“Where’s General McLovin?” Savannah asks.
“In my truck.”
“No wonder he hates you,” she says with a smile.
I roll my eyes and she laughs. “That cat is an asshole to everyone.”
Then I head off after my friends and Mr. B to start working on the furniture and boxes.
When we make it out of earshot, both Harry and Ed start talking about the house. “How long has she been living here?” Harry asks.
“She moved in last July,” Ed says.
“I can’t believe she lived in an apartment over this.”
“I think when she came back, she expected to be here temporarily after Tito died,” Mr. B says as I pull down the tailgate of my truck. “It was probably hard on her to live here at first.”
Ed and Harry go after my box spring first, easing it out of the bed of my truck.
“They were close?” I ask.
Mr. B nods. “More like a father or older brother. From the time she was little, she followed him around. He had her in the kitchen cooking when she was five. From what everyone says, she was a natural.”
I go to grab something else, but I hear a meow from my truck, and I laugh. “I better get the asshole.”
After grabbing his carrier, I follow Mr. B into the house with the same asshole who got me evicted. I step back into the house and I hear Savannah laugh, low…sexy. It sends heat lapping up my spine and the first stirrings of arousal.
Nope, Fritz. No lusting after the roommate who is your friend. She comes around the corner with a smile on her face, looking lighter than she has in a while.
“Oh, is that the General?” she asks.
“Don’t say that.”
“What?”
“Calling him General makes him think he’s more important than he is.”
She laughs again and the asshole lets loose another loud, irritated meow.
“Let him out of there,” she orders.
I set the carrier down and open the door. McLovin eases out, careful of his surroundings. I swear his grey fur bristles with irritation. He tosses me an irritated look as if this is all my fault. Then he sees Savannah. She squats down and holds her hand out to him.
“He likes to bite, so I would be careful,” I warn. Of course, the asshole cat steps closer to her, sniffs her hand, then slips his head under her hand for a pet.
“Oh, yeah, he’s horrible,” she says with a laugh.
McLovin rubs his body against her legs, and Savannah makes a cooing noise as she slides her hand beneath his belly and picks him up. As she rises, she cuddles him.
Lucky cat.
“Was Fritz mean to you, baby boy?”
And of course, the cat is a dick, so he meows plaintively as if he has been abused.
“Of course he was.”
“Screw you, McLovin.”
She laughs. “I’ll watch him while you guys bring in the stuff. Don’t want him to escape.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No. You would have to explain to Grannie Pam what happened to him.”
Fuck. She’s right.
“Thanks.”
“Come on, McLovin. I’ll show you your new backyard.”
I watch as she carries my cat back into the kitchen.
“Her grandmother had a cat I think,” Mrs. B says.
“Yeah?”
She nods. “She spent most of her time here with her uncle and grandmother while growing up. Anyway, do you have anything you need to put in the kitchen? Savannah said she made some room for your things.”
I blink, again amazed by her actions. She likes people to think she is kind of an asshole, but I’m realizing there is a lot more to Savannah Martinez than I thought before.
“I’ll get the boxes for you,” I say. I hurry out to the truck and realize that I kind of like this side of her that she’s hidden from most of us.
Chapter Five
Savannah
I lean my head back, closing my eyes. God, I love this time of year. It’s already getting hot, but I don’t care. Not right now. At this moment, I’m sitting on the bench in my backyard with McLovin on my lap. His tail twitches back and forth, the vibrations of his kitty motor providing comfort.
I’ve wanted to get a pet since I moved back to San Antonio, but I’m never home. I would never feel right getting a pet who spent the majority of its time alone. At least now, I have a pet to spend time with and I won’t be the asshole who has to work over seventy hours a week leaving him on his own.
I love this part of the yard. I rarely get to spend time out here, but it’s nice and shaded, big oak trees offering cover from the sun. The honeysuckle will bloom soon, allowing the sweet scent of its flowers to fill the air around this bench. Still, the humidity is heavy and there is an energy snapping in the air. Storms are on their way; it’s April in San Antonio so that is a common occurrence.
I look down at McLovin, then slip my hand through his fur. His kitty motor increases, and I smile. It’s something I have missed since Whiskers died. My grandmother’s cat had been a constant in my life until I left for culinary school. I would sit right here with Whiskers, playing in the grass, and just hanging out. I’ve missed that stupid cat.
The kitchen door opens and Fritz steps out. Even though I am a bit of a ways away from him, I can tell he’s sweaty. It dampens his shirt and his hair is curling at the ends where it’s wet. Everyone else is gone, off to their own lives, and now my life includes a sexy man and this cat.
Wait? When did I start thinking of Fritz as sexy? I mean, he’s pretty with those deep blue eyes and that dark hair…but…sexy is different, right? That means I’m attracted to him. Although, he is sexy. I assume from the way he moves—all power and control—that he knows what to do with his body—and I have no doubt he knows what to do with the female body.
Just thinking those things has my own body heating, my breath catching in my throat. The tell-tale signs of arousal thread through my bloodstream, pushing my body to acknowledge my attraction to him. I might be a virgin, but I’m not a shrinking violet when it comes to men. I have done oral—and was on the receiving end of it—so I know when I am aroused.
