“Your grandma was a real nice lady. I remember her. I guess this duplex was hers then?”
Reese nods. “Part of the nest egg. I’d come here from time to time when I was a girl. When I graduated college, I came to visit her but she had passed. That was seven months ago.”
The corners of her mouth turn down, and the blistering lecture I was about to give her about not locking her door I shelve for later. My nemesis greets us when we walk into the small kitchen. The fluffy white furball arches his back and hisses.
“I can see we’re going to be good friends.”
“He takes time to warm up to people.” Reese scoops the cat into her arms and buries her face in the fur, planting a half dozen loud kisses all over its head.
A frown forms on my face before I can stop it. Am I really jealous of a cat? “Where’s the catnip?” I ask, only half-joking.
“How about we feed Henry?”
“I’ll go along with that plan.”
“It’s in the cupboard next to the door.” She gestures with her head and goes on cuddling the damn cat.
I find the small can of food and pull on the metal tab. After dumping the food into a stainless steel bowl, I set it on the ground and call for Henry. Reese sets him down gently, but the animal refuses to leave her side. She giggles quietly and pushes the bowl towards him. Henry accepts her offering by turning around completely so that I’m looking at the butt end of his body.
“I can see this is going to be a process,” I mutter.
“He’s such a loyal pet. He was Grams’. She’s had a Henry for as long as I can remember,” Reese tells me, giving the cat one last pet before straightening. She takes the can from me and washes it out, sharing a bit more of her life’s details. I lap it up like I’m Henry devouring his lunch. “She was my dad’s mum. He died when I was a baby. Mom married Jacob and had my step-sister, Angel.”
“And where are they?”
“On a trip.”
“All three of them?” It seems odd that she was left out.
“No. My sister’s back home. Or what was my home.”
There’s an oddness to the way she says sister, like it hurts her. I push away from the counter and join her at the sink, rubbing my hand against her back. I don’t know what happened in Reese’s life before we met, but there’s some pain there. I want to soothe that away.
“You’re with me now,” I tell her, not sure what I’m protecting her against but knowing that it doesn’t matter. It’s my job as her man to make sure that her road is smooth and rose-filled.
She gives me a wan smile. “Grams set me up. With her nest egg, I was able to come here and use my architectural degree in a way that suits me.”
“And what way is that?”
“Interior design, actually. If I left it up to Novak, every surface would be steel and concrete. He’s a minimalist, which is perfect for his clients, but his interior visions are too sparse, in my opinion. I’ve tried to imbue some warmth into his work, and it seems like clients are responding.”
“Astor was happy with your work.” I remember my sister-in-law raving about the new design.
Reese is pleased. She beams. “I loved working with them. To be honest, I didn’t put it together that you were related to her.”
“Cane Justice is my cousin. We grew up together.”
“I worked mostly with Astor, but I vaguely remember him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t spend much time together.”
She cocks her head. “Why’s that?”
“Because if you did, I would’ve gotten jealous and had to fight my own cousin. That would put a damper on Sunday dinners.”
“Are you always like this?”
I flip her hair over her shoulder and pull her close. “Wouldn’t know. Haven’t had any interest in women until you came along. I tried to fight it, but it was no use. You’re meant to be mine.”
CHAPTER 14
REESE
I ’m not sure what to do with Blake, so I do the only thing I can think to do: I cook for him. It’s what I do when I’m upset. I’ve put on ten pounds after everything that happened with my sister and Grams’ passing. All I did was bake for a month straight. Then I ate every single morsel of what I made. I knew it wasn’t the best thing for me, but I couldn’t have cared less at that point in time.
Blake sits at the small table I have in the kitchen, watching me move about. Whenever he moves, the poor chair groans under the weight of the giant cowboy. I moved him there after he said I was meant to be his. Oh, and not to forget the part about him not being interested in other women before me.