Page 29 of The Great Maple Mistake

Chuckling, Cody takes my hand and leads me upstairs. He stops at the top landing and pulls me into the first room on the left. It’s not huge, but it’s large enough to hold a queen-sized bed, a tall cherry wood dresser, and a matching wardrobe. The walls and ceiling are covered in pastel pink wallpaper with tiny rose-red hearts, and the dark hardwood floors are covered with a cream and pink rug. It’s certainly a look Barbie would appreciate. I barely have time to register the details of the room before soft mewling begins. It’s coming from a little penned-in area situated between the dresser and the wardrobe. Several little furry bodies are stretching and blinking, and I guess we woke them up. They stare at us, and the cute noises turn into yowling for attention. “Oh, babies!”

I drop to my knees in front of the pen and am about to reach for the closest one when Cody warns me off. “Watch out. Finn trimmed their little claws, but they could still scratch you. They were like little razor blades.” He lifts his shirt and shows me the thin slashes across his abdomen.

“Oh, that looks painful.” There’s far too much lust in my voice to sound sympathetic, but damn, the man is flashing his washboard abs at me without warning. I stop my hand midwayto touching his happy trail, snatching it back like I’ve been caught reaching into the cookie jar.

Thankfully, he laughs and drops the hem of his shirt so I can breathe again. “Here, let’s get them out of the pen. We can let them roam around my room for a bit before I take them downstairs to feed them.”

I let Cody pick them up since they aren’t my kittens and I don’t want to overstep. We sit on the bed, and he plops the four fluffballs between us. Then he picks them up, one by one, and shows them to me, like it’s first grade show-and-tell. “This one’s a boy, and he’s all black.” He sets the kitten on my leg and reaches for a second. “This is the girl. She has the soft white underbelly.” He sets her on my other leg. The first one has started exploring the pocket of my jeans. “This one’s a boy, and he has this sort of white blob on his chest.” Cody sets him on the spot vacated by the first kitten. “And this beautiful boy is Tux.” He holds him out proudly, clasping one hand around the kitten’s belly and the other cupped under his furry bum. “Doesn’t he look like he’s wearing a tux?”

Tux does, in fact, look like he’s wearing formalwear, right down to the two white paws that look like gloves. “Aww. He’s so cute!” I hold out my hands, and Cody gently places Tux in them. His fur is soft, and he stares at me with big blue eyes. “Oh hello, handsome.” I cup him against my chest, and he wrestles with my thumb, biting it with his stiletto teeth. “Ooouch. That’s no fun, little man.” I raise him up to my face, and Cody winces as Tux tries to take a swipe at my nose. I’m too quick for him, though. “Oh no, you don’t.” Laughing, because he’s just a little kitten and doesn’t know better, I set him on the bed with his siblings.

Cody lounges parallel to the pillows across the mattress. “They’re just so sweet! Why would someone throw them away?”

He sounds so forlorn, and it breaks my heart. Cody is such a gentle soul. He crosses his arms and rests his head on them, andI can’t help myself. I drag my fingers through the longer strands of his hair. He hums and smiles as he closes his eyes. The little girl kitten attacks the hem of my jeans, swatting and jumping, and I continue to stroke Cody’s hair as I make my pant leg wiggle back and forth. That seems to entertain her, and we play like this for a few minutes until I hear soft snores from Cody. When I look, he’s sound asleep, a smile on his lips. I continue to stroke his hair, mostly because I want to keep touching him, and this is a selfish way to achieve that. Plus, he seems to be enjoying it. Itisa bit disappointing, though. I finally work up the courage to have the conversation about relationship expectations, and he falls asleep on me. I stroke his beautiful cheek, then lean in and place a light kiss on his lips. “Night, Cody.”

I gather the kittens and put them into a carrier that’s on the other side of the bed, flip the bottom of the comforter up so it covers Cody, turn off the light, and quietly take the kittens downstairs, trying not to bang the carrier on the wall or banister. When I walk into the living room alone, Viv’s eyebrows shoot up. “You stealing kittens?”

Laughing, I set the carrier next to the couch. “No. You and Cody mentioned wanting to feed them one more time before bed, so I brought them down with me.”

She glances around me. “No Cody?”

“He fell asleep.”

Her eyebrows plunge low. “Oh.” Then she shrugs. “He did say he’d been up all night fighting that fire he told us about. And I’m not sure he had time today for a nap. So he might have been up for—” She stops for a moment, probably doing the math in her head. “Ouch. Around thirty-six hours. Maybe a little more.”

“No wonder he fell asleep on me.” Poor guy. It does relieve a lot of my disappointment. At least I know it wasn’t because I was boring.

Viv takes my hand and squeezes it. “He was so excited you were coming for dinner, Alex. You’re all he talks about. So please, don’t consider this a reflection of his interest. Trust me, he’sveryinterested.” She peers at me. “How about you?”

“Oh, I’m interested.” I continue to hold her hand, taking comfort from the firm grip. “Viv?”

“Mmm?” She waits for me to continue.

“Does he know?”

She frowns. “Know what, dear?”

I give a little shrug. “About me?”

It takes her a moment to figure out what I mean, and then her mouth forms anOh. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I take it you haven’t said anything?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.” My stomach rolls uncomfortably. “I was going to, tonight. I thought having the kittens around might be a good distraction. But—”

“But he fell asleep.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’ll care one way or the other.”

Honestly, considering what I know about him from our few dates, I don’t think he’ll care either. Which is why I was going to talk to him tonight. But you just never know. Until you do. People can surprise you and not always in a good way. “Thanks, Viv.” I gesture to the carrier, once again filled with yowling kittens. “Do you want me to help you feed them?”

She shakes her head. “No, dear. I had cats growing up. I think I’ve got this. You’re welcome to stay though.”

“No, I think I’ll go home. But thank you so much for the incredible dinner. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Truly.” She blushes and waves away the compliment. “Please consider entering the cook-off. I think everyone would love whatever you make.”

She bites her lip, like maybe she’s considering. “I’ll think about it. You said tomorrow is the deadline?” I nod. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Is she saying yes she’ll enter?

When she sees the excitement on my face, she clarifies. “I’ll consider it. I’m not saying yes I’ll enter.”

“Fair enough.” With a sigh, I gesture toward the door. “I’m gonna go. Thank you again. I had a great time tonight. Tell Cody to call me when he wakes up and has the energy to talk.”

---