Inwardly I groan. Nope. Not gonna happen.
Shut that shit down, Savannah.
I know I need to get a personal life, like as in dating. But not with a man like Fritz, who has a reputation. I am pretty sure he could have a woman in his bed every day of the week. A virgin with a foul mouth and a regularly nasty disposition would probably not be high on his list of women to date. Even beyond that, there are other issues. First and foremost, living together and sleeping together could turn into a nightmare situation. Because he wouldn’t want me forever and then things would get awkward. More awkward—because you and I know that most interactions with me are awkward.
If he knew I even thought about those things, he would probably be mortified. The guys in their group of friends always see me as a little sister. At least, that’s the way they all seem to treat me—and they are better brothers than my own. And there I go being pathetic again. But, truth is, Harry checks on me more than any of the four losers I share blood with.
Fritz stops a few feet in front to me, his shirt clinging to his pecs. Damn, the man is built, and I never really noticed that before. Okay, again, I’m sorry for lying. I have noticed but just in a, “Oh, look his boobs might be bigger than mine,” kind of way. I am lacking in that department, you see.
“So, I see the asshole is claiming you,” he says, his Texas twang threading his voice. Wait, did I ever notice that before? I know he’s from Texas, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before. What did he sound like when he was seducing a woman?
Jesus, Savannah, get it the fuck together. I push those thoughts aside and smile as I look up. “He just knows who’s in charge.”
Fritz rolls his eyes as he sits on the opposite end of the bench. “You have an amazing house, Savannah.”
“Thank you. My uncle bought it, the
n gutted it and spent a year redoing the entire thing. I vaguely remember helping him paint the dining room.” I remember giggling, paint in our hair, on my face…God, that was a good day. Even before moving back, I thought about it and I would always smile.
He nods. “Thanks so much for letting me move in.”
I shrug. “I’m hardly ever here, and the truth is, when I have to work from home, it’s usually in the morning. You work then so we will stay out of each other’s way.”
“Still, thanks.”
“No problem.” I wish he would stop saying that. It’s embarrassing me, and he’s already thanked me about twenty times. I’m getting annoyed.
“So, none of us knew you had this house.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Allison and EJ know about it. And Harry’s been here.”
He seems to take that in. “Hmm, okay.”
“What?”
“Well, you don’t have us over. Just…nothing.”
“I’ve offered but both Allison and EJ refuse.”
He lifts his gaze to mine. “They do?”
“Yeah. Something about not making me work the one or two days I have off each week.”
And they’re right. I rarely get two days off in a row. This week was an anomaly. And I worked Monday at home and went in last night. Still, the house is always clean, since I pay someone take care of that for me. And, I do have a kick ass patio and outdoor cooking thing going on.
“I guess we’ll have to have everyone over for dinner or something,” I say.
“I’ll help.”
“With the cooking?” I ask, giving him a skeptical look.
“Hey, I can cook. Mom thought all of us should know the basics, so we all learned to cook in order to help out.”
“I can’t imagine what it was like with five kids and your father always gone. I mean, there were five of us, but Dad rarely went anywhere without Mom.” And, we had sitters. Or at least my brothers did. I had Uncle Tito.
“We had Grannie Pam.”
I nod. “That helps. My parents always had help with our family. Aunts, uncles, cousins.”
He cocks his head and reaches out to pet McLovin, and the cat hisses at him.
“See. Asshole.”
I laugh because it’s the first time General McLovin has done anything other than purr. “Maybe you two are just never going to get along.”
He shrugs and looks back at the house. “Are you getting hungry?”
It’s late afternoon now and I know he ate breakfast thanks to Mrs. B. She brought some to me too and made me eat. She definitely has the mom gene. The most maternal thing my mother ever did was birth us. It pretty much ended there.
“A little.”
“I noticed you didn’t have much in the fridge.”
I nod. “I tend to pick up enough for a meal and that’s it. I eat a lot at work, but at home, it’s just me.”
“Yeah, I understand.” He tries to pet McLovin again and the cat’s ears go back, and he hisses. I can’t help it. I laugh. “For that, no treats, he says.” He raises his gaze to me. “I’m going to run to HEB. Did you need anything?”
I shake my head.
“Anything in particular you want to eat tonight?”
I shrug. My appetite has been off for months, nothing really tastes good. Other than Ed’s sweets. I have no problem shoveling his sugary treats into my mouth, which I know is bad, but I figure I need to eat what sounds good.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
I shake my head again confused by the question. He must have caught on to my confusion.
“You just don’t have much in there.”
I shrug. This is why I don’t live with people. They ask questions. And want to talk. Always with the talking.
“I’m at the restaurant so much, so I usually eat there. I buy stuff when I need it because I hate to waste food.”
“Any particular food you want?” He’s smiling at me and it has been forever since a man has cooked for me. Being a chef, I know a lot of guys in the industry, and I dated when I lived in San Francisco. Most of the time we cooked together, but once or twice a date cooked for me. It was nice, and if I let him do things like this, I might just lose myself and throw my virginity at him. There is one thing that’s for sure, Fritz would know how to handle a woman’s first time.
