Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“Well, he sort of bought all of them, and I made a deal with him that I would see him every day for the next two weeks.” I rush the words out and close my eyes.
I hear her take a deep breath and I peek one eye open to see what she’s doing. She bursts out laughing. She holds her side and bends over in her fit of laughter.
“It’s not funny!” I sit up, picking up Claws and putting her in my lap. She curls into a ball, making herself right at home. Yeah, I am so keeping her. I’ll be the cat lady. Who cares when you get to have something so adorable?
“It’s funny. More so because I don’t think you’re getting it.” She walks toward me, peeking down at Claws. “How’d you get this kitten to come to you? I’ve been trying to snag her up, but she always runs when I get close.” She reaches down to pet her.
“She came right to me.”
Laura smiles. “Guess she’s been waiting for you to cave and didn't want someone else to ruin her chance.” She gives her one last pet on her little head before going back over to the refrigerator and stealing a chocolate milk. I make sure to order extra food on my grocery deliveries so she always has something to eat.
“Fine. We’ll eat later.” She chugs down half the chocolate milk. Laura can out-eat me any day, but she still remains lean. I have no idea where she puts everything that goes into her mouth. “Wanted to give you a heads-up.” She points over toward Brendan’s house. “Satan Clause has a top-of-the-line security system. There isn’t an inch of his premises that isn’t covered by a camera.”
I look at his house, following where she’s pointing. “Why?”
We live in a nice neighborhood. Who needs that kind of security in our quiet little town? It sounds over the top. What did he say he did for a living? Maybe he didn’t say, but I don’t think he leaves that house much either. The knowledge of his security system strikes me as odd and spikes my curiosity about him. Is he hiding something?
“All I’m saying is we can’t just burn his house down. We’ll get busted.” Her face is as serious as can be. I never know when she’s joking or not. I’m going to lean toward joking to make myself feel better.
“How do you know this?” I stand, picking Claws up with me. I know it’s almost time to do breakfast, but I don’t want to leave her either. Maybe I should just bring her with me. If he says no, then it will be an excuse for me to stay home. Although, I must admit that I’m a little excited to see him again. My thoughts are all over the place. This entire situation has me feeling unsteady.
She taps her temple. “I know all kinds of things. Remember? I’m a spy.”
I roll my eyes. “A spy wouldn't need a key to get in.”
“That's just me displaying my fancy manners,” she deadpans, making me snort a laugh.
A knock sounds at my door.
“He’s here,” I whisper a little too loudly.
“I’m out.” Laura heads for the back door.
“You don’t want to meet him?” I ask.
She’s already closing the door behind her, shaking her head no. This doesn’t help with me thinking that she’s imaginary sometimes, because no one else ever sees her. Drop Dead Fred is one of my favorite movies, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Laura is a figment of my imagination. I tend to be very creative.
I glance at the microwave to check my reflection, smoothing my hair with my one free hand. “We got this,” I tell Mrs. Claws before heading to the front door. I stop before I open it and remember to turn my shirt on. I flip the little button on the inside of my sleeve so the lights on the embroidered tree glow green and red. It’s my favorite Christmas sweater.
I take a deep breath before pulling the door open. Standing there is Brendan in all his handsome glory, holding a bouquet of red roses with white lilies.
“Thought these would look good on your dining room table.” He extends them toward me.
I feel a little pang in my chest at his kind gesture. I’ve never been given flowers before by a man. I’ve also never been on a date. Brendan is quickly becoming a lot of firsts for me. That thought has my cheeks turning pink.
“Thanks.” I take them from him, turning and half running away from him to get my reddening cheeks under control. When I turn around, I almost run right into him. He must’ve gone to the same spy school as Laura or something. He’s also good at sneaking up on people.