Page 63 of Cats Never Fly

“Yes.Well,” he said as he cleared his throat.Heturned the glass in his hands and stared at the water as it swirled. “Sincethe summoning magic has linked us,Ithought we should live closer together.”

“You’dsell everything because of me?”Iblinked.

“Ican’t see you living inAspenBay,” he said with a casual shrug, as if him upending his life, which was way more complicated than mine, was no big deal.

Ifanyone should move, it should be me.Heowned buildings and businesses and had employees.WhatdidIhave?Anawful one-bedroom apartment and a security guard job for a place where nothing ever happened.Iliked my job well enough, but there was nothing special about it.Icould fit all my clothes in about one or two boxes and throw away everything else.It’dtake me an afternoon at most to pack up and move.

ButIdidn’t say any of those words becauseOgdenwas right.Icouldn’t see myself living anywhere butWillowLake.MybrotherJustinwas the adventurous one in the family, not me.Ienjoyed living in the town whereI’dgrown up, being surrounded by all the familiar faces and places and…

Ogdensqueezed my hand. “Isit okay ifImove toWillowLaketo be closer to you?”

Istuttered asIscrambled to find the right words.

“I’vesurprised you.”Hesmiled and patted my hand.

“Wherewould you live?”Didthat sound likeIdidn’t want him here?Iwasn’t sureIdid.Imean, evenIdidn’t want to live here, butIput up with it because this was allIcould afford.Ogdenneeded to live somewhere so much nicer.

“Thisis a big change for both of us.Whatwould you think about me living here… with you?”

“Yourhoard won’t fit in my apartment,”Iblurted.

“No.Iwouldn’t bring my hoard toWillowLake.Notyet.I’llarrange for it to be placed at a secure storage site.”Hisgaze caught on mine, and my heart raced. “Ilove my place inAspenBay, it’s true.Iloved renovating it and making it mine, but it is time for a change and a new challenge.UntilIfigure out what that might be,Iwas hopingIcould live with you.”

“But…”Ilooked around my apartment.Thedrab one-bedroom place was nothing like his.Atall.

“Itfeels…Idon’t know…Eversince our magics merged,Idon’t want to be separated from you,” he said.Hebit his bottom lip as his gaze caught on mine. “Isit different for you?Maybeit is just another factor of being summoned instead of being the summoner.”

“No!”Myemphatic shout startled us both.Ilicked my lips. “Imean.Yes,I’vefelt that too.But…”Igestured toward my apartment. “I’mnot sure this is the best place.”

“Well, perhaps we shouldn’t stay in this apartment for too long,” he agreed. “ButIwas hoping we could look for another place.Together.”

“Areyou offering to be my sugar daddy?”

Ogdenburst out laughing.Iloved thatIhad made him laugh, even if my question hadn’t been intended as a joke. “Iwas thinking more about being your mate, butIwill lavish you with everything your heart might desire, so perhaps your description isn’t so far off.Evenif we aren’t fated, we could still see if we are compatible as chosen mates.”

“Okay.BecauseIdon’t thinkIcould call youDaddy.”

Ogdenwas still smiling, but his laughter had faded. “Whateveryou feel comfortable with, kitty cat.That’swhat we’ll do.”

Wasit that simple? “Andyou too, right?Weboth need to be comfortable.”

“Ofcourse.”Hepressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Iknow we talked about that before.Aboutus maybe being mates,Imean.”Iforced myself to look into his eyes.SinceI’dmetOgden, there were moments whenIfelt sure and brave and confident, but my nature was to be cautious.Therewere also moments whenIwas convinced we were mates, but doubts kept popping up like dandelions.Iusually liked dandelions, but right now, the ones in my head were big and full and ready to spread more doubts until that’s all that existed. “Doyou really think we are?”

Henodded as he set his glass down on the floor.Thenhe plucked the glass from my hand and set it beside his.Whenhe turned back to me, he met my gaze again. “Yes, love,Ireally think we could be.”

“Iwant us to be,”Iwhispered as a light and fluttery sensation filled my chest.

Thekiss was soft and gentle.Andmore of that light and fluttery feeling filled me untilIwas sureIcould fly as high asOgdenhad the first timeI’dseen him.Iliked it, which was weird, because cats don’t fly.

“Now, kitty cat,”Ogdensaid as he nipped at my earlobe and rearranged his legs, so he was straddling me just like he had when we were in his hoard room, “do you remember whatIsaid about good kitties getting rewards?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

OGDEN

Mykitty cat sucked in a sharp breath at my question.