The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor, #5)(51)

‘Now don’t you worry,’ she was saying. ‘This is just temporary. We’ll find you a good home soon.’

‘Who said it was temporary?’ Mac said and Annie looked up at him in surprise.

She rolled her eyes. ‘You can stop playing the hero now,’ she said. ‘We’re the only ones here.’

Mac scoffed. ‘Why do you always assume the worst of me? What did I ever do that makes you think I would abuse kittens?’

‘I never said you would abuse them! But you can stop pretending that you’re going to adopt these cats. Kira and Daisy aren’t around anymore, so I’m just saying you can drop the animal rescuer act.’

‘I'm keeping those cats,’ he said more forcefully than he was expecting to. Sure, he’d said he’d take them in some ill-conceived plan to get on Annie’s good side, but he’d be damned if she was going to know that. ‘They’re my cats now.’

He could feel Annie’s stare boring into the side of his face, but he kept his eyes on the road. He was tired of her always thinking the worst of him. He knew he’d hurt her, but he was done being the villain in Annie’s story.

‘Well, what are you going to name them, then?’ she said after a minute. ‘If these are your cats, they'll need names.’

‘Easy. I'll name them … Bert and Ernie.’

‘Bert and Ernie, no way.’

‘Why not?! That’s a classic duo name.’

‘No. Veto that.’

‘And why do you get veto power over my pets’ names?’

‘I'm looking out for the best interest of the cats; and Kira says one is a boy and one is a girl. She's practically a vet at this point, so I think we can trust her.’

‘I highly doubt the cats care if their names match their sex assigned at birth, but if you insist, how about Sonny and Cher?’

‘Nope, try again.’

‘Adam and Eve.’

Annie burst out laughing at that one. ‘You’re going to call this adorable little kitten Adam?’ she said between giggles.

Mac smiled at the sound.

‘Well, what do you suggest since you’re such a pet-naming expert, despite the fact that you currently have zero pets?’

‘I don’t think you need a duo name just because there’s two of them,’ she said, humming a little as she thought. ‘Christmas-y names would be cute.’

‘Like what? Rudolph and Frosty?’

‘No, something a little less on the nose. Oh, I got it!’ she said. ‘How about Holly and Claus? Get it?! Claws like cats have claws, and Santa Claus.’

Mac couldn't help his laugh. ‘That’s actually pretty good,’ he said.

Annie sat back in her seat pleased with herself. ‘Well, there you go, Holly and Claus. At least your pets have good names now.’ He wasn’t sure which one she’d named which.

‘See,’ he said, ‘I’m not all bad.’ He meant to say it teasingly, not really wanting to get into it with her again, but the words hung heavy between them.

‘I know you’re not. I'm sorry I do that. I’m sorry I still assume the worst about you. It’s an old habit,’ she said quietly, petting Holly or Claus's little head.

‘Maybe we need a fresh start,’ he said.

‘How do we do that now? I've known you since I was five years old, Mac, and the one time I opened myself up to you, I got crushed in the process, so I’m not really sure how we start over. Or if we can.’

Mac swallowed hard. That was more than Annie had said about what happened between them the whole time since he’d been back. Just this morning she told him she wasn’t hurt, that she didn’t need his apologies. It had been the same for years.

Crushed. She said she'd been crushed by what he did. It was so much worse than her pretending she was fine. To hear her admit how he’d made her feel, to have it out in the open, what was he supposed to do now? Who was he to ask for a second chance?

This day had completely fucked with his head, and he didn’t know anymore if he was asking for a second chance or for hate-sex to end this once and for all.

‘Do they still do the light tour?’ he asked instead.

‘Yeah, of course. It’s one of the biggest fundraisers of the year,’ Annie said, sounding relieved at the change of topic. ‘I haven't had a chance to go this year though.’

‘Why not?’

‘Been too busy.’

Too busy doing things for other people. He knew that was the case. He took a left into one of the neighborhoods before his.

‘Where are we going?’ Annie asked, looking up from the kittens in her lap.

Mac shrugged. ‘I thought we could take the scenic route instead, you know, so you can see some of the lights you missed.’ He hated that she’d missed one of her favorite traditions.

A pleased smile crossed her face in the darkness, and he thought, between this mini light tour and the kittens in her lap, maybe he was making some progress. While he had her trapped here with him in the car, he was damn well going to take the opportunity to show her how much he still cared about her. For all he knew, after this weekend she could go right back to avoiding him like the plague.

God, he hoped that wasn’t what happened.