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CHAPTER TWELVE

SUTTON

Laurel and I had been in Starlight Cove for less than a week, and we were still finding our footing.

Thankfully, she’d started to thaw slightly, even filling me in on some small-town gossip she’d caught at school.

And she hadn’t stormed straight to her room for a couple days, so I was calling that progress.

Still, when my girl had a craving for sushi, I didn’t care if I had to drive thirty minutes to get it.

I was damn well going to.

The fact that it was raining and that I didn’t know this area well yet meant the whole ordeal took longer than I’d planned.

It was dark by the time I got home.

And I’d been right—this long, winding driveway was creepy as fuck when there was only enough light from my headlights to cast eerie shadows along my way.

I drove down the path, studiously ignoring the mansion and its asshole occupant as usual.

Once I parked in my spot, I glanced toward the glowing lights of the cottage out of habit, my gaze jerking to a stop at the large man standing on my porch.

My heart leapt into my throat for half a second, a million scenarios flitting through my head, each worse than the last, until I realized I recognized that hulking form.

And I was very accustomed to the scowl Atlas shot me over his shoulder, made all the harsher by the porch light casting deep shadows across his features.

I’d done so well avoiding him this week.

At least until this afternoon at the school.

I’d known running into him there had been inevitable.

I’d just been grateful Quinn had given me a heads-up so I hadn’t been blindsided like Atlas clearly had been.

That, at least, had been fun.

With a sigh, I grabbed my purse and the bag of sushi, tugged up my hood, and ran toward the front porch, dodging puddles as I went.

Once under the shelter of the overhang, I shucked my hood and cast a glance at my daughter, who stood by the open front door, completely occupied with her phone.

And completely uninterested in the six-and-a-half-foot beast blocking the entire width of the doorway.

I eyed Atlas head to toe.

“Are you stalking me now?”

His brows slammed down.

“What? No, I?—”

“Don’t appreciate being accused of stalking people?” I tipped my head to the side.

“Weird. I thought most people loved it.”

He scrubbed a hand over his mouth, releasing a sigh so weary, it sounded like it could fill an entire hot air balloon.

Then he plucked something out of his jacket and stuck his huge palm out toward me, a tiny furball cradled in it.

“I found this in the driveway. I fucking hate cats, and I don’t know what to do with them.” Then, softer, as if it pained him to say, he added, “I was hoping you did.”

My brows inched farther up my forehead as I split my gaze between the tiny, drenched kitten and Atlas’s glowering face.

“Well, you might hate them, but you were the chosen one. So…” I trailed off with a shrug in a what are you gonna do gesture.

“You both keep saying that.” He split a glare between Laurel and me.

“What the hell does that even mean? Kitten distribution whatever the fuck…”

My daughter just rolled her eyes.

“It’s not my problem. I’m going back to ignoring strange men who come to our home.”

“We already covered this,” Atlas said, his words terse.

“Football coach? Landlord? Any of this ringing a bell? I’m not some creep lurking around.”

“I don’t know,” Laurel said as she dropped down on the couch.

“A guy showing up at my house, peering into my windows, and trying to get me to help him with a kitten? Sounds like a creep to me.”

“You peered in our windows?” I asked, more confused than angry.

Because what ?

His spine went ramrod straight, and he shot me a glower.

“Only because she wasn’t answering the door, and I knew she was in there. I needed help.”

“And you didn’t think to take the kitten to, I don’t know, a vet?”

He huffed out an impatient breath, as if this entire conversation was exhausting him.

That made two of us.

“This is Starlight Cove. We have one vet, and the clinic has been closed for hours.”

When I didn’t respond, he stared at me for a beat, his jaw clenching.

Then he gave a sharp nod before tucking the sleeping ball of fur back in his jacket.

“Whatever. I’ll figure it out.”

Before he could stalk off, glower and all, I reached out and brushed my fingers along his arm.

And pointedly ignored the zing of awareness that shot through my body at the brief contact.

There was going to be absolutely none of that.

“Don’t stomp off in a huff. I get enough of that from my teenager. Just give me a second.” I stepped around him, tossed my purse and Laurel’s goodies inside, and told her, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to help the creeper with his cat.”

“It’s not my cat,” Atlas grumbled.

I pointedly glanced at the animal tucked in his jacket.

“The Kitten Distribution System says otherwise.”

“Stay sexy and don’t get murdered,” Laurel said, not even glancing up from her phone.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Atlas said.

“Jesus, we’ve been over this. I’m not a murderer.”

“Relax. It’s not specific to you. It’s from a podcast.” I tugged my hood back up in deference to the rain and gestured in front of me to the yard cloaked in darkness.

“Lead the way.”

