WOOD POV
I couldn’t hold it back, the laughter.
It felt alien to laugh so freely, so openly.
Her face was a picture, her eyes wide as she stared down at the furry intruder on her lap.
“He’s not yours?! But he came in… he came when I called him…”
I looked at the huge ginger cat with the biggest smile. I recognised him vaguely, a pampered thing from a few doors down.
The admission came more easily than I anticipated.
“I don’t have a cat,” I told her. “I’ve never had a cat.”
Her confusion was palpable.
“But you said… about the cat-sitting…”
She was divine. Beautiful. Innocent and wholesome and shining with good intentions.
It made the dirty little minx under the surface all the more irresistible.
I gestured to the box on the counter, all dressed up with its silly bow.
“Open your
