He looked up from the paper he was scribbling on and offered her a lopsided grin. “Hey, sweet pea. You bring me anything special?” The lopsided bit wasn’t odd, but there was something forced about it. “Got a fresh bag of cat food outside.” Cat food that she’bought with the twenty he’d left to pay for his ice cream. He pushed his makeshift drum set aside and rose with stretch. “Words every man dreams of hearing. Make my night if you say you got catnip too.” She tried not to giggle. She tried hard. But she couldn’t help herself. “Extra strength,” she said. This time, his grin came out bigger, less forced. “Woman of my dreams.”“In your dreams,” she said.

Smittened