Page 98 of Blindsided
I stand up from my seat, rage tingling all over my body as I level a glare at Mac. “How dare you think you can come in here and sabotage another one of my dates!”
Mac’s lips twitch with barely concealed amusement that makes me want to punch him. And hug him. Bleddy hell.
He turns to face me and replies, “Cookie, if the man is deathly allergic to cats, it wasn’t going to be a love connection.”
“It could have been,” I reply, chewing my lip nervously and trying hard to ignore everyone staring at the spectacle we’re making. “There are shots people can get for allergies.”
“The lad was terrified of this wee thing!” Mac smiles, holding up the pet carrier as proof. “There’s no shot he can take for being a big wuss.”
“He’s not a wuss,” I argue half-heartedly as my eyes fall to the tiny kitten. “What are you doing with that poor thing in the first place?” I cross my arms over my chest and try to tell myself not to ask him to hold it because we’re in a restaurant full of people and I currently hate the ground Mac walks on.
Mac shoots me a crooked smirk, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he replies, “I’m trying to give you your best birthday ever, Freya.”
My face falls as I bend over and look into the cage to see the stunning blue-eyed, long-haired kitten inside. “Did you get this precious darling from Roger?”
“Aye,” Mac replies with a smile. “For you.”
I stand up and huff incredulously, “Mac, you can’t just give me a kitten and expect things to go back to normal with us. You and I are in a massive fight, and teasing me with an adorable kitten that will only terrify poor Hercules means we’re in a second fight!”
“You’re wrong, Cookie,” Mac replies, shaking his head and stepping closer to me. “You think Hercules is too scared to accept another cat into his life, but I think Herculesneedsthis cat to get him to finally come out of the shadows and live a wee bit.”
My eyes gloss over at Mac’s words because somehow, I don’t think he’s talking about Hercules. “Hercules is just fine in the shadows away from that kitten. At least there, he won’t get hurt.”
Mac steps closer again, his tall form bowing over me as he says, “I think a bit of hurt in the beginning just makes it all the more worth it when it works out in the end.”
I stare at his chest and hate myself for whispering, “How do you know it will work out?”
His voice is low and deep when he replies, “Because we all have to come out of the shadows eventually.”
The sound of the kitten’s high-pitched meow breaks the moment of electricity between Mac and I. Mac turns to the man sitting at a table beside us and hands him the bouquet of balloons. He sets the flowers down on the table before squatting down to take the kitten out of the pet carrier.
My heart thunders in my chest when he stands up, holding the tiny ball of fluff in his tattooed arms, and I instantly wish I had my phone out to take a picture because this would be the cutest calendar picture ever printed.
Mac smiles softly as he moves towards me. “By the way, I was at your place earlier looking for you and Hercules came out looking like he was about to pounce this wee bugger.”
I look up nervously at Mac as his shoulders shake with silent laughter. “I opened the cage and let them meet, and you should have heard how loud Hercules purred.”
“He purred?” I ask, reaching out to pet the soft kitty hair on the adorable darling’s head. “Wait, you were in my flat?”
Mac coughs and murmurs, “I still have my key.”
“Mac!”
He sighs heavily, “I know I shouldn’t have, but I was desperate.” Mac hands the kitten over to me and sighs. “And I’m not sorry because I got to see them meet, and it was like Hercules was meeting his best friend for the first time. It was damn adorable.”
My chin trembles as I cuddle the little dear to my chest and feel the vibrating of his body as he purrs and nuzzles into my neck, rubbing his sweet face all over me. My eyes tear up. “Two cats is going to be twice as much work.”
“I’ll be there to help.”
I laugh softly. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious, Cookie,” Mac says, stepping towards me and reaching out to pet the kitty. “I’m not just here to give you a birthday gift. I’m here to ask you to move in with me.”
“What?” I exclaim, my heart thundering in my chest. “What do you mean? You’re in Glasgow, you idiot.”
“Aye,” Mac says, his hand moving up to tug on my hot ear, the tender affection sending a riot of goosebumps all over my body. He smiles proudly and adds, “But in January I’ll be back in London, and I thought then I could move in with you.”
“What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.”
