Dear Rosie, (Love Letters #2)

Charles clunks his hard skull against mine.

I grunt.

He does it again.

I lift a hand toward him. “Five more minutes.”

Teeth lightly close around my pointer finger.

I open my eyes. “What the fu?—”

But then I stop chastising my cat because I seeher.

Rosie is draped across me.

Her hair is spread across my chest. The deep red strands look perfect against my bare skin.

Her left knee is hitched up over my thigh, and I can feel the edges of her new ankle brace against my shin.

She has a hand wedged between her body and my side, and I can only hope it’s comfortable for her.

I don’t know when we changed positions, but my arm is tucked around her back. The subconscious part of me just as aware of the fact that I need her close.

I flex my arm, just a little, to hold her closer.

Her back rises with a slow inhale.

I lift my head and press a kiss to the top of her hair, and Charles drops his hold of my finger before he steps up onto my stomach.

He’s already purring when he curls up on my body. Just above Rosie’s knee.

With the arm not around Rosie, I reach down and scratch Charles behind the ears.

This damn cat is getting just as attached to Rosie as I am.

I open my eyes.

The buzzing continues, and my brain finally clicks on.

I dart my hand out to grab my phone off the nightstand and tap the screen to send the call to voicemail.

The phone stops vibrating, and I look down at the woman still sprawled across me to make sure she didn’t wake up.

Once I confirm her breathing is still steady, I relax.

Charles, however, is staring at me out of one eye.

Sorry,I mouth to him.

In response, he stretches his front legs, flexing his paws and jabbing me with his little claws.

I slip my phone under his paws, stopping the attempted stabbing.

Bitch,I mouth this time.

My phone buzzes once, and I snatch it back away from my body, not wanting the vibration to somehow transfer through my body and wake up Rosie.

I look at the screen.