Page 32 of Most Likely to Fear Love

Around fifteen minutes later, I was sitting quietly on the sofa, working on my tablet, when I heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. The slow roll my heart did at the sight of her was painfulenough that I had to rub at my chest as Cassidy stepped into the living room.

Her hair was tousled, a few strands falling across her face in a way that made my fingers itch to brush them aside. The top buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of skin.

She walked across to the kitchen and peered out the window, obviously looking for me. Her feet were bare, and I found myself staring at her delicate ankles. Never knew I had an ankle fetish, but here we were. It wasn’t just the ankles, though, it was the whole package. She was just unbelievably gorgeous. Of course, the knowledge that she was standing there with my cum dripping out of her didn’t help.

I cleared my throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. “Hey there. Have a nice nap?”

Cassidy gave a start and turned to face me, her cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, I didn’t see you there. God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“No worries. Buddy seemed pretty happy to have someone to cuddle with.” Buddy, with impeccable timing, chose that moment to appear from the bedroom and sit right next to her, leaning heavily against her leg.

She glanced down and her lips curved in a sweet smile as she ran a hand over his head. It was then that she noticed her messy clothes. Her blush deepened as she fumbled with the buttons of her shirt. “I, uh... I should probably...”

“You could stay for dinner, if you like.” And here we have very bad fucking idea number two, but I guess I was becoming a masochist. I don’t even know what made me blurt it out, just that I didn’t want her to leave.

I held my breath, waiting for Cassidy’s response. Her head tilted to one side, those green eyes studying me intently. I bracedmyself for a polite rejection, already kicking myself for even suggesting it.

But then she surprised the fuck out of me.

“You know what? I’d love to stay for dinner.”

My heart did a little flip in my chest. “Yeah? Great! Hope you like pasta.”

A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Pasta sounds perfect.”

I got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen, taking the opportunity to breathe in her scent as I moved by her to the cupboard.

“Anything I can do to help?”

I grabbed a pot and filled it with water. “Nah, I’ve got this. You just relax and take a seat.”

She did, sitting on one of the barstools with Buddy by her side, his head resting on her thigh. He was clearly smitten with her. Join the club, boy.

As I moved around the kitchen, pulling out ingredients, I could feel Cassidy’s eyes on me. The air between us felt charged, crackling with energy.

“So who is this sweet guy? Or girl.”

“That’s Buddy. And the lazy guy over on the couch is Max.

“Cute names.”

“I didn’t choose them. They came with those names.

“Where from?”

Laying out the vegetables on a board, I started chopping. “A shelter. They’d been there for a long time and no one had adopted them, because they’re so big and, you know, not puppies. They were about to be put to sleep, so I took them.”

“That’s amazing.”

I shrugged. “Not really. They’re easy to take care of and no hassle.”

She was quiet for a beat, then she said, “Do you always do that?”

“Do what?” I flicked her a quick glance, feeling my heart squeeze at the way she was looking at me.

“Say something is no hassle when it clearly is quite a hassle.”

“Do I really do that?”

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