They echo in my ears, and I feel my cheeks warming as my mind reels. It’s not that I think he’s wrong, it’s more that I’ve never had anyone say something like that to me before. Let alone someone as amazing as he is.

While I’m still standing there stunned, Declan presses another kiss on my cheek before he goes back to the stove and picks up the spatula to stir whatever it is he’s making. My cat meows at me as I follow him, and I look up and find Ralph perched on top of the fridge, watching Declan’s every move like some sort of gargoyle.

Declan spots me watching Ralph and chuckles.

“Yeah, I think I’m getting close to winning your cat over,” he says over his shoulder as he stirs the food on the stove. I laugh and walk over to scratch Ralph’s chin, and she tucks her head down to rub the top of it against my hand, purring.

“That’s unlikely, honestly. I love Ralph to death, but she’s a very fickle lady. Aren’t you, sweetheart?” Even as the question leaves my mouth, she uses her paw to push my hand down to her mouth so she can nibble on it. “See what I mean?”

He laughs. “I think you offended her. She’s not fickle, she just knows what she likes and doesn’t.”

“Trust me, she’s hard to offend. She’s just playful.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it because I’m not trying to get my hand torn off. But wait a second… Ralph is a girl?”

“Oh, yeah. I know it’s kind of weird for a girl cat to have a name like that, but I didn’t know she was a girl when I got her. By the time I realized, she’d already gotten used to the name, so I just kept it.”

Declan chuckles. “I guess that makes sense. Don’t want to confuse her when she’s already responding to the name.”

“Yeah, I mean I’m sure she would’ve adjusted if I had tried to change it, but there’s something about the name that suits her anyway.”

“She definitely has big Ralph energy.”

“Right? I’m glad you see it too,” I say and scratch lovingly behind her big, perky ears. Her purring intensifies, but she jumps down from the top of the fridge to the counter. She trots over to Declan and tentatively sniffs his elbow.

He holds perfectly still for it like he’s afraid if he moves even a little bit he’ll scare Ralph away, but she seems totally unbothered. In fact, she rubs the top of her head against his elbow, purring so loudly I can hear it from where I’m standing. She really does seem like she’s starting to warm up to him.