“What the hell?” I muttered.
“What is it?” Daphne asked. She came to stand behind me, hovering over me, and burst out laughing. “Did he do that?”
“I think so.” I turned my attention to Pepper Jack. His gaze was bouncing throughout the room, avoiding me. He was busted.
Buried beneath the middle cushion on the couch, I’d found Pepper Jack’s stash. There was a loaf of bread, the plastic torn in the middle and chunks missing along the top of the loaf, a sleeve of crackers in the same condition, and an empty pretzel bag. I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. A few days ago I’d gone to make a sandwich and couldn’t find the loaf of bread I could have sworn I’d purchased.
Pepper Jack was still avoiding my eyes. He whined when I reached for the food he’d tried to hide and must have been randomly snacking on throughout the day. “Bad boy,” I admonished, but my usual tone when trying to teach an animal wasn’t there. I had trouble keeping the laughter out of my voice.
“This dog is crazy,” Daphne said. She plopped back down on the chair. I gathered the food from inside the couch and put it on the bar that divided the living room from the kitchen. I vacuumed away the crumbs before rearranging the couch and falling back onto the cushions. Pepper Jack jumped up next to me and curled into my side, laying his head and paws on my thigh. Harmonica was only a few minutes behind. She hopped down from the platform on her scratching post and curled into Pepper Jack’s side. He blew out a puff of air and closed his eyes.
“You seem happier,” Daphne said. Her head was tilted to the side, and she played with a long lock of hair that had fallen from her bun. A small smile played at the corners of her lips.
I sighed and scratched behind Pepper Jack’s ears. “It’s kind of crazy. I have a stalker, basically. I’m drowning in work. My family is…still my family. There’s a lot happening, but I think I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I feel…content.”
Daphne grinned. “You deserve that, you know.”
I scrunched my nose. “I’m trying to understand, and I think I’m finally learning that the people who care see me in a far better light than I ever see myself.”
“It’s true,” she said. “You’re one of my favorite people in the world, and I wish you knew you don’t need to hide in anyone else’s shadow.”
“Thanks, Daph. You’re one of my favorite people too.”
Her phone beeped and she groaned. “Duty calls. Another crime scene to photograph. Make sure to tell your man thank you. The pictures turned out so great, and authors are snapping them up!”
Your man. I loved the sound of that, even though I probably shouldn’t. It had been a little over a week since Kiernan and I had first slept together. The sound of those two words shouldn’t give me the thrill it did.
“He’s not my man.” I grabbed the wrapped frame from her hands and brought it into the kitchen, setting it on one of the chairs at the table.
Daphne snorted. “Honey, you slept with him. It was amazing sex. If I remember correctly, your exact words were ‘He ruined me, Daphne. He was the best sex of my life.’ And he’s been here practically every night since and shattering your world over and over again. He’s your man.”
I bit my lip to contain my smile.
“I ruined you, huh?”
“Frick!” I groaned and closed my eyes. I hadn’t heard the door open or Kiernan come in. I’d been too distracted thinking about Kiernan truly being mine. He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and kissed my neck.
“I am your man,” he whispered in my ear. I didn’t know how he had the confidence to declare something like that. I’d been too scared all week to bring up the topic of what we were. I’d just been determined to enjoy myself for however long it lasted.
Daphne chuckled. “I’ve got to go. Thank you for posing, Kiernan. This is the most traffic my website has ever received.” She patted the frame sitting on the chair. “This is for you. It’s the first picture from your session that was purchased.”
“Thanks, Daphne.” He squeezed his arms around me more tightly. “Have you looked at it yet? Do I look good, sweetness?”
“I haven’t seen it yet. I was waiting for you,” I said quietly. My cheeks were flaming. I was still stuck in the moment when Kiernan had overheard our conversation.
“Later, Caro.” Daphne kissed me on the cheek and patted Kiernan’s shoulder as she walked out the front door.
I broke away from Kiernan’s arms. “You’ll never guess what Pepper Jack did.”
Kiernan groaned. “Did he eat something of yours? Break it? I swear I’ll replace it.”
I chuckled and shook my head, waving for him to follow me into the living room. I pointed at the bar, where Pepper Jack’s loot was still sitting, half-eaten and torn apart. “He had all this hidden in the couch.”
I smiled, and he looked at me with his eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
“I was cleaning and he started to act weird when I got close to the couch. I think he knew I was about to find his treasure. He was pacing in front of it. I thought maybe one of his toys was buried in the cushions and he couldn’t get to it, so I took them off and found his food. He avoided looking at me, and that’s when I knew for sure he was guilty.”
Kiernan scoffed. “He always stares me down when he does something, like a challenge.”
I laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me. It’s
