Page 49 of Always Be Mine

Lucy waited until she was sure Craig had left the room again before she bent to release Garfield from his carrier. The cat hated to be confined, but after his escape attempt in the plaza, it seemed like the safest way to transport him. “Welcome to your new home, buddy. At least for a little bit.”

The cat didn’t hesitate as he leapt from the carrier and bolted straight for the door and—Craig.

“Careful.” Craig tried to sidestep the cat, but Garfield, no longer in a hurry, began to thread himself through Craig’s legs, forcing him to remain frozen in place, a box of her things in his arms.

“He likes you.” She laughed and took the box from him.

“I think cats have some sort of radar for people who don’t like them, and they’re either determined to change our minds, or drive us crazy.”

Lucy scooped up the cat, who immediately nuzzled her face. “Oh, he’s definitely trying to make you crazy. But he’ll win you over in the process.”

“We’ll see about that.” Craig shook his head with a chuckle but when he reached out to pet Garfield, it wasn’t the cat he was looking at.

She’d only been in the house a few hours, and already things felt different. Craig paced the living room floor, unsure what to do since he’d excused himself to let Lucy unpack. She only had a few bags—it couldn’t have taken too long—but he didn’t want to intrude. It was important that she have her own space and that she felt at home and comfortable in his house.

The problem was,hewas uncomfortable in his house.

She made him uncomfortable.

But it wasn’t her fault. It was his. Or more specifically, it was the feelings he was starting to develop. Whenever she was around, the room felt warmer. The air smelled better, and he was just happier.

It was ridiculous.

And it had to all be in his head. But whether he was imagining it or not, he couldn’t shake the feelings.

But he also couldn’t spend the afternoon pacing his living room.

Craig grabbed his cell phone and pushed the button to call his best friend, Andy.

Thankfully, he answered on the first ring.

“It’s been a minute, Craig.” Andy’s voice came through the line. “What’s going on?”

“Quite a bit, actually.” He ran a hand over his face. “Turns out Dad had a plan for me in his will, too.”

“I heard.”

That stopped him. Craig dropped his hand. “You heard?”

Andy hesitated. “I was talking to Kat, and she mentioned it.”

“Kat? I didn’t think you talked to her regularly.”

Craig knew his little sister had gone over to Andy’s place in Vancouver when she’d been there for a hair show a few months ago, but beyond that, he didn’t think they kept in touch.

“Yeah. We chat sometimes.”

Craig shook his head. It wasn’t something he could worry about at the moment. He glanced toward the hall and Lucy’s room. “Hey, do you have a second? I kind of need to talk to you about something.”

“Of course, man. Anything.”

“So you obviously know that I’ve hired a nanny.”

“I sure do.”

The humor in Andy’s voice stopped him. “What did you hear?”

“I heard she was cute.”

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