Page 6 of Mr. Dangerous

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Naomi

Later that day,I found myself standing next to a dumpster, with three things: 1) an extremely pregnant feral cat to rescue from behind an upscale grocery store, 2) a complete lack of interest in discussing Robert Delaney, and 3) a seriously unhelpful sister/best friend/cat rescuepartner.

“Why’s he back? Vacation?” Aliceaskedme.

I zipped open the duffel bag of cat-rescue supplies, shuffling through for a can of sardines. “He has a brokenwrist.”

“How’d thathappen?”

“I didn’t ask.” Of course, I wanted to know, but I was keeping A Professional Distance. I couldn’t ask him personalquestions.

“Something heroic, I’m sure.” Alice’s tone was warm and teasing. “What with him being a SEAL and all. And ahometownhero.”

I crinkled my nose in disgust as I peeled back the metal top on the sardine tin. The crinkling was for thehometown herobit, not the fishysmell.

In the car, I’d told Alice about our trip to get clam cakes. I had thought that I would make a funny story of the way Rob had stared blankly at Amy while she tossed Post-It notes at him. But then I’d heard this awful, sharp barb of jealousy in my own voice, and I’dstopped.

Alice, though, had teased out my day with Rob, with one unrelenting question after another. She’d pointed out when I was blushing and caught me if I tried to leave out a detail. Alice was going to be one hell of a lawyeroneday.

Alice smiled, her dark curls swaying into her face and away as she knelt above the cat trap. "Does he still look like a younger, dark-haired MatthewMcConoaughay?"

"I don't knowaboutthat."

"Ohh. I think you know." Alice gave the trap a pat and stood, tucking her leather work gloves underherarm.

We sat on the cracking curb between the dumpsters and the building to wait. I stretched my denim-clad legs and gray sneakers out, feeling comfortably sore from the day's work. We didn't want to stress a feral mama cat, but she'd obviously been injured. We wanted to make sure she and the kittenswereokay.

Anothervetbill.

“I have so much work to do to pull this fundraiser off,” I said. “How many more sick kitties do you think we’ll have thisseason?”

Alice shook her head. She always liked to look on the bright side of animalrescue.

“Well, we don’t have enough budget. At all.” I said. As if on cue, if began to rain, a light mist beading on my arms. The droplets raised goosebumps, despite the warmth of the night, and I hugged myself. The sky above was cloud-crowded and gray. Night wasfallingfast.

Alice pulled a hot pink umbrella out of her purse. Of course. Alice was always prepared. She scooted over next to me until our hips touched. I smelled the plastic-y scent of her umbrella covering us both, the low, musky notes of her perfume that were all that was left after a long day in theoffice.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do it all,” I said. “The business, cleaning the Delaney house, chauffeuring him, taking care of the kittens, the fundraiser. I’m a messrightnow.”

Alice tweaked my nose. “An adorable mess. Do you think Robthinksso?”

I blinked at her hand in my face – she needed to redo her purple gel manicure – and let it pass. I’d shared a room with Alice for eighteen years. I’d learned to let a lot pass. “No. I wouldn’t want him to. I’m not looking for a relationship. Definitely not with some spoiledrichboy—”

"Oh god, no," Alice said. "Rich? Gorgeous? Navy SEAL? He's the worst. Who coulddatethat?"

"Alice!” I didn’t need to hear a list of Rob’s positives. I already had to deal with my heart pitter-pattering out of control every time he flashed that sexy grin. Or, just as deadly, when he looked serious, with those deep blue eyes andsetjaw.

Basically, I lost my mind whenever Robert Delaney made eye contactwithme.

Alice gave me a teasing look in response. Alice was two years younger than me. Our birthdays were the same week. Dad sometimes made a joke aboutthat time of the yearthat I tried to block out. Despite looking alike, with our thick dark hair, olive skin and hazel-brown eyes, we couldn’t have been more different. Alice had a lightness, a bubbly sensibility that drew people to her. I assumed it was the gift of being the youngestchild.

Though Alice claimed that the onlygift of being the youngest childwas the gift ofeating the dog’s Kibble as a toddler because your parents are too tired to care, and anyway, it’s vitaminenriched.

I no longer shared my thoughts on birth order with mysister.

"What really happened between you two in high school,anyway?"

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