It was all pretty damn exhausting, really. And no matter what he did, Magnus felt like he was the one getting the short end of the stick here.

But Magnus could be charming when he needed to be. After all, he’d managed to squeeze two billion from a computer company for one single computer game. He could romance a cat lady.

So he brushed a finger along the edge of Edie’s jaw. “Why not you?”

“Seriously?” She pushed his hand away again. “How about giving me a non-bullshit answer?”

Annnnd this wasn’t working. New tactic. “All right. Here’s some non-bullshit for you. You want to know why I like you? Because you can cut like a knife with that tongue. Because you don’t let me get away with anything. Because you have a pretty banging body, and because that mouth is incredibly fuckable. Because you’re smart, and the whole cat thing kind of intrigues me, despite myself. And your mouth is really damn sexy. How’s that?”

Her lips curled in a faint smile. “Better,” she murmured, voice husky.

“That, too,” he said. “That throaty thing you do with your voice. That’s on the list, too.”

She chuckled, then looked up at him thoughtfully. “It’s been a while since I’ve dated. I’m not sure I’m ready for kissing yet. Especially in these circumstances.”

He had to admit, he was a little disappointed to hear that. He was a guy, after all. His dick was already planning out when it could be inside her. “Circumstances? First date?”

“I was thinking more like the reptile-house thing.”

“We can go back outside?”

She shook her head, smiling, and slid out from under his arm. “The first date thing, too.”

“Fair enough. I can wait for date number two,” he said easily.

“In the meantime, you can tell me about your cat.”

“I sure wish that was a double entendre,” Magnus grumbled.

Edie just laughed.

Chapter Six

“So, did you kiss him?” Bianca asked as they got back in the car. Her sister checked her own appearance in the rearview mirror then glanced over at Edie with a critical eye. She made an approving noise. “You don’t look like you’ve been kissed. I hope you followed my advice?”

“I did,” Edie agreed. “No kissing.” She buckled into the seatbelt and stretched her leg out as far as it would go against the floorboards. It ached from her walking at the zoo, but they’d taken it easy and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Plus, she wouldn’t have complained about it for the world, not when she’d been enjoying herself so much. She’d just ice it when she got home.

“Good. You don’t kiss on the first date,” Bianca told her, pulling out onto a side street and merging into traffic. “That’s the first rule of keeping a man interested. You play a bit harder to get.”

Edie twisted her hands in her lap, thinking of Magnus. His playful, flirty green-gold eyes and that wide smile that seemed to make her insides warm when he looked at her. The way he’d loomed over her in the reptile house, trying to finagle a kiss from her. “I really, really wanted to kiss him, though.”

“No,” Bianca said. “Not for at least a week or two. You know the rule. Men don’t buy the cow if they get the milk for free.”

“But what if the cow really, really wants to be milked?”

Bianca shot her a frosty glare. “No, Edie. Not unless you want to be dumped as soon as another milkshake brings him to the yard.”

“Okay, now we’re just getting weird with the milk metaphors.”

“Just trust me, all right?”

“All right,” Edie grumped. “But now I’m hungry.”

Bianca didn’t look over, her gaze fixed on the traffic, and Edie fell silent, watching the streets of New York move past. Bianca was probably right, she admitted. Her sister knew a lot more about dating than Edie did. Edie’s last relationship had come six years ago and it had ended with a whimper, so clearly she didn’t know so much about hooking a man. Maybe she did move too fast. Maybe the trick was that she needed to move slower. Or maybe she and Magnus should have just remained friends instead of trying to take things further.

But she thought of his smiling mouth, his big body leaning in close to hers. A flush crept over her skin. No, she definitely wanted to see where things were going. Even if it baffled her as to why he was attracted to her, one thing was for certain: She was definitely attracted to him.

“So did he ask you out again?” Bianca turned on her blinker and glanced over at Edie.

“Yes. For this weekend. But I told him no.”

Bianca’s eyes went wide. “You what? Why?”

“Because I’m manning a table for the shelter at the Harvest Festival this weekend and I can’t cancel on them.”

“Edie, dating a billionaire is far more important than saving a few cats nobody wants!”

Her jaw set. “Not to me, it’s not. He’s just going to have to wait.”

“Billionaires don’t wait!”

“Then I guess he and I just aren’t meant to be.” She kept her voice casual, but even as she did, she thought of his green-gold eyes, that bright, unusual color, and the way they crinkled a bit around the edges when he grinned, really grinned. He could have anyone. The moment he smiled at a girl, panties would flutter to the ground. Never mind the size of his wallet. Why he was going through an elaborate setup to get to know her, she had no idea. Her knee began to ache, a dull, steady throb. “I doubt he’s seriously interested in me anyhow.”

Bianca made an unhappy little noise in her throat but said nothing.

***

When Edie had medicated her cats and was curled up in bed with a book, Bianca went up to her upstairs bathroom, quietly shut the door, and pulled out her phone. Today was one of those days that she hated living with her sister, because she had to be quiet and furtive. She turned on the shower to muffle things, and then called Levi.

He picked up on the first ring, as if he was waiting for her call. “Bianca,” he breathed into the phone. “I missed you.”

Of course he did. She studied her nails. The baby pink she’d painted them had chipped on one edge. Damn it. “I missed you, too,” she said automatically, since he expected it. Then she lowered her voice, taking on a sweeter edge. “I’m afraid I can’t see you this weekend, Levi. I’m so upset.” She gave a small sniff to punctuate the upset part.

“No! What’s wrong? I— Is that your shower?”

“I turned it on so Edie couldn’t hear us talk. She’ll get upset if she thinks I’m sneaking around behind her back. You know how she needs me.” Definitely chips in her polish. Drat. That was what she got for buying a cheap color. “I’m sorry, Levi.” She gave another sniff, just loud enough for him to hear.

“What happened on their date?” Levi sounded upset. “Magnus knows he’s supposed to romance her! I’ll talk to him—”

“No,” Bianca said quickly. “Maybe Edie just doesn’t like your brother. Maybe he’s being mean to her.”

“Mean? Magnus slept with half the cheerleading team in college. He can charm the socks off of any woman he wants to. It sounds like he’s just not trying.”

“Well, if you think that’s the case,” Bianca said slowly. Blaming Magnus would make it easier for her than if the problem was Edie. “Either way, we can’t get together this weekend. Edie’s volunteering at the local festival and she won’t go out with Magnus. I won’t be able to drive there to see you.” Her tone became babyish, because she knew he liked that. “And I miss you.”

“God, I miss you too,” Levi said fervently. “If you can’t come to us, then maybe we can come to you.”

“Oh, do you think so?” She put a note of false hope in her little-girl voice and picked at a fleck of fingernail polish. If they came to her and Edie, she wouldn’t have to make that ridiculously long car drive again for a bit, which was good. But she said, “I don’t want to put you out, Levi . . .”