“I don’t know. Probably. It’s a massage, bro, those are a thing.”

Scowling, he glanced away.

The corner of my mouth twitched in a grin. “Are you jealous?”

“Jealous that you’re getting a massage? If I want a massage, I can go get one. I don’t need some dude named Sven.”

“No, are you jealous that Sven gives Cara massages?”

“Why the fuck would I be jealous of that? He’s taking his life into his own hands, but that’s his problem, not mine.”

I laughed. “Come on, bro. We both know she’s not actually evil.”

“No, she is actually evil.”

The kitten stretched out a paw, so I reached up to make sure she didn’t tumble off my shoulder. “I think she’s just misunderstood.”

He snort-laughed.

I knew I was risking life and limb by poking at him about this, but I couldn’t resist. Besides, I had a broken leg and I was holding a kitten. There was no way he’d tackle me right now.

“Okay, but real talk, you’d totally bang her.”

“Fuck no, I wouldn’t.”

“Wait, have you already?”

“No.”

I actually believed him, but this was too much fun. “Yes you have. That’s why you guys hate each other so much. You fucked once and got under each other’s skin.”

“No we fucking did not.”

“You sure about that? You hate her a lot for a guy who hasn’t been in her pants.”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” His face reddened. “I can’t stand her because the very sight of her pisses me off, not because I fucked her once.”

“Okay, sure.”

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, I believe you.”

His nostrils flared and if I hadn’t been holding the kitten and had a broken leg, he would have wrestled me to the ground by now for sure. “Fuck off, Gav.”

“So touchy. You know, you could do a lot worse than Cara.”

“No, she’s the literal worst.” He stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. “I need a shower.”

“If Sven does a good job, do you want his number? You seem stressed, I bet a massage would be good for you.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I snickered as he walked down the hall toward the bathroom.

“You’re lucky your leg is broken, asshole,” he called over his shoulder.

“I know.” I petted the kitten again. “I’m lucky I have you, too, aren’t I?”

The rest of the day stretched out in front of me, alarmingly empty. I needed to go to Happy Paws and get some cat toys, and I had that appointment with Sven. But other than that, I didn’t have much going on.

Maybe Skylar was free. I texted her to find out.

Me: Hey Sky. What are you up to today?

Skylar: I’m writing. Or trying to.

Damn. If she was working, I should leave her alone. That was no fun.

Me: If you want to do something later, let me know.

Skylar: Okay.

Her non-committal answer tempted me like a playground dare. I had the urge to text her back—relentlessly, if necessary—until she agreed to hang out with me.

But that was a Gavin on the prowl move. Not a Gavin’s just her friend move.

Although would it be so bad if I applied my usual tactics to a friendship? Or would that take me into chasing her territory?

This was so weird. I had friends who were girls, so I knew guy/girl friendships were doable. I’d been friends with Grace my entire life. I was friends with Cara and Fiona. There were other girls I hung out with sometimes who were just friends—girls I hadn’t dated and didn’t intend to. And okay, maybe I flirted with them a lot, but that was just for fun—or in the case of Fiona, to get a rise out of my brother. When it came to those girls, I didn’t have arguments with myself over how much I was going to text them.

The kitten shifted on my shoulder and mewed, a tiny little squeak. I scooped her into my hand and held her against my chest.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be a good cat mom. The squirrel thought so. He led me right to you.”

She mewed again.

“What’s all the squeaking about?” I gently stroked her head. “Maybe that’s just who you are, huh? A little squeaker? Actually, that’s not a bad name—Squeaker. How about Princess Squeaker? That’s more majestic, and you’re definitely my tiny princess.”

Her squeak told me she approved.

I finished my breakfast, then got Squeaker settled in my room. It was nice having an actual bedroom. I’d crashed on the couch at our old house for like a year. And now my brothers couldn’t claim I didn’t live here.

Assholes.

They were my assholes, but still.

My massage wasn’t until later today, so I decided to head into town and get some more kitten supplies. I had the basics, but my Princess Squeaker was no basic bitch. She needed some good shit for an awesome kitty life.

Missy Lovejoy down at Happy Paws helped me find everything I needed for Princess Squeaker, including a pink rhinestone collar, a little cat bed, a scratching post, and some toys. I thanked her for her help and took everything out to my truck.

I glanced across the street at the Steaming Mug. And right in the window was Skylar.

She had her laptop open, but I could tell at a glance she wasn’t looking at it. Her face was tilted toward the window, her eyes unfocused. What was she thinking about? Finding dead bodies in a beaver dam? Or something else this time?

I watched her for a long moment, fascinated. Her lips moved slightly. Not as much as if she were talking to herself, but enough that I could tell there were words running through her mind.

Those lips. Her tongue wetting them as I slide inside her, slow but deep, savoring the first thrust. She moans in my ear and—

My crutch slipped off the curb and I almost pitched forward into the street. I used the other crutch to regain my balance before I could fall flat on my face.

Shit. That would have sucked.

I took a deep breath to shake off the Skylar sex fantasy, looked both ways—I was not getting hit by a fucking car again—and crossed the street to the Steaming Mug.

Her expression didn’t change as I wrangled the door open. Whatever she was seeing, it wasn’t here. Her eyes moved to her screen and she typed something. Then her eyebrows drew in and she shook her head.

I went over to her table, but she didn’t look up.

“Hey, Sky.”

Gasping, she jerked in her seat, her eyes flying up to meet mine.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s okay.” She took a deep breath. “I was just…”

“Thinking?”

“Yeah.”

I pulled out the other chair and lowered myself into it. “I know you’re busy, so I won’t stay long. I just saw you through the window and thought I’d come say hi.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

The urge to reach over and touch her was almost irresistible. I wanted to trace my fingertips along her arm, feel her smooth skin.

But after that sex fantasy had just about made me step into oncoming traffic—figuratively speaking, there hadn’t been any actual traffic—I kept my hand to myself.