Page 72 of The Marriage Deal
She is messy, chaotic wonder.
She’s more than beautiful. She’s peace.
“Hi,” she greets. I swear that blush wasn’t there a second ago.
My gaze drops again to the dog that never leavesher side. And that’s when I see it. The little black cat that stands behind them both.
Fuck. My. Life.
My eyes flick back up to the woman who now wears a rather sheepish look on her face. I look back down thinking maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. Hoping my mind is playing tricks on me. It’s not.
The cat is still there.
“What’s that?” I look back to my fiancée.
She pulls her lip between her teeth, shifting on the spot. Then she shrugs as a slow, slightly worried smile spreads on her face. “It could be goats—right?”
Dakota’s words come back to me.“Cats. She’s always wanted cats. A whole litter of cats.”
A whole litter.Fucking hell.
My hands fall to my hips and I pull in a breath that expands my chest. I’m afraid to ask, but I can’t help myself. “How many are there?”
Her face scrunches. “What?”
“Cats, Lilah. How many are there?”
She shakes her head. “Where?”
“Here.”Dammit, is she being obtuse on purpose?
“Oh, just Spook.” She frowns. “Spookers. Why, did you think there’d be more?”
That is a loaded question if I ever heard one, and I refuse to give it any attention at all. I don’t want my clearly impulsive soon-to-be wife to get any wild ideas about getting the little thing a buddy or five.
“Did you call it Spook?”
Her slow smile turns radiant. I wouldn’t deny her five more if she smiled at me like that every day.
Shit, I’m in trouble.
Is this what love feels like? Perpetually blindsided by the want to earn myself that exact smile, no matter the cost?
Since when am I thinking of love?
What is happening right now?
“That’s his name. Spook. Spookers for fun.” She steps toward me on her bare tiptoes. “Isn’t it cute?”
“It?”
“His name! It’s a cute name.” She looks proud of herself.
“I don’t know if naming a cat after a spy is cute, but what do I know?”
She falls to the flat of her feet, pouting. Hell, but she’s cute when she pouts.
“Why does everyone keep saying spy?”
