The whole package moved way past beautiful and into the stunning range.

Thankfully there was no time to dwell on it-both of them were distracted by all hell breaking loose. An elegant, long-haired pure-white kitten stepped out of the lady’s open front door and promptly sat in the sun to delicately wash a paw.

Cat-the scarred-up old tomcat who’d shown up in a rainstorm a year ago and refused to leave him-suddenly shot out of the cat door and beelined for the kitten.

The mom promptly let out a shriek that verified forever where the daughter had inherited her vocal cords.

The kitten disappeared inside the open front door, followed by Cat. Both dogs, now that felines were in the picture, chased right in behind them. Teddy and the little girl pushed elbows, both trying to barrel after their respective pets.

Which left him-at least for a second-with the stranger.

She seemed to do a quick size up, which made Mike ultra conscious that he was shirtless, dirty and sweaty. But he couldn’t tell from her expression what she thought of him. What she thought of the situation was more clear.

She was still gasping for breath. “I’m afraid we’ll have to exchange names another time. I mean, I’d hoped to meet my neighbors under a little less chaotic condition-”

“Same here, believe me.”

“Even though I’m tempted to cry right now, I have a feeling by tonight I’ll be laughing about all this.”

“Me, too.” He liked it. That she wasn’t turning hysterical-at least, once she’d realized her daughter wasn’t hurt or in danger.

“Unfortunately…” Finally she caught her breath. “My cat hasn’t been spayed yet. Neither has our dog. We hope to breed them.”