Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) by Julianna Morris Page A

flagstone patio, ready to bolt backward if the gentle voice turned out to have a mean hand attached to it.
    “Come here, baby. No one is going to hurt you.”
    “Meooooow.”
    “Yes, I know. It’s all right now.” She cuddled the feline against her breasts and the air hissed from Alex’s chest. Heached, but the physical pain was less intense than the torment in his mind.
    Shannon O’Rourke had a filthy kitten tucked lovingly to her body, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something so beautiful. Panic screamed through him, a warning of everything he didn’t want to feel again.
    “Shannon, we have to talk about what happened.”
    She glanced at him…and rolled her eyes. “For goodness sake, Alex, don’t go melodramatic. I was upset and you gave me a friendly kiss. I’m surprised you didn’t laugh your head off.”
    “About what?”
    “What do you think? Remember the smoke alarm going off? Black smoke filling the air? I must have looked ridiculous.”
    The cookies.
    Right.
    His brain wasn’t working correctly, but it was a relief to know Shannon hadn’t taken him seriously. In fact, she’d been so upset, she probably hadn’t noticed the more than friendly way he’d groped her body.
    “I’m not being melodramatic, I was just wondering what you plan to do with that cat.”
    “Take it into your house, of course.”
    His eyes narrowed. “If you’re thinking about giving it to Jeremy, the answer is no.”
    “I’m planning to adopt him myself. But I don’t have a drop of milk in my house, so you’re going to have to cough up the white stuff.”
    She strolled past him as if the last fifteen minutes had never occurred, and Alex shook his head. He’d missed something significant, but since he didn’t have a clue whatthat significant something might be, he focused on a real problem.
    “Wait, Shannon. Jeremy is going to see that cat and want it.”
    “You fuss too much. I’ll explain everything to him,” she said over her shoulder.
    “Men don’t ‘fuss.’”
    “Yeah, right.”
    She disappeared inside his house and he remained where he stood, amazed at the way the tables had been turned on him again. For a man who prided himself on being in control, he was losing it faster than a barrel sailing over Niagara Falls.
    “Cats usually only clean themselves after they’ve eaten,” Shannon told Jeremy as he sat in her arms, watching the tired kitten lick his oversize feet. “That’s why he’s so dirty. He hasn’t eaten regularly for a while.”
    “Is he gonna be okay?”
    “I think so. I’ll take him to see my brother tomorrow. Connor is a cat doctor, and he’ll make sure nothing is wrong.”
    “He looks scared.”
    “I know. He’s been alone and trying to take care of himself for a while. I’m sure he wants to be loved, but it will take time for him to feel safe again.”
    Jeremy released a sigh and snuggled closer. “What’s his name?”
    She kissed his cheek; names seemed to be important to him. “Cats reveal their names when they’re comfortable with you. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.”
    “ Shannon , that’s too fanciful,” Alex warned.
    She lifted her chin and gave him a narrow look.
    Children needed a little fancy in their lives, and Jeremy had already seen too much reality. Besides, as far as she was concerned, Alex was skating on very thin ice. His relief at the way she’d dismissed their kiss had been practically insulting—particularly when she was certain that the kiss had shaken him as much as it had shaken her.
    “You don’t know much about cats,” she retorted, “if you think that’s fanciful.”
    “Oh?” He didn’t say anything more, just crossed his arms over his chest and reminded her with his silence that he’d gone out in the rain and purchased the supplies she needed for a feline housemate.
    Well, maybe the ice beneath his feet wasn’t as thin as she’d thought.
    The need to be fair did battle with her feminine pique, and