Page 88 of Flirting with Forever

“Yes!” Richie did three quick karate punches and a sloppy roundhouse kick that came shockingly close to John’s nose in their cramped office space. “Yesyesyes! Finally! I knew it. Iknewlast night was the night. I will gladly accept flowers, gift certificates, a night out on the town, you pick.”

John laughed and shook his head at his irreverent friend. “I’m sorry. You want me to get you a gift because things with Mary finally started happening?”

“Hey! Who dragged Beth out of that bar last night? I opened up a lane for you, John. That’s invaluable in fragile moments like that.”

John considered his friend’s words and then bobbed his head from side to side, conceding the point. “You’ll get a nice thank-you card in the mail.”

“Cheapskate.”

John shrugged. “Tigers don’t change their stripes. Especially when they suddenly have a beautiful woman to take out for dinner every once in a while.”

“You have to know by now that she doesn’t care about your money situation. She’s into you for you. I can tell. I have a sixth sense about these things.”

John sighed and the joy didn’t stop rising within him; it just rose at a much more sedate pace. “We haven’t really talked about all that yet. But I’m starting to understand that this is likely my issue much more than it’s Mary’s. And yes, I’m also beginning to understand that she’s really into me. Because of who I am. That’s part of why I’m such a goner.” John dragged his hands over his face and let his fingertips grip at his jawbone for a long minute, elongating his face in glee and surprise. “I seriously cannot believe this is happening.”

“Believe it, baby,” Richie said, a wide, gleeful grin on his face. “You deserve it.”

THEYSPENTTHATnight together as they’d planned to and then the entire weekend as well. It was Sunday afternoon when John realized how far off the deep end he’d really gone with Mary.

Because he was literally herding a cat. While he wore oven mitts.

He was chasing Ruth around his apartment, attempting to jam her into her kennel for the cab ride over to Mary’s. Ruth was an easygoing personality, unless it came to getting crammed into a confined space, which John considered fair. Annoying, but fair.

She’d nearly scratched the oven mitts to ribbons by the time he’d loaded her in. He strapped a backpack on, filled with stuff that Ruth would need to spend the next few days at Mary’s house and a few changes of clothes for himself as well.

He was not, by any means, moving in with Mary. But there was a heat wave coming. It was going to be over a hundred degrees for at least four days and Mary had put her foot down. John could stay at his house if he wanted, she’d informed him. But she and Ruth were staying where there was air-conditioning.

He’d also considered that to be fair. Mary had already proven that she had no problem sleeping hot and naked in front of his cheap box fan. And besides, in the hottest parts of the summer, he usually took Ruth and stayed in his old room at Estrella’s, where there was an ancient window unit that made life tolerable. He’d had to shelve a surprisingly small amount of pride in order to hail the cab that was going to whisk him and Ruth away to a fancier life with a gorgeous woman.

Who wore a sundress down to her toes, her hair in damp waves down her back. She bit into a slice of watermelon when she greeted John at her door and popped a bite of the icy fruit into his mouth before she kissed him.

“Mmm,” he murmured, feeling like he was in the best part of a great dream, the part right before everything went wobbly and stopped making sense.

“Hey, Ruthie!” Mary took the kennel from John and set it down. John closed the door.

“I’m warning you, she’s usually very grumpy after a cab ride in her kennel.”

“She’s entitled. No one likes to be handled.” Mary let the cat out and clicked her tongue, like Ruth was a dog. “Come on, girl, come see your area.”

To John’s amazement, his cat actually followed after Mary.

“Her area?” he called, setting his bag down on the floor and following after them. He stopped stock-still in the doorway of a small room next to the bathroom. He hadn’t even known this little room was there. “Your laundry room has air-conditioning,” John said tonelessly.

The fact that she even had a laundry room was mind-boggling to John. But that she paid to keep it cool in the summer? Jeez.

“It’s central air,” Mary replied, on her knees next to Ruth, showing her a shiny new litter box and tall cat castle that Ruth was already getting her claws blissfully stuck to.

John blinked down at the mouse with a jingle bell that Ruth had started batting around.

“You got Ruth a bunch of toys. And a litter box. And a castle.”

Mary looked up at him. “I assumed you were going to bring food for her. But yeah, she needs a little apartment if she’s going to stay here for a few days. I wanted her to be comfortable.”

John knew that Mary was actually saying,I wanted you to be comfortable, John.

He looked down at the small, portable litter box he’d brought, clutched in his hands. He took a deep breath and decided then and there that feeling inadequate was a waste of energy. “You’re the sweetest woman of all time.”

It was only when Mary flushed with pink relief and pleasure that John saw just how nervous she’d been to show him her purchases. She’d wanted to welcome him without damaging his pride.

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