Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,208

to sell me on my home.” He frowns a moment. “Forest the Pervert would be proud.”

A tiny laugh works up my throat. “He’s not a pervert. He just likes the ladies.” And I happen to be one of them. “Besides, I know my way around a gourmet kitchen. It’s one of the amenities of home I miss most. So, is that why you chose this place over the dorms? It’s genius if you ask me.”

“Not necessarily, but feel free to call me genius anytime you like.” He bends over and picks up a black cat with white paws and a matching fluffy belly. “This is the real genius reason why I chose this place. Harper, meet Fish.” He glides the cat my way a second. “Fish, meet Harper.”

Honest to God, there is nothing hotter, nothing sexier than a beautiful man petting a fat, fluffy pussy. I sigh into my own ridiculousness.

“Hello, Fish.” I give the cute kitty a quick scratch between the ears and its yellow eyes close lazily.

“When Trix and I moved out, we knew our dad wasn’t about to deal with Fish, so I got an off-campus house for him.” He gives the tiny feline a quick cuddle and my stomach melts in an instant. Holy heck, did I just melt at the sight of Knox Toberman getting cute with his cat? I’m horny as hell, that’s all. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the boy in question. It’s clear I need to take things into my own hands—or hand as it were.

“That’s very heroic of you. Giving up the frat house and all of its alcohol-laden offerings is a pretty big deal.” I make a face while contently scratching away between Fish’s ears. “And Fish? Now that’s a name. I see what you did there.”

“It was Trixie’s idea. She’s got a dry sense of humor.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing it firsthand. I just met her, and less than ten minutes later, she threatened me within an inch of my life.”

His eyes widen with horror before he closes them in defeat. “Please, ignore her.”

“I won’t. First of all, she has every right to threaten whatever ho bag you decide to leash yourself to, seeing that your track record hasn’t been too stellar. I’d do the same for my brother.”

“Brother, huh?” He smacks his lips as if the thought made him wary. “How old is this brother?”

“Twenty-seven. And as much as he’d like to probably kick both your ass and Justin’s, the act alone might kill him.” My shoulders sag at the sad reality. “He has cystic fibrosis.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.” He winces.

“I’ll save you the trip to Dr. Google once I’m gone. He’s got mucus clogging up his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. He has an oxygen tank he needs to lug around with him. The disease is a little different for everyone. But Henry has it pretty bad.” I try to shrug it off. Not sure why I went there. I’m pretty certain in those few brief sentences we’ve just discussed Henry more than Justin and I ever did. “So you see, the only familial threat to anyone around here is Trixie.” Just the thought of it sends a shiver up my spine. “She doesn’t have any psychiatric issues, does she?”

He belts out a laugh. “Not anything official. She’s pretty much harmless, though.” He bears into me a moment with those laughing eyes, and something deep inside them says maybe she’s not that harmless. “Come on. I’ll finish the dime’s worth of a tour.” Knox takes us down the hall to the first bedroom, nothing in it but a bunch of boxes and a rumpled sleeping bag in the corner.

“Trix stayed there the first few nights. She doesn’t do well on her own. But as luck would have it, her roommate showed up early and they’re both taking summer classes, so she’s content to be away from me—for now.”

“You two are pretty close, huh?” I find it sweet the way they look out for one another, even if it does involve threatening physical violence.

“I don’t think it gets much closer. But not in a creepy way. She’s just someone who’s always been there for me and vice versa. I’d hate to think we’d ever lose that.”

“Nice. Have you threatened any of her boyfriends yet?”

A gleeful grin spreads ear-to-ear as he leans in. The heat from his body emanates to mine and my stomach dips to