She had a soft spot for animals. He did too. The cat strolled up to him and rubbed up against his leg.
“Are you kidding me?” she said, coming from around the counter. “I feed the little shit, and he doesn’t give me the time of day.”
“Guess he just likes me more,” Killian said, hunching down to scratch behind Lucifer’s ears.
“Unbelievable,” Cedar muttered then finished off her beer.
He stood, drained his bottle and placed it on the counter. “Thanks for the beer.”
“Thanks for bringing my grill home.”
“I’ll set it up before I go.”
She opened her mouth to object but closed it again. Good girl. “Thanks.”
He nodded and walked out because the thought of fucking her on that nice quartz countertop was becoming distracting.
A half an hour later, he was pulling up to the Wildlife Ranger office. Pulling the door open, Sebastian was on the phone. He glanced up and finished his call then stood.
“Killian, what brings you here?”
“Just curious why you fed that bullshit to the New Yorker about mountain lions and bears when you know we don’t have that kind of trouble where she lives.”
Sebastian smiled. Killian wanted to punch him in the face. “Have you seen her? She gets scared, she calls me.”
“Leave her alone. She doesn’t need your kind of attention.”
“What makes you think she needs your kind?” Sebastian challenged, not hiding his anger.
“Not offering it,” Killian said, moving to the door.
“You’re such a prick,” Sebastian said. “A self-righteous prick.”
Killian reached the door. “She’s off-limits,” he warned then walked out.
Liam was behind the counter when he arrived at the tavern. “Hey, man. You hungry? I got a new burger for you to try.”
Killian walked around the bar, grabbed the whiskey and poured himself three fingers, drinking it back before he said, “Sounds good.”
“Mickey, one of the new burgers for Killian,” Liam called to the cook. “So, Cedar was in here earlier, trying the burger you’re about to have. She’s making me dinner tomorrow night as a thank you for helping her that first night, but she said she had a business proposal.”
She was loaning him money? He knew the ladies loved Liam, but Jesus, they’d known each other not even a month. “You think that’s smart?”
“What do you mean?” Liam asked.
“Going into business with your current fling. Things go south…”
Liam laughed out loud for so long, he felt the urge to punch him in the face, too. “What the fuck is so funny?”
“I forgot,” Liam said, nodding to the waitress who called an order to him.
“Forgot what?”
“There’s nothing going on with Cedar.”
“I found her in my bed, Liam. I’ve dealt with enough of your morning afters.”
He chuckled. “Nothing happened with Cedar. She had raccoons, then we saw the inside of her place, and it wasn’t inhabitable, so I offered her your bed. I never even walked into the apartment with her.”