And then he would move on because that’s what Fritz does.
“You don’t have to cook for me.”
“I know but I want to show my appreciation.”
I sigh because I know it is going to be hard to avoid him. I hate people in general and add in the fact I had silly thoughts about the way he smelled. And looked. And how good he would be in bed.
Dammit.
“Italian. I rarely get pasta.”
He smiles and I can’t help but return it. It’s contagious and now I realize I am as stupid as the women who pursue him. Fritz is a charming man, and I don’t fault him for that. He’s not mean, and I have a feeling he is pretty upfront about it all because that’s the kind of guy he is. Still, I have a feeling that I would fall for him and make a fool out of myself. I can’t allow that.
“Do you have an aversion to mushrooms?” he asks, pulling me back from my stupid thoughts.
I shake my head.
“Great. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Okay.”
He looks at McLovin. “Asshole.”
Then he walks away, and I try my best not to pay attention to the way his jeans cup his ass. Hey, don’t judge me. I know I said I needed to keep it together, but Fritz has one of those butts women always talk about. You know the kind, right? Full, round, able to bounce a quarter off of. Also, I am human. Mostly.
I sigh as he disappears into the house, and I continue stroking my fingers through McLovin’s fur. I need to get back to work, look over some of the schedules for the next few weeks. I also need to figure out just how to schedule my five days off from work. I know my parents are going to balk at the idea since it is the week of Cinco de Mayo. I don’t care. I am going to be there for all of it, from the bachelorette party until the last dance. There is no way I will miss any of it.
At this point, I know you all think I am kind of an asshole. Or maybe that’s the impression you had of me earlier. I did call myself one so, no harm in you thinking it. My family is important to me, and I know I let them abuse me a little (well, a lot), but there is so much on the line for the restaurants to continue to succeed. Not just my blood family depends on me, but my work family as well. Some of our employees have been with us for decades. The head chef of our Riverwalk restaurant, La Rio Martinez, started working for my Uncle Tito thirty years ago. Dennis was a high school dropout with a love of food. Tito took him from busboy to head chef. Granted, he had only been a sous chef when I took over a few years ago, but when we opened that location, I insisted that he be offered the job. He’s family.
So, beyond the idiots I share blood with, there is a wealth of people I’ve known my entire life. In some cases, we had multiple generations of a family working for us. It is one of the things we are known for. We promote from within.
With a sigh, I take McLovin off my lap, setting him down on the thick grass and head back inside. I have a ton of work to do and I was only about halfway done when Fritz showed up this morning. I glance back over my shoulder to make sure McLovin is following me. He is, slowly, but he’s right there behind me. We make our way into the house together, me holding the door open for him. I grab some water and head back into the office. My phone is buzzing, and I know it’s probably Allison and EJ. Not like they don’t know everything going on since their boyfriends had been over here.
When I see the texts, I smile.
Allison: I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to control the men, but I sent my mother. I figured they are more scared of her than me.
EJ: Your mother is a sweetie.
Allison: I know that. But she won’t let them screw around. I’m pretty sure she brought
food for them too.
EJ: Yeah, she did that when I moved in with her baby boy.
Allison: Ugh. I said to quit calling him baby boy. It’s weird.
EJ: Well, he is a baby boy for his mama. For me, he’s a bad boy—especially with the dirty talk.
Allison: I swear by all that is holy I will call your gran and tell her you are having second thoughts about your sexuality.
EJ: Gran has no problem with lesbians.
Allison: But she might come here and try to take out the BEARDED INTRUDER.
I laugh. When EJ had to rush home a few months ago, Harry and she had been fighting. He had shown up in the middle of the night, which caused EJ’s Gran to pull a gun on him.
EJ: She loves Harry. Just don’t tell him. She thinks he has very large hands…if you get what I’m saying.
Allison: ACK, that makes me want to barf. I need to use a toothbrush with bleach to get that thought out of my brain.
Allison: Savannah…are you alive?
Me: Not sure.
EJ: Finally. What is McLovin like? Does he love you already?
I roll my eyes. I do have an issue with small children and animals. They all seem to like me, but I never understand it. Well, animals, but children…they are so not my thing. I would have to watch an online tutorial to learn how to change a diaper. Or, you know, not kill the kid.
Me: Yes, but I think it has more to do with Fritz. This cat really doesn’t like him.
EJ: *devil laughing emoji*
Allison: Ha. Well, it is a male cat. If it were a female, she’d be all ready for him.
I can’t let that go.
Me: So, like his life normally goes. All the pussies love him as long as they are female?
It took both of them a few seconds to get it.
Allison: *embarrassed face emoji*
EJ: Ha, good one.
Me: Everything is settled. That back room is pretty big, so he has space for his stuff. He’s out getting food now.
Allison: Good. He should be buying you dinner every night.
Me: I meant he was going to HEB. Apparently, I don’t have any food.
EJ: Savannah, we talked about this.
Scrumptious: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Camos and Cupcakes Book 3) Page 4
