Free Perfect Fit: Book 4 of the Fated Hearts Series by Aimee Nicole Walker

laughed loudly at my ridiculousness.
    Ava stood on her tiptoes, but I still had to lean down so she could land a kiss on my cheek. “I love you, J.” It had been a very long time since someone had told me they loved me; I didn’t quite know how to respond. I did know that those three words were a balm to my desolate, dry soul. She pulled back quickly and gave me her genuine, megawatt smile before she pivoted and grabbed the first test she saw on the shelf. “You’re so right. I’m going to go home and tell Brandon what I suspect is going on with my body. I’ll pee on the stick by myself, but I’ll let him hold my hand while we wait for the results. Thank you. I’ll text you later and let you know whether or not you’re going to be an uncle.”
    “Thank you, Ava.” It meant a lot to me that she wanted to include me in her new family. A year ago, I might have scoffed at the sentiment, but something gradually shifted inside me and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than my shallow existence.
    I was still smiling when I arrived at Chase and Gray’s. My happiness was met with a set of narrowed eyes behind black-rimmed glasses when Gray answered the door. “Howdy, Clark. These are for you.” I handed him a bottle of the cheapest, nastiest wine I could find and a bouquet of half-dead wildflowers I had purchased for him as a gag gift. He probably wanted to bash me over the head with the wine to kill me so he could throw the flowers on my grave. The irritated smirk he wore made it all worth it.
    I planted my ass on the couch while he took my gifts into the kitchen. I could hear him muttering every step of the way. Oliver jumped onto the couch and began rubbing his head on my arm to get my attention, as if the fifteen pounds of fur and fluff wasn’t enough to gain my notice.
    “You sure are a pretty kitty,” I said to Oliver, as I scratched his head between his ears. He closed his eyes and purred even louder. I could feel Gray’s hostility growing more and more when he entered the room; I couldn’t help but play it up a bit. He was such an easy target after all. You’d have thought I was stroking Chase by the way he glared at me. “Smart too, aren’t you?”
    Gray sat on the loveseat and did his best to ignore me while I baby-talked to his cat just so I could see his jaw muscles twitch from him clamping down so hard. As much the guy irritated me, I had to give him credit. I don’t think I would have been nearly as accepting as he was if the situation was reversed, so I decided to cut him some slack. He was really trying to make an effort so I’d have to meet him half way.
    “Seriously, Gray, where did you adopt Oliver?” He turned and studied me to see if I was being serious or just yanking his chain again.
    He must have seen something that he liked, or at least found acceptable, because he said, “River’s Crossing Pet Shelter. My stepfather works with them a lot and he recommended them to me. They have a lot of animals that need homes and it was really hard to walk out of there with just one cat.”
    “Thank you.” His response was a simple nod, but it was enough. It seemed that we took a slight step forward and I was grateful for the ease in tension.
    Chase came in with snacks a few minutes later. He laid them down on the coffee table and curled into Gray’s side on the loveseat. I had to admit they were as cute as fluffy kitties together, but I wasn’t going to confess that out loud to either of them. As they snuggled, I found myself wondering where Miller was and what or who he might be doing. Why did snuggling people remind me of Miller? It was a Saturday afternoon and maybe he had other things or people to do. I didn’t have to ponder much longer because he showed up a little bit later and he wasn’t alone.
    “Everyone, this is Kit.” Kit? Short for Kit Kat? Or, as in Miller was the Knight Rider? I sat mutely as Miller made a big production of introducing Gray and Chase to his boy toy.