When I opened my eyes again, it was broad daylight.

I stumbled out of the bedroom, head pounding, and saw Noah crashed on the couch.

Trying to piece together last night, I checked my clothes. Everything seemed in order.

I tiptoed over to the couch and squatted down to look at the sleeping man.

Damn, he's easy on the eyes. Those long, curled lashes, that sharp nose, defined jawline, Adam's apple, collarbones, pecs...

Okay, okay, enough ogling.

I poked his shoulder gently. "Mr. Black, we're gonna be late..."

He slowly opened his eyes, looked at me, and said, "You're up?" Then closed them again.

My heart did a little flip. His eyes were so... soft.

He added, "Go back to sleep for a bit. I had Tom call in sick for you."

After that, Noah just went ahead and moved all of Happy's stuff over. Happy went from being a part-time resident to a full-time tenant.

Noah started popping in to check on Happy more often, and hey, he'd stick around for dinner too.

I couldn't wrap my head around why this guy, used to fancy five-star meals, would be into my home cooking.

We'd all hang out in the living room - Noah tapping away on his laptop, me sketching, and Happy sawing logs.

The vibe was... weird. But kinda cozy too.

At the office, Noah and I barely crossed paths. My boss's boss was the one who'd report to him directly.

Nobody had a clue I was his son's secret pooper scooper.

Then, out of the blue, our three-year hush-hush arrangement got blown wide open by one big fat tail.

I'd really dropped the ball. But I couldn't just stick my head in the sand, right?

Talk about a head-scratcher!

I checked Instagram again and, get this, saw a comment from Tom, Mr. Technophobe himself. He said Mr. Black was out of town and he didn't know squat about cat-sitting, so could I take care of things?

Tom's Noah's right-hand man, so his word carries weight.

I called Tom ASAP. "Thanks for the save, Tom! I was totally stumped on how to explain this mess!"

Tom chuckled. "Me? Post on Instagram? No way. Mr. Black used my phone to do it."

"..."

Noah came home early that night.