He hesitated for half a second, his gaze darting over my face as if he were searching for something.

Finally, he gave a short nod and headed in the direction of his house.

Not gonna lie, when I’d dreamed about some pussy-tending by the big guy last night, this wasn’t what I had in mind.

Though it was undoubtedly much safer.

The only way my pussy was being taken care of around here was going to be by my own hand.

Once we made it to his back door, he pressed his thumb to the top of the keypad and opened the door when it flashed green.

He gestured for me to enter in front of him, that stony expression ever-present on his face.

I tentatively stepped inside, my gaze cataloging everything in sight.

A tidy mudroom with more giant men’s sneakers than a Foot Locker led directly to a kitchen straight off my dream board.

It was huge but somehow cozy, with soft gray cabinetry and granite countertops.

An eat-in island anchored the space, but that wasn’t what captivated me.

No, that was all thanks to the floor-to-ceiling wall of windows along the back that I somehow just knew would face the ocean.

Though it was too dark to see anything right now, I had no doubt it was a multimillion-dollar view.

And with Atlas’s pro footballer money, that turn of phrase was probably literal.

A huge, plush sectional sat in front of the windows, a might-as-well-be-a-movie-theater-sized TV mounted above the stone fireplace in the corner.

The whole space was warm and inviting…

the exact opposite of the man who lived here.

I tore my gaze away and found Atlas staring at me, his brow furrowed, mouth set in a hard line.

Like he was suffering through every second he had to spend in my presence.

As if I needed any more proof after the stalker comment that he clearly and adamantly regretted the night we’d spent together.

And wasn’t that a shocker?

Another asshole disguised as a normal man.

I had a list of those a mile long.

“What?” I asked, a bit sharper than necessary.

He shook his head, darting his gaze away.

“Nothing. What do we do now?”

Right.

Back to the task at hand so I could get the hell out of here.

“I know there’s no DoorDash—Laurel’s loving that, by the way. But is there any sort of delivery system in town? A back-alley exchange sort of thing to get you by for the night?”

He scratched his jaw, the rough scrape of his nails against his beard sending a frisson of awareness skating down my spine.

“Kind of. There’s a town bulletin I could post on for some supplies.”

“Then do that. Because you can’t give this kitten whatever random shit you happen to have in the house, unless you want cat diarrhea everywhere.”

He made a face, lifted the kitten out of his jacket, and looked it over, as if eyeing how much damage such a tiny thing could do.

Then he glanced at me with a raised brow.

I held up my hands and shook my head.

“Whatever, it’s your funeral. And I am not helping you clean up.”

“Fine.” He gripped the animal in one hand and pulled out his phone with the other, his thumb flying over the screen faster than I would have expected.

After a few moments, he tucked the device back into his pocket and pinned me with another stare.

“Done. Now what?”

This man was so utterly clueless, it might have been endearing if I hadn’t forced myself to hate him on principle.

I heaved a deep sigh and glanced at the animal curled up in his giant man-paw.

It wasn’t their fault the KDS had fucked up.

I took off my coat and hung it on the back of one of the stools at the island, then held my hands out to him.

“You give me sleeping beauty and go find a towel or a blanket.”

He passed me the kitten, and it was like holding on to air.

It couldn’t have been older than a couple weeks, barely weighed more than a pound, and probably wouldn’t have survived if Atlas hadn’t grabbed it.

Dammit. I didn’t want to give him points for that, but I had to.

Cradling the kitten on its back, I did a quick scan, confirming there was one missing body part.

The KDS gifted a girl kitten to an overgrown man-child.

That was going to be fun.

I glanced up to find Atlas still standing there.

Still glowering at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your pussy.”

He inhaled sharply before devolving into a coughing fit.

“What?” he managed through a rough throat.

“Your cat.” I held her up between us.

“I’ve got her. Go get what we need.”

“Her?”

“Yep. Congrats, it’s a girl.” I strode around him and headed toward the absolute dream of a couch.

I’d expected it to be comfortable, but I did not expect it to feel like I was sinking into a cloud when I sat down.

I had to hold in my sigh of contentment as I sank into the feather-soft cushions, the kitten held against my chest. With the rain soaking her fur, it was hard to tell if she was white or gray, but I just knew she was going to be cute either way.

It was only a few minutes before Atlas came storming back into the room, glower in place.

He’d shed his coat at some point and now stood there in a black T-shirt, his biceps the size of freaking cantaloupes on full display as he held enough blankets and towels for a fort as big as this entire room.

“Gee, I really hope that’ll be enough,” I said dryly.

A crease formed between his brows.

“You think we need more? I can get more.”

Watching this man fumble, staring at this tiny kitten like it was the very mystery of life, was kind of hilarious.

