Rhage was probably hungry for fresh kitty food, because whatever was in the bowl now was obviously not good enough for him.

I’d found the guy when he’d just been a kitten, hidden under my car at work one evening during winter. Snow had started to come down, and the poor thing was shivering and hungry. I’d taken him in and pretty much immediately regretted doing so.

The cat, even as a kitten, didn’t like humans eighty percent of the time, including me. He seemed to only tolerate me because I gave him food. He spent most of the time hiding somewhere, waiting patiently for me to walk by and be caught off-guard by his Godzilla blitz attack.

The cat was the devil.

But I sort of loved him anyway, because when he was being nice, that rare twenty percent of the time, he let me cuddle him, and there was nothing better than kitty-cuddles.

“Stop staring at me like that,” I muttered, narrowing my own eyes at possibly the meanest cat in the whole world. “I’m getting up in a few minutes.”

The cat’s ears flattened.

I tipped my head back and sighed again. Sleep had not come easily last night. Brock’s unexpected appearance had tossed me headfirst through a loop. It didn’t help that Avery had called three times to make sure I was fine, not giving up until I answered the phone. Of course, I lied again, claiming it was just an upset stomach. I doubted she believed me, but Avery didn’t know a lot about Brock, as far as I knew. She hadn’t lived where we grew up. So unless she heard something from one of the other girls, then she didn’t know the details.

Groaning, I placed my hands over my eyes. I still couldn’t believe I stood in front of her, in front of Cam and Grady, and basically said I had bowel issues.

God, I shouldn’t be allowed out in public.

Even thinking about it now caused the tips of my ears to burn. So embarrassing.

Based on the way I’d left dinner last night and how I acted, I doubted I’d hear from Grady again. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. If I truly cared or not. We had hit it off, I supposed, and he also didn’t seem bothered by . . . well, anything about me. He was cute and intelligent, but I just didn’t feel anything.

No spark. No catch of the breath. No anticipation or yearning. Nothing.