Page 39 of Peach Blossom Hollow

“Leo! You know me better than that.”

“Remember I’m a naive man who knows very little about women when it comes to these sorts of matters. You might actually think that way. I don’t know!”

He stared at her, intrigued. The more he got to know her the more outgoing and playful she acted. Violet was bright, quick-witted and a lot of fun. He could spend a week hanging out with her without missing the rest of the world.

Her amusement softened into something more contemplative. “Sure, I want the whole package. A lot of women do. Some get it, some don’t. I’m not going to throw myself off a bridge or start eating bonbons and collecting cats just because I don’t get it when and how I want it.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, good.”

“When the time is right, it’ll all fall into place. In the meantime, I’m doing what I can to increase my opportunities.”

Leo groaned. The stupid Dragon Babes thing. Didn’t she realize just how dumb that idea was?

Then again, she’d pointed out that his idea to woo Christine was dumb, too.

He supposed they could be dumb together, and maybe that was part of why they clicked as friends.

“I’m working on myself and trying to let go ofthe things that hold me back. Maybe I’m not actually that super-responsible person who invests every dime. Maybe my habits are merely a product of my strict upbringing. Maybe I’m actually a woman who likes to buy pretty shoes she’ll never wear.”

“And are you?”

She sighed, looking slightly forlorn. “They hurt my feet.”

He chuckled. “Well, I guess now you know, right?”

“I really resent that I spent money on them.”

“Yeah?”

She pulled him toward the trunk of his car. “Now, help me become an independent woman. Show me how to replace a car battery without electrocuting myself.”

How was it that when he thought he finally had Violet figured out she took a left turn? Why any of her exes had ever let her go was a mystery to him.

He hefted the new battery from his trunk, and she marched over to her car with authority, confident he would follow.

He hurried to catch up.

The cat ran alongside her, and she slowed to pick up the furry beast with the clear amber eyes. She carried it so its paws rested on her shoulder and it watched Leo with its small nose pushed deep into a patchwork of thick, dark wooly fur. The cat looked like it had tried to work on Violet’s car and had the electrifying experience of failing.

“Where did One really get his name?”

“From Brant.”

“Brant?” Was that her ex-fiancé? No, that was Wyatt.

“Brant Wylder. He’s a vet who rescues animals around here and gives them odd names.”

“So you didn’t name One?”

“Nope. And One is short for Onesie.”

“As in the legless T-shirt thing babies wear?”

The cat, as though sensing they were discussing him, stared at Leo with those crazy amber eyes before rubbing his head against Violet’s shoulder. “He was wearing one.”

Leo waited for her to say more, then finally asked, “Why?”

“His fur was matted, full of burrs and bugs. The lady who found him shaved him, but then worried he’d get a sunburn. So she put him in a onesie and called Brant to come find him a home. Apparently, One held a grudge against her after the shave.”

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