“Oh fu…er…yuck!” Definitely not what Gordie had intended to say when Kenton opened his front door, but damn, the wall of stench hitting him smelled like there’d been a dead rat rotting for weeks. “Holy moly. What did you feed that cat?”

“Nothing I’ll ever feed him again, that’s for sure.” Kenton winced and held up a pair of rubber gloves and an assortment of cleaning products. “I was just about to deal with the poopastrophy, so…good timing?”

Gordie laughed. “Of course I’ll help. Trust me, with my job I’m a pro at this.” He lifted the box of chocolate truffles he’d bought for Kenton. “Want me to put this in the kitchen?”

“Thank you! Yes, that would be great.” Kenton leaned across his armload of spray bottles to kiss him. Unfortunately, the cat poop pong permeating the air blocked Kenton’s sexy scent, but the feel of those lips gave Gordie a familiar zing despite the repugnant reek.

“Mmm…Happy Valentine’s Day,” Gordie said.

Kenton grinned. “Captain Jack left you a…present.”

“How thoughtful of him.” Gordie laughed and headed to the kitchen. “Got another pair of those gloves?”

Kenton’s voice drifted from his bedroom. “I think there’s a new pair under the si—oh my god! Jacky, you didn’t need to roll in it!”

Gordie groaned. Good thing he hadn’t bought their movie tickets in advance. The likelihood of getting through their meal in time to make the start of the show was becoming questionable. In fact, they would probably have to cancel their dinner reservations.

In the bedroom, Kenton had his gloves on, holding the wayward kitty at arm’s length. The horror-stricken look on Kenton’s face told Gordie all he needed to know.

“Why don’t I give him a bath while you handle the carpet?” Gordie pulled on the spare gloves and reached for the grumpy, yowling lump of poo-cactus. All the kitten needed was a strap-on eyepatch and he’d make the perfect side-kick for his namesake.

“Would you?” Kenton gagged and turned his head to the side. “Seriously, I’ll love you forever if you handle Jacky.”

Kenton’s body stiffened. Obviously, he hadn’t meant to drop the L-word-bomb in that fashion. Question was, did he regret using the word at all, or only the method?

Gordie straightened his shoulders. Screw it. It was Valentine’s Day, and he had resolved to say the words before the night was over anyway. The feeling had been growing steadily since they’d met shortly before Christmas, and he finally felt comfortable verbalizing it. Maybe—hopefully—he just needed to diffuse the awkwardness of Kenton’s unintentional blurt.

“Challenge accepted.” Gordie smiled widely as he reached for the cat. The tightness in Kenton’s face relaxed, and his return grin reached his eyes.

“Thank you.”

Captain Jack caterwauled as Kenton passed him over. Gordie raised an eyebrow. “Just wait until you’re in the tub, if you think this is bad, bucko.”

In the end, Gordie wasn’t sure who had the worse time, him or Captain Jack. Or possibly Kenton. Judging by the sounds coming out of the bedroom, he’d had to run a carpet shampooer to finish the job.

At least Kenton had a sprayer option in his spa tub, so that had made it a little easier. He’d set the water pressure low of course, but still, the kitten was…less than pleased.

“All done. Now you smell like the ocean, just like your daddy.” Gordie wrapped the wet kitty in a big towel. “Let’s fluff you back up, Jacky. You’ll be back to normal in no time.”

Kenton was lighting the fireplace when Gordie entered the living room.

“Good idea,” Gordie said. “Jacky could use that extra heat while he dries off.”

Kenton looked up sheepishly. “It means we can’t go out, though. Sorry.”

“I know.” Gordie shrugged as he rubbed Captain Jack. “I figure we’re going to miss our dinner reservation anyway. We can order pizza instead. Netflix and chill?”

“Absolutely. Hold on a sec.” Kenton disappeared into his office and returned with a bouquet of a dozen red roses. “For you.” He set the vase on the coffee table since Gordie still had his hands full of damp kitten.

Gordie sucked in his breath. Did Kenton know what a dozen red roses meant? “They’re beautiful! Thank you so much.”

Kenton moved Captain Jack to a cat bed beside the fireplace, and the kitten promptly began licking his fur. They sat on the sofa facing the cozy blaze, and Gordie put an arm across the back of Kenton’s shoulders.

“I don’t know how I’d have made it through this evening if you hadn’t been here,” Kenton said. “You met that ‘challenge,’ and then some.” He snuggled into Gordie’s side. “Not that it was needed for me to…love you. I already did.”

Gordie turned and pulled Kenton fully into his arms. “I love you, too.”

Kenton’s eyes glimmered above his wide grin. “Despite my date-spoiling kitten?”

“Ah, but without Jacky, I’d be nothing but an unpleasant memory—if you remembered me at all—from that charity auction two months ago.” Gordie kissed the corner of Kenton’s smile. Besides, he felt a special affinity with the wayward kitten that picked the most inopportune times to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

“Makes me doubly glad I adopted him.”

Warmth that couldn’t be explained by the fireplace alone spread through Gordie’s limbs. He answered Kenton’s words with a kiss, for long minutes until his stomach interrupted with a loud rumble, and their laughter broke the lip-lock.

“Pizza first?” Kenton asked with a snicker. “And Netfix?”

“Then definitely some ‘chill.’”