Jodi Redford - Cat Scratch Fever

See how pretending was so much easier? Too bad her common sense was finding it more and more difficult to cling to that theory.

Dumping her purse on the couch, she carried her bags into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. She stared at the wallpaper until the flowers in the pattern blurred into indistinct blobs.

Dante is in love with me.

Sweet mother of whiskers, she didn’t know what the hell to do with that information. What made it worse was the disturbing possibility that she loved him back.

Who was she kidding? There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Dante. Good God, she bit him like she was Vampira Kitty. It was completely mortifying and embarrassing. Sure, she’d asked during their marriage negotiations if he’d let her do that to him, but she’d never counted on enjoying it so much—or the thrill of excitement that buzzed through her at the notion he was her marked mate now. Why didn’t she just stamp him with a big red sign that said Claws off and be done with it?

Grimacing, she straightened and yanked her laptop case from her overnight bag before she carried it to the small writing desk in the corner of the room. Might as well make an honest woman of herself and work on ironing out the details for the lynchats’ annual charity fundraiser this summer. After a few frustrating attempts, she managed to get enough of a satellite connection to log on to the internet. Just as she was about to bring up her inbox, her cell phone went off. She glanced at the caller ID and exhaled heavily. Kinsey.

She’d been expecting this call for the last nineteen hours. Leave it to Kinsey to drag out the tormenting suspense. Steadying herself for the lambasting she knew she deserved, she clicked the Talk button. “Before you read me the riot act, I want you to know I’m sorry.”

“For what, exactly?”

“Can we just make this an all-purpose apology? Might be easier.”

A lengthy pause preceded Kinsey’s reply. “Are you really marrying Dante for the land?”

She gnawed her bottom lip. “Yes.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“It was.”

“And now?” Kinsey prodded gently.

She swallowed past the lump of uncertainty in her throat. “I…I don’t know.” How could something that’d started out as a crazy business proposition turn into such a confusing tangle of emotions? It didn’t make sense.

“Do you love him?”

Everything inside her wanted to lie to Kinsey—which was weird, considering that yesterday she’d been all gung-ho on convincing her family that she was madly in love with Dante. But that was completely different from confessing the true state of her heart. God, she was so fucked in the head. “Yes…I do.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Loving him doesn’t make you weak, Lilly. You know that, right?”

“I don’t want to end up like Mom.”

“You won’t. Besides, you’re not giving our mother enough credit. Dad begged her to let him move back in, but she put her foot down about that.”

To say the news was more shocking than a two-by-four upside Lilly’s noggin would be an understatement. “Why didn’t she tell me that part?”

“Probably because you didn’t give her a chance.”

Recalling the way she’d stormed out of the house, Lilly heaved a groan. “Okay, that seals it. I’m the worse daughter ever.”

“No, you’re not. But if it makes you feel better, you can tell her that tomorrow after your wedding.”

She blinked back tears. “You guys are still going to come?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

Because it’s not real. Keeping the lid closed on her pessimistic thoughts, she gave Kinsey the address for the Bowl ’N’ Brew—where the ceremony was being held. After exchanging goodbyes, Lilly hung up and eyed her laptop screen. Her enthusiasm at the prospect of getting some work done had vanished. She started to disconnect from the internet, but hesitated. Before she could change her mind, she typed bridal designs in the search field and clicked on one of the links. A second later, the page loaded, and she stared at a beautiful model decked head to toe in white silk shantung. A strange wistfulness fluttered in her belly.

Up until now, she hadn’t given much thought to the ceremony part of her and Dante’s forthcoming nuptials. Dante had taken care of everything in that regard. He’d even arranged for a no-wait marriage license—one of the many perks of being related to the county clerk.

Bottom line, she’d been all too happy not to deal with any of that stuff. Probably because it’d made it easier to delude herself that this was merely a business transaction. Adding the frippery of a Cinderella wedding had seemed silly at the time.

Her attention returned to the gorgeous dress displayed on the web page. It was without a doubt far more eye-popping than the simple ecru silk suit she’d brought from home. Sure, the haute-couture design would look ridiculously out of place at the Bowl ’N’ Brew, but damn, she’d be the most fashionable redneck bride to ever grace Hope Falls. Chewing her thumbnail, she let her focus drift to the garment bag she’d left on the bed. Anyone who’d see her in that boring suit would know this wasn’t serious. Wasn’t real.

It could be.

She shook her head to rid it of Dante’s phantom suggestion, but it didn’t do any good. She could still hear him in there, tempting her with what ifs.

Would it be so horrible?

She used to think so. Truthfully, a lot of that was because of her fear of being hurt or making the same mistakes as her mom.

But was she committing her own foolish, even bigger mistake by shoving aside the chance of real love and happiness with Dante?

Sometimes playing it safe wasn’t the answer.

Her pulse quickening, she logged off the computer and hurried from the bedroom. She needed to tell Dante that she loved him. Make the leap before cold feet got the better of her. Tossing on her coat, she grabbed her keys from the pocket and rushed outside. Her breath puffing in front of her face, she turned to lock the door. Something slammed into the back of her skull, and she fell forward with a startled cry. Dazed and winded, she staggered sideways to see what had knocked her off balance, and frowned when a woman with curly brown hair stepped into view.

“That’s for stealing my man, you whore.”

Lilly gaped at the deranged female. Self-preservation kicking in, she scrambled for the door handle behind her. Before Lilly’s clumsy fingers got a decent grip, the strange woman snatched her arm and propelled her sideways. Thanks to the porch’s snow-slick floorboards, Lilly lost traction and skidded into the rail. She grunted at the bruising contact with her kidney. The woman grabbed Lilly’s hair and gave a vicious tug. In retaliation, Lilly jabbed her assailant in the chest with an elbow, earning the female’s angry shriek.

A pair of talon-like nails tried to rake across Lilly’s cheek, but she yanked her head back in the nick of time. “What’s your problem, you crazy bitch?”

The woman’s eyes flashed fire. “Dante is mine . You have no right to take my place at that altar tomorrow.”

Finally the haze of confusion cleared from Lilly’s brain. “Anna, I presume?”

Rather than answer, Anna issued another banshee wail and lunged at Lilly. Prepared this time for the attack, Lilly countered the intended blow, taking Anna down with one of her own. Landing on top of the female werewolf, Lilly pounded a fist into Anna’s nose. Another screech rang from Anna. Satisfied she’d gotten her point across that she wasn’t a cat to be tangled with, Lilly started to push to her feet. A searing pain splintered through her rib cage and she gasped, falling sideways again. Blinking back tears of pain, she watched helplessly as Anna struggled to her knees and pocketed the taser she’d zapped Lilly with. Reaching down, Anna snagged the hood of Lilly’s coat and hauled her toward the stairway.