Reece glanced at the flight of stairs behind them. “What about my cat?”
“I don’t know. We’ve had our hands full with this mess, and I didn’t get a chance to check.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “Besides, you changed the locks and left a spare with Amy, but you didn’t think to leavemeone.”
With good reason.Dixie was nothing if not nosy. Neve snickered in silence.
Reece spun and took the stairs two at a time. Neve made to follow, but Dixie’s scream stopped her in her tracks.
“Oh my land! Doc, did you get hitched alongside the boss and Hailey?”
Heat raced from Neve’s chest to her scalp, broadcasting her alarm. “What? No, of course not! What makes you say that?”
Dixie pointed at Neve’s hand. “That gigantic sparkler on your left ring finger, child.”
Neve stuffed her hand behind her back.
The woman craned her neck to look up the stairs Reece had scaled a beat before. “Was it to His-Search-and-Rescue-Nibs? I hope it was him and not that rich son of a gun from Silver Summit.” Dixie’s gaze landed back on Neve. “Stop hiding it, hon. Let me see that thing.” She held out a palm.
Lifting her hand, Neve forced a laugh and gave the ring a nonchalant once-over. “Thisthing? It’s not real, Dixie. Just something I won at thecraps table. You wouldn’t catch me dead wearing anythingthisgaudy if it were genuine.”
Dixie lowered a skeptical eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure they trade strictly in cash at them casinos.”
“Oh, you’re right. Silly me.” Neve let out a hyena laugh that had Dixie dropping her second eyebrow. “It was one of those claw machines. You know, where you operate the crane levers to snag prizes? I won this plastic ring.” She hooked a thumb toward the stairs. “I’d better go see if Reece needs my help.” She spun without looking back and raced to the landing in record time. Reece had only just stepped inside, and he called for Mr. Whiskers. Did the animal even know his placeholder name yet?
“I’ll search down here. You go upstairs,” he ordered.
She dashed up a flight of metal stairs to an open bedroom loft barely high enough to stand in. The space was a bachelor-style mess, dominated by a mattress on the floor that was nearly as destroyed as the bed in his hotel suite had been.Maybe he’s a thrasher. He’s definitely a morning humper.
Stop it!
She focused her attention on the loft’s contents. A cardboard box stood in as a nightstand, and on it were a book, a stress ball, and a squeezy hand exerciser. She told her mind not to wander to what else he might squeeze while lying in bed.
Taking up the rest of the floor was several days’ worth of a masculine wardrobe: jeans, T-shirts, boxers, and socks.
Who knew the man was such a slob?
“Uh, let’s switch. I should take the upstairs,” the slob called from below. No doubt he recalled the state he’d left the space in.
“Too late. I’ve already seen your entire collection of dirty underwear.” She averted her eyes to protect them from evidence of other parts of his life she wasn’t prepared to see, such as condom wrappers or articles of clothing of the feminine variety.
A meow sounded from a heap of tangled blue sheets, and Neve approached cautiously. “I think I found him.” She dropped her voice to a singsong. “Are you hiding in there, Mr. Whiskers?” Gingerly, she pulled back the covers over a telltale lump, and the cat poked his head out and gave her a lazy one-eyed blink.
Reece was beside her in an instant, throwing out apologies for the disheveled room and peeling the covers off the cat. He lifted Mr. Whiskersinto his arms and held him close to his body, stroking his fur. The animal vibrated with a full-throttle purr. Crossing her arms, Neve stood back and took in the adorable sight of a burly man cuddling a six-pound cat in his muscle-layered arms. Reece continued caressing the cat and speaking to it in soothing tones. Finally, he spared Neve a glance. “I think he’s all right. Should you take a closer look to be sure, though?”
“I will if you want me to, but he looks fine to me. It’s cold in here, but not dangerously so, and he found the warmest spot. Cats are smart that way.”
“He doesn’t usually sleep in the bed.”
“He probably missed you and wanted to be where your scent is strongest.” Neve’s gaze took another abbreviated tour around the room. “Although he could have picked any of these piles to do that. Maybe now I understand how your bed at Eterna Luxe got so trashed. Are you always this messy?”
“I was in a hurry when I left yesterday. As for the bed at the hotel,youhelped with that,” he clipped. “Let’s go downstairs.”
Back in the main living space—which was essentially one open room containing a kitchenette, a broken-down couch, and another box that doubled as a coffee table—Reece handed the cat to Neve and flipped a few light switches without success. “They probably turned off the electricity.” He peered under the kitchen sink.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking the pipes to see if they’re frozen, but it’s too dark.”
Cat tucked under her arm, Neve proceeded to raise a few window shades. “Maybe if we let in some light …”
