jealous.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to smile with satisfaction, but not succeeding. “You know you have nothing to worry about with Bran. We’re just friends.”
“I don’t like it,” Cade admitted.
“I love you,” I reminded him, giddy to be able to say it out loud. “You can trust me.”
Cade’s eyes caught mine for a few beats, then he nodded before rolling over me and saying, “Gonna hit the head, then I’m coming back to fuck you.”
I must be a total freak, because his declaration caused my stomach to dip and my lips to turn up.
Such a romantic.
“Amy May, Carmen, and Bea will be here any minute to help me finish unpacking. We want to have it all done before the kids get home at five.”
“Guess I’ve got a deadline to work against,” Cade said with a toothy grin, causing me to chuckle even as I squirmed in the sheets. Then he startled me by yelling, “Son of a bitch!”
“What?” I asked, shooting up in bed and clutching the covers, my eyes darting around the room.
“Cockblocker needs to go out,” Cade growled. “I just stepped in her shit … and her piss.”
I slapped my hand against my forehead. I’d totally forgotten about the puppy.
“I’ll get her,” I said, pushing up off the bed and trying not to laugh.
I found the puppy in the kitchen, probably trying to find some food. I was officially the worst pet owner ever … I hadn’t put out food or water, hadn’t let her out, and totally forgot she’d even existed.
“I’m sorry, CB,” I cooed as I picked her up and took her outside. Once she was safely on the ground, I ran back in and grabbed some Tupperware bowls, filling one with water, and the other with tuna.
I know, I know, she’s a dog, not a cat, but hopefully tuna would do in a pinch.
“I need to run to the pet store,” I called out as I placed the dishes on the kitchen floor, then went back out to grab CB and bring her back inside.
As I put her in front of the dishes, Cade walked in and said, “I have some kibble in the truck. I’ll go get it.”
I snorted. There was something about the word kibble coming out of Cade’s mouth that struck me as funny.
“Don’t feed her that shit,” he ordered, and I reached down just as CB was about to stick her snout in the tuna.
“Sorry, CB. We’ll get you some food in a minute. Have the water.”
“Oh my God, is that your puppy?”
I looked up to see Carmen with her hands covering her mouth as she looked lovingly down at CB.
“Can I hold her?”