Larissa could tell that he was doing it on purpose, so she returned a similar smile of provocation before saying loudly, "Nope! The kitten's mine. It has nothing to do with you. If you dare give it to someone else behind my back, I will call your mother at once!"

On Kevan's phone screen, Ruby's smile froze, though whether or not it was due to Larissa's words or due to the Internet's lag, one could not tell. Kevan did not keep her threat in mind though.

"Go on," he said. "Call her. Don't think