Page 41 of Purrfectly Trapped

He’d made her feel so special, and just, well,good, with his over the top attentions, and the amazing way he seemed attuned to her every want and need. But those things had never lasted for Gretchen before, and this was shorter than any other past dating fail. She was sadly lacking romantically speaking.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe she’d saved her heart from taking a huge blow by cutting things short.

Nothing could have really prepared her for the bomb he’d dropped on her. Nor for the consequential kicking him out of her apartment that occurred only minutes later.

Ever since that night, Gretchen had been dodging his calls and messages. She’d even locked herself in the bathroom the two times he’d come to the salon to try and talk to her.

At least he had enough couth not to cause a scene at her place of business. She’d even been dodging Elissa’s calls in order to avoid having to talk about Reg.

She shook her head and wiped the stray tear that rolled down her face. Did he really think she was going to believe him?

A Shifter? And not just any Shifter, but her favorite animal. A Tiger. Really?

The man was playing on the fact she’d told him about her affinity for the majestic creatures, and he must have seen her bookshelves to boot. A simple google search would have told him what any of the titles were about.

But really? Claiming to be A Shifter after taking her to bed was beyond a joke. Maybe that part was not true. Maybe the guy was just plain old-fashioned crazy.

The bells above the salon door sounded, and she turned to see her shop being invaded by none other than Elissa, Jessica, and Kylie. Shoulders slumped, she turned to the women, and waved half-heartedly. Pretending to be happy would have taken too much energy, and her stomach still hurt.

“Hello, ladies. Was there a get-together tonight that I forgot?”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that, young lady,” Elissa scolded and paused with her hands on her belly.

Her bestie exhaled then walked over and wrapped Gretchen up in a big hug. Dang it, now she was gonna cry. Gretchen bit her lip, and hugged her friend back, careful not to smush the little ones.

“I know what you really meant to say was, thank you, beautiful Elissa for coming by to check up on me, even though I’ve been acting like a bitchy heifer, refusing your phone calls, and not returning your texts! You broke oursnapagramstreak, Gretch! That is a blockable offense,” Elissa glared at her, and Gretchen covered her mouth to hold in a laugh.

They’d had a long one going too. 1298 days of texts and pictures back and forth.Snapagramwas a popular phone app that could, unfortunately, cost many a job since it was a rabbit hole you could not easily crawl out of. Sigh. But it was still fun.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Gretchen apologized. “Of course, I love you Elissa, and I am glad you came over to cheer me up. I am glad you all came, really, but where is Hunter?” Gretchen asked while placating her temporarily emotionally unstable friend.

She’d read somewhere that pregnancy did that to people. Something about the ups and downs caused by the hormones needed to grow a perfect tiny little human. Unfortunately, that turned usually normal people into homicidal maniacs who alternately craved ridiculous amounts of carbs while binge watching sad as fuck TV series.

Elissa had watched theThorn Birdssaga six times already according to Jess. That was not good for anyone’s emotional health. So, no, Gretchen wasn’t taking any chances with her friend. She would placate her whenever necessary.

“Oh, I left him at the house. But look, I invited someone here that I think you should finally meet,” Elissa said while Gretchen greeted the other two women.

The bells jingled once more over her door and Gretchen turned to see an older man walk in. He looked friendly and stylish with a thick mane of white hair and a matching beard and mustache. Very elegant and sophisticated, and yet, he exuded a platonic warmth she had never felt. The man walked intoCut It Out, looking around first with a smile in his sparkling blue eyes before he turned to them.

“Am I late?”

“Not at all!”

Gretchen watched curiously as Elissa smiled and walked to the man, giving him a hug and kiss on his cheek. Elissa’s eyes were wide with pleasure as she chatted with the man with the electric gaze.

Wow. There must be something in the air Maverick Point. Everyone had the most fascinating color eyes. Elissa turned her head again and smiled at the younger man standing just behind the strange older one. He was holding a large box filled with containers of what smelled like Chinese food.

If that was true, the two gentlemen were about to be Gretchen’s new best friends. She hadn’t been able to eat all day, and she was suddenly starving. Her stomach growled and she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Excuse me,” she said to no one in particular.

“Thank you for coming. Gretchen, come over here and meet Uncle Uzzi,” Elissa said, and waddled over to tug Gretchen by the hand.

“Where can I put this?” the other man asked.

“Hello, Hank. Um, right there,” Elissa smiled, and gestured for him to drop the box on the coffee table that Gretchen had just wiped clean. “I think that should be fine.”

“Hello Hank, um, Uncle Uzzi. I’m Gretchen Kaepernick and yes, that would be perfect, thank you so much.”Gretchen smiled and shook hands, gesturing to the table.

---