Page 45 of Riding High

Eden yanked open the fridge, felt something brush against her ankle and she leaped a foot in the air.As the sound of a car rumbled in the distance, she looked down and saw Bizzy snuggling up to her ankle looking a little sorry for himself.Herself?

‘Holy shit!’she yelled, scooping the cat up and plastering it against her chest.

‘What?’Jed looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the cat in her arms.‘Where the hell did he come from?’

Eden snapped her mouth closed, barely able to get the words out.

‘He was in the bloody fridge!’she hissed, conscious of the tiny, cold body purring against her chest.Jed was bigger and hotter and emitted far more heat than she did.In one fluid movement, she yanked up his shirt and shoved Bizzy against his chest.

‘Warm her up, for God’s sake!’she said, hearing Mick’s car slide into her parking space behind the garage.

Jed’s hand covered Bizzy, and he rubbed her briskly.‘Dammit, close call.How did he get in the fridge?’he hissed, as car doors slammed.

‘He must’ve jumped in while I was making myself a coffee,’ Eden whispered.‘I always leave the fridge door open; it’s a bad habit of mine.’

Jed started to smile, then laugh.His body shook with it, and Eden joined in, hers born out of relief.‘Would he have frozen in there?’she whispered, hearing Gemma and Liam’s voices as they ran up the path to the front door.

Jed shook his head.‘Nah, no chance, and he’s fine.A bit cold, but fine.’

The door opened and Gemma raced into the kitchen, looking around for Bizzy.Her eyes locked on to Eden’s face, and she placed her hands on her hips.‘Where’s my kitten?Why aren’t you cuddling her?’

Wow.Okay, then.Eden hauled in a deep breath and gestured to Jed.‘Jed is cuddling her,’ she said, pointing to the bump beneath Jed’s polo shirt.Please, please, she silently begged, let the cat be warm enough not to raise Gemma’s suspicions.Seeing the fridge door was still open, Eden kicked it closed with her foot.Then she opened it again, just to make sure, ignoring Jed’s snort.

Gemma stomped over to Jed, shoved her hand under his shirt and took the kitten from him.Eden held her breath and so, she noticed, did Jed.Gemma lifted the kitten to her face and kissed her nose.She frowned.‘Why is his nose cold?’she demanded.

Eden looked at Jed, who gripped the counter with his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter.‘Ah, that’s because he’s the most chilled cat in the world,’ he stated.

Haha, not funny.Eden glowered at him, and he grinned at her.They both watched Gemma cuddle her cat, and she asked him how he was, whether Eden had been a good babysitter and whether he was, God of all things, satisfied with her service.If cats could write online reviews, she would get negative five stars for shocking service.

Eden reached behind Jed, swiped the whisky bottle off the counter and took a big sip.She took another and turned as Mick came through the door, carrying Liam who looked a little flushed.She handed them a tired smile.‘Hey, all good?’she asked.

‘All good,’ Eden said, taking another hit of whisky.At some point, she’d have to explain to Mick why she’d turned her house upside down and pawed through her drawers and cupboards, and she hoped Mick would understand.She didn’t have that many friends that she could afford to alienate the ones she had.

‘Liar,’ Jed muttered.

‘Sounds like there’s a story there,’ Mick said, placing Liam on his feet.

She had no bloody idea.