It was as if he’d never been around an animal before.

I breathed out a laugh.

“I’m joking. Have you seen her? She could nap in one of your shoes.”

“Would she like that?” he asked with such sincerity, I couldn’t bring myself to make fun of him.

“I think one of those will be fine. Towel first, so we can get her dry.” I accepted the towel he passed over, gathered up the kitten, and dried her off.

All while he watched on as if the entire process was completely alien to him.

“Haven’t you ever had a pet before?”

He shot his gaze to mine, something flashing briefly in his eyes before he shuttered them, blocking off any emotion from leaking through.

“No,” he snapped. “No pets.”

“Okay,” I drew out the word.

“Didn’t know that was such a touchy subject. Well, Kitten 101 is to keep them safe, warm, and fed. You’ve got two down, and you’re working on the third with your town bulletin.”

He didn’t say anything, but I felt his stare on me, nonetheless.

Just like I’d been able to that night in the hotel.

Just like I had every other time I’d been in his presence.

“Swap you,” I said, handing him the damp towel and gesturing for one of the fleece blankets in his hands.

I made a tiny nest on my lap and placed the sleeping kitten in the center.

“And don’t feed her, like, tuna straight from a can or cow’s milk. You’re going to want to stick with kitten formula or wet kitten food for now. Unless you want to deal with the aforementioned diarrhea situation.”

“The one you won’t help me with.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.” I raised a brow at him as he stood over me, hovering with his arms still full, as if he was unsure what to do.

“You can sit, you know. And maybe hold her.”

He hesitated for a moment before dropping the pile of blankets and towels on the floor next to the couch and sitting down, warily eyeing the kitten.

After several moments of silence, he cleared his throat.

“Did you have any pets when you were young?”

The question sounded like it was torn straight from his soul, and I wasn’t sure if that was because he was trying to hold it back or trying to force it out.

I breathed out a laugh and shook my head.

“God, no. There were absolutely no pets allowed in our pristine home. My mother had a coronary if I didn’t change clothes immediately after visiting a friend whose house was full of dogs.”

“Why would you need to change?”

“Heaven forbid anything less than perfect show up in the Sinclair estate, even dog hair on a sweater.”

That was far more information than I’d intended to give.

Far more information than I usually gave, even after months of knowing someone.

As a rule, I didn’t talk about my childhood.

Or my parents. Especially when I’d worked so hard to cut them out of my life.

To rid Laurel and myself of their toxic, overbearing presence.

And I had absolutely no idea why I’d done so with him .

Maybe it was the week I’d had, fumbling my way through a new town and a new routine.

Maybe it was because it was late and I was tired.

Maybe it was just because I wasn’t on my game like usual.

Maybe it was because I couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked me questions about myself and waited for the answer.

Wanting the answer.

“How about Laurel?” he asked.

“Did she ever want a pet?”

A pang settled low in my gut at the question.

He’d pushed on a bruise he hadn’t even realized was there.

She used to beg me for a kitten or a puppy—she wasn’t picky.

She’d fold her little hands under her chin and hit me with those green eyes that were mirrors of my own.

Starting on her sixth birthday, she’d begged me every day for a year.

It was just one of many things I hadn’t been able to give her.

“She did, but we never had one. It was challenging being a traveling nurse and not knowing where we’d be going next or if the rental would allow pets. Never mind that I was only twenty-two and just hanging on. A baby raising a baby. There was no way I could add a pet in the mix. We were barely surviving, just the two of us.”

“Your parents?” he asked.

I barked out a humorless laugh, keeping my focus on the purring ball of fur curled up in my lap.

“My mother freaked out about the possibility of a pet. What do you think she did when she found a pregnancy test in the garbage when I was barely sixteen?”

He stared at me with those weighted eyes.

The same ones he’d pinned me with that night in the hotel.

Making me feel something I had no right to be feeling, especially with him.

“Was that hard?” he finally asked, his voice gruffer than usual.

“Which part? The constant moving or becoming a mom at sixteen?”

“Both.”

I could’ve lied.

Could’ve kept up the act that nothing kept me down and that I could handle anything, just like I’d been doing my whole life.

But instead, I said, “Yeah, it was.”

The weight of his stare sank into me, and an awareness zinged between us.

Reminding me exactly how good it had been when we’d been together in his hotel room.

Before I could do something stupid like lean into him and reacquaint myself with how his lips felt contrasted against the rough scrape of his beard, there was a knock at the back door, and someone called out, “I’ve got the kitten supplies for you, Atlas!”

The tension between us snapped like a twig, the interruption effectively breaking us both out of this weird trance we absolutely did not belong in.