Page 80 of Unwrapped

“You got it, sprite. I’ll come up with something good. Something she won’t be able to resist.”

“I’ll brainstorm too. I’ll text.”

“Ok. Bye sweetheart.”

“Bye Dare.”

My head snaps up as the Vet comes around from the back. “They’re all healthy. I gave each vaccinations and de-wormers, flea and tick meds…”

“Great. How much do I owe you?’

“Three hundred.”

I nod, handing over five. “Merry Christmas. Use it for the next stray that comes along.”

“Thanks. I’ll do that. It’s always the strays that require the most.”

“Always is.” I grin, lifting back up the new box of mewling kittens and one pissed as fuck Mama cat. “I wish I could give you to Rog. But Sally called dibs.” I shut the top as she peers at me through the airholes.

After placing the litter back in my car, I walk through the slush-covered sidewalks to the café, ducking in to looking for Shi.

My phone buzzes with a text.

Rog:You half-wit fucktard.

Me:?

Rog:Dev just saw Shi at the General Store. The girl was swiping tears.

Me:Fuck. I know.

Rog:Don’t mess up the greatest Christmas gift you’ve always wanted and never got, son.

Me:What’s that, old man?

Rog:Love… you idiot.

Me:You’re going daft. Too many hits to the head if you think I’m in love with a woman I met a week ago.

Rog:I knew the second my eyes landed on Dev.

I don’t respond. Because I can’t.

I scan the cozy room.

“She’s not here. She left. She wouldn’t admit it, hiding her eyes behind her sunglasses but that girl was a mess.

Fuck.

I slowly turn, facing one pissed off Luce. “I thought you were in Canada.”

“We were. But we had to come back. Club business.”

My eyes harden. My body stills. “Everything okay?”

She shrugs.

I scan the small café again. “Where’s your bodyguard?”

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