An Optimist's Guide to Heartbreak (Heartsong #1)(38)

So, that’s not helping.

“Good morning!” I breeze as Kiki makes a beeline for Cal, and Lemon hops up onto a waiting room chair and settles in like it’s her new throne.

Dante and Kenny poke their heads out of the break room. “Are we doubling as a doggy daycare now?” Kenny wonders amusedly. “Shit. I’ll bring my Malamute tomorrow. Bet he’ll scare off all the asshole customers.”

I wince. “My house flooded. I panicked.”

Cal looks pissed, but he still crouches down to give Kiki the belly rubs she’s begging for. My shameless animal literally plopped down at his feet, rolled onto her back, and spread her stubby legs for him in an instant.

“I’m really sorry,” I continue, chewing on my thumbnail, then puffing my cheeks with air. I’m not sure what to expect from Cal today, considering it’s the first time I’ve seen him since my impromptu hospital visit and our subsequent bordering-on-flirty text messages. Maybe if I didn’t bust in here with a zoo, he wouldn’t be looking like he wants to fire me. “I wasn’t sure what else to do and had to think quick. I was hoping I could keep them in the break room. Their dog beds are in the car—I’ll take them out for potty breaks and clean up any messes.”

“It’s fine,” Cal grumbles, straightening before stalking toward me. He swipes off his burgundy beanie, ruffles his hair, then puts it back on. His face is blank, showing zero indication of the smiley face he sent me eight hours ago. “What’s the damage?”

I pop my shoulders, trying not to let the feeling of blinding defeat pull me under. “To be determined. I’m hoping my uncle can take a look today—he’s a contractor. All I know is that the kitchen and living room are totally unlivable at the moment, and my pretty new Home Goods rug looks like it was discovered at the bottom of the ocean during a deep-sea diving expedition.”

“Come stay with me for a few days.”

“Yeah, I—” Wait, what? Blinking a thousand times, I say, “Wait, what?”

Cal looks totally blasé, his demeanor nowhere close to matching the magnitude of his unexpected invitation. “I’ve got a spare room I hardly use. Fenced yard for the dogs.”

“No…no, don’t worry. That’s too generous.”

“It’s practical.”

I swallow, the idea of shacking up with Cal for an unknown number of days causing my left eyebrow to twitch. “I’m staying with my mom. It’s all taken care of.”

“Isn’t she forty-five minutes away?”

“Yes.”

“Not practical. I live a mile from the shop.”

Scratching at my collarbone, my eyes skate around the room as I try to think of something to say. I feel blindsided by the offer. “I – I don’t mind the long drive. Really. I’m up early, anyway, so it’s not a big deal—”

“We’ll swing by your place after work so you can grab clothes or whatever other shit you need. I have a kitten, so hope that’s fine.”

I start blinking crazily again. “You have a kitten?”

“Yeah. Cricket.”

Cal has a kitten.

Cranky, unapproachable, tattoo-covered Cal has a kitten named Cricket.

My reproductive parts perk up with interest in the same way Kiki does when she spots a squirrel in the yard.

I’m so distracted by this new development that I completely miss my window to contest, and Cal takes my silence as surrender.

“You can follow me to my place after you grab your stuff. We’ll order in food.”

He moves back toward the desk while I nibble on my lip, avoiding the knowing glances from Dante across the room. “Um, okay. Just give me a minute to call my mom and let her know the change of plans.”

“Yep.”

Gulping infinity times, I rush around to get my pets settled in the break room after Kenny grabbed the beds from my car and I filled plastic bowls with food and kibble. I pray they don’t bark the whole time as I whisper sweet-nothings to them, mentally preparing for the conversation with my mother.

I decide not to overthink it and click on her name in my recent contacts. “Hey, Mom. Change of plans.”

“Oh God, are you on your way to the hospital?”

My lips vibrate when I let out a sound of exasperation and pinch the bridge between my eyes. “No, I’m fine. But I actually won’t be coming by after work because…um, Cal offered me his spare bedroom to stay in. It’s only a mile from work, so it makes sense.”

Silence answers me, eventually broken by a faint, “Oh?”

“Yes, but I’ll definitely come by this weekend so we can make those porcupines. I was really looking forward to it.”

“I didn’t realize you two were intimately involved.”

I almost drop the phone, my eyes bulging at the assessment. “What? How did you come to that conclusion?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Lucy.”

“Well, that’s not the case. At all. Not even a little.”

“Okay.”

“Mother. It’s not.”

“Okay, sweetie. Just…keep me posted,” she says, sighing into the receiver. “Your uncle will be over after his morning appointment today. I gave him my spare key.”