Poor Valeri! With no job or girlfriend, the new year starts badly. Her flat’s a mess and she’s broke. She dismisses a job advert for a pest controller as the worst idea ever. Valeri is scared of spiders and bugs and isn’t great with rodents, either. When she sees a creepy crawlie, she’s forced to ask for help from the grumpy girl next door, Pippa. Pest controller? Nope. Until Valeri notices an image of the uniform ... gold catsuit and matching bracelets. Before she can think better, Valeri signs up for an interview.
Grumpy Pippa the librarian likes books, order, and keeping her shelves tidy. The last thing she wants is a messy chaotic queen entering her quiet life. Yeah, she’s lonely sometimes. True, neighbour Valeri is hot, but Pippa is too busy to even consider a date. Something is wrong at the library, though. Pippa hears noises and becomes convinced that pests have somehow gotten in.
Can messy Valeri solve the pest issue and become better acquainted with grumpy Pippa? Will the worst new year turn into the best?
Pippa was inside the cage, snuggled up and fast asleep. She held the teddy bear I’d left and an opened romance book in her other hand. Despite the extraordinary circumstances, I almost laughed aloud. Pippa hated romances!
Then reality prodded me in the back. Questions flashed in my mind, quick and fast. What the hell was Pippa doing in the cage? Why had she come to the library in the middle of the night? Where was the monster? Why was she reading a romance?
I wanted answers to the questions, but there was something I needed even more -- a cuddle with the girl I’d dreamed of all night. I removed my shoes and then crawled into the cage alongside Pippa. She murmured, so I snuggled behind her and slipped my arms around her sweet body. All at once, the world aligned. My body and hers fit perfectly. She turned. Our lips met before we could speak. I forgot about Jill, monsters, wages, bills, targets, and guns. All I wanted was to know and understand the girl beside me.
The kiss lasted a long time. I became breathless and so did she. Pippa tried to speak. “There’s something you need to see. I’ve only just worked it out. I -- I’m not who you think. I’m not even who I thought I was!”
I stopped her with more kisses. I’d waited too long to show her how I felt, and now I couldn’t stop. Each time she opened her pretty lips, I kissed her again. “Whoever you are, I’ll still want to date you.”
The change occurred quite abruptly. One minute, she was a girl; the next, a flamingo monster with huge blue eyes, long lashes, silky fur, and the dearest beaked lips.
I’d never been the cleverest pupil at school. Actually, I’d failed most of my exams. And yet, I finally slotted the missing pieces into place. “You’re the pest, aren’t you? By day, a librarian; by night, a dazzling flamingo. When you saw a leg it was an image from the library mirror.” I couldn’t help kissing Pippa’s hair because I still fancied the pants off her even though she was a flamingo. “I still want us to be girlfriends. And don’t worry about a thing. Flamingo monsters deserve love, too. You’re beautiful.” I probably sounded like a corny TV advert and yet meant every word.
The flamingo made cute cooing sounds to show she agreed. She nuzzled my neck and sat on my lap while I brushed her hair. “Okay. We’ve got some sorting to do, but we’re good,” I told her.
Jill finally gave up waiting. She peeped around the shelves to find me and Pippa together. She laughed. “I thought as much. Looks like you’ve found the original monster who brought the gold. She’s a shifter! She’s been craving love all this time, and now she’s found you. Awww.”
