Kate walks alongside the Mustang, her fingers skimming across the recently painted metal. I step closer to her, her subtle floral perfume pulling me in like a fish at the end of a hook.
Driven purely by the craving to test if her skin is as soft as it looks, I brush my thumb against her cheek.
Is it as soft as I thought? Softer.
She tilts her head up, lips slightly parted. My pulse kicks up a notch, my body humming, and I lean down, waiting for her to let me know if I should stop or keep going.
“Uncle Noah!”
Deacon’s out-of-breath voice breaks me from the trance Kate has me under, and I jerk away from her. He’s running toward us, his little legs covering less distance than his father behind him. Asgard, their Aussie shepherd, is jogging alongside Deacon.
Deacon flings himself at me, and I lift him up into my arms. “Hey, little buddy. What are you doing here?” Other than preventing me from kissing Kate.
“Where’s your doggie?” Deacon asks Kate.
“Charlie’s at home. I had to run into town to do a quick errand, and he wanted to keep snoozing.”
I eye my brother before returning my attention to his son. “You came all this way to ask about Kate’s dog?”
He vigorously shakes his head. “Auntie Sophie wants to know if Kate wants dinner?”
“It was more like Sophie asked if you would like to stay for dinner,” TJ tells Kate.
“That’s sweet of her, but I just came here to see Noah’s car. I have to get back to my great-aunt’s house and do some more cleaning. I still have lots of work to do before I can put it on the market.”
“How about afterward?” he asks. “You’ve got to eat at some point today. And you can bring Charlie if you want. Asgard here is good with other dogs. Right, boy?”
Asgard woofs his reply.
“Jake and Sophie’s dog is good around other dogs, too.”
“It’s just TJ’s evil cat who might be a problem.” I feel my mouth curve to one side.
“Hey, would you quit hating on my sweet and adorable cat?”
I crack up laughing. Deacon laughs, too, although I’m not sure if he understands why I’m laughing.
Kate glances between TJ and me.
“TJ’s cat is named after the Norse god Loki. He’s as much of a troublemaker as his namesake.”
“Loki’s a good kitty,” Deacon says, then squirms in my arms for me to put him down.
“How much did your daddy pay you to say that?” I ask him.
He gives me a blank look before hugging Asgard.
“Will Charlie be okay around your adorable cat?” Kate asks TJ.
“Don’t listen to my knuckleheaded brother. Loki is a great cat, and Charlie will be fine around him. So does that mean you’re coming back for dinner?”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”
“All right, then. We’ll see you later.” He dips the brim of his cowboy hat at her and rounds up Deacon and Asgard.
I drive Kate to the bakery and tell her I’ll drop by the house in a few hours to help her. “And I know someone who supplies large dumpsters. I can arrange for him to drop one off so we can start tossing what you don’t want to keep.”
“That would be great.” She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, the sexual tension from earlier lingering at the edges.
