Page 37 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
She looked past him to the door, then moved around him to shut it, watching the kitten the entire time. “Let me take a look...” She took the papers he held in his free hand and spread them out on her desk. “Okay. I see what you’re doing here. Or not doing.” She raised her eyes and found herself staring into the hazel depths of his. Too much guy, way too close. And he had a kitten.
“Why don’t you sit down and we can go over the ones you’ve gotten wrong.”
Finn sat and Molly positioned the paper on her desk so they could both see it. But her eyes kept straying to the little bundle of fur he held in one hand.
“May I?” she asked.
Finn smiled and handed the kitten to her. “His name is Buddy.”
“Hello, Buddy.” She held him up to look into his adorable face. “My heart is melting. Right here. Right now. And he’s so soft.” She glanced up to see Finn studying her with an odd look, but ignored it as she focused back on the cuteness incarnate now snuggled into her palm.
Molly settled in her chair, cuddling the kitty against her chest, stroking his tiny back. A moment later he started to vibrate beneath her hand. “He’s purring.”
“He just started a couple days ago.”
“You aren’t carrying him around to get women, are you?”
“Mike suggested that I do just that.”
“Somehow I don’t think you need a kitten to get a woman.”
Had she really just said that out loud?Crap.
“I told Mike the same thing.”
“This is a small room, Finn. If your ego joins us, one of us might have to wait out in the hall.”
“Ha. Ha. Funny.”
“Wasn’t meant to be,” she said with a straight face. Amusement lit his eyes.
The kitten continued to purr as Molly held him with one hand and she explained the sentence structure issues that were tripping him up. When she was done, she felt as if she were once again in control of the situation. That his...hotness...wasn’t getting the better of her. Thank goodness for her teacher self—for new Molly. “I know it’s not easy to come here and ask questions.”
For a moment she thought Finn was going to deny it, but instead he said, “I have to be honest. I don’t know how much of my difficulty is because I might have dyslexia, and how much is because I honestly didn’t give two hoots about English in high school.”
“A little of both, maybe?” Molly stroked the kitten, rubbing behind his small ears and over his back. “Maybe we should set up a tutoring schedule...if you bring the kitten, of course.”
She was only half kidding. Holding the little guy was seriously relaxing. “Maybe fifteen or twenty minutes twice a week. Mondays and Wednesdays. I can answer your questions. We can schedule more time if you need it.”
“And if I don’t bring the kitten?”
“Ten minutes, once a week.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. At least he understood that she was joking. She wondered, from the way he was looking at her, if he also understood how deeply aware she was of him. Not that she couldn’t handle it. She could.
“You drive a hard bargain, Molly.”
His voice seemed to roll over her, making her heart rate quicken. And that was when she remembered their other bargain. The one she hadn’t fully agreed to. The one where he made up for their date. Surely he understood if she didn’t do coffee, she wasn’t going to repeat that date.
Molly stood and carefully handed the kitten back to him over the desk. Finn’s hands were warm and sturdy, gentle as she transferred the little cat to him.
“I’m kidding about the kitten,” she said, sounding a touch too formal.
“I know. Thanks for the help.”
“What about tutoring?”
He smiled a little. “I’ll let you know. I appreciate the offer.”
