Feline Fatale (31 page)

They arrived about an hour later, bearing pizza. After letting the dogs romp through the yard together—only Lexie and Wagner, since Russ and Rachel weren’t home—we went upstairs into my small kitchen. I popped the cork on some wine Dante had brought me sometime earlier.

We fed the dogs first, then we humans sat down at my small table and started to eat. Of course the pups hovered at our feet, begging.

Almost at the same time, I said, “Dante, I’ve been thinking—”

And he said, “Kendra, you may not want to hear this, but—”

I stopped, my heart plummeting, and looked into his solemn, dark eyes. Uh-oh. Was I totally wrong?

“You first,” I said, attempting to smile.

“No, you.”

What I had to say might make no sense in light of what I thought he was about to say. Even so, I’d convinced myself I wasn’t a wimp. Might as well get it out on the table along with the delicious pizza and wonderful wine. Two out of three was okay, wasn’t it?

“All right,” I said firmly, looking over his shoulder at the door to the rest of my apartment. “Here’s the thing. You know my tenants are leaving. I’ve been thinking about what to do then, and my simply refinancing the place with the bank—again—probably won’t work, considering how much money I’m making now.”

I glanced at him. Nothing legible on his face. Did he know where I was going with this?

Did I?

Well, sure. “I really don’t want to give it up,” I continued. This time, I kept my gaze fastened on his. “You’d indicated before that you’d be willing to help me.” He neither nodded nor shook his head. I sighed inside but kept going. “You said you love me. And since I love you, too—”

That got a reaction. He put his piece of pizza on the plate and stood. I did likewise. I was suddenly in his arms and sharing a hot kiss spiced by the taste of pizza sauce. “I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he whispered. “Now, continue.”

The dogs sat up beside us, as if listening to our every word. Well, what was going on could affect both of them.

“Not much left to say, except . . . well, how would you feel about us sharing my mansion? We’d work out the financial details, but you’d need to pay more than me—which, believe me, still hurts. But I’d get over it, if we could be together. If you wanted, Alfonse could move into my apartment over the garage, so you’d still have your personal assistant on the premises. And—”

“Sounds as if you’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” he said.

“Yeah, I have.” I’d also been fretting about what it meant in terms of the future.

“I’ve been thinking about it, too,” Dante said. “I was even considering giving you an ultimatum tonight—but I knew how well that would sit with you. Yes, Kendra, I’ll move into your house with you and take care of the finances however we ultimately decide that’ll be. I could pay for it all, you know.”

“Yes, I know, but that’s not how I want it.”

“I figured.” He hugged me fiercely. “Your obstinacy is one of the things I love about you—even though it sometimes drives me nuts. Okay, so we know there are a lot of details to work out, but I’m willing to compromise. You, too?”

“Me, too. As long as you understand that the rest of my life can’t be affected by this. I’ll still be a lawyer working at Yurick & Associates, and I’ll still pet-sit. And even though I’m not thrilled to be a murder magnet, that could wind up being part of the package, too.”

“I get it.” He kissed me again in acknowledgment. “You’ve driven me crazy since we first met. Might as well own up to it now, before you change your mind. As long as you’re serious.” He pulled back and looked deeply into my eyes.

“I’m serious,” I said.

And I wouldn’t change my mind.