Page 22 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

And he should have thought about that too. The sale would affect her professionally and personally. “Fair enough. I’m thirty-one, six foot two, a hedge fund manager, and I like long walks on sandy beaches.” He raised his brow and lifted his coffee cup.

She chuckled and set the cat in her lap.

The ice was cracking. “What about you, Octavia Dalton? I already know you like cats, running a café, and chai lattes. Anything else I should be aware of?”

“I’m twenty-nine, five foot nine, and prefer mountains to shores. Unless it’s Lake Erie.”

“What’s so special about Lake Erie?”

“It’s one of the Great Lakes. Also the biggest tourist attraction in Northeast Ohio. You haven’t experienced it fully until you’ve seen an autumn sunset over the lakeshore.”

He’d seen plenty of sunsets over the Pacific at Huntington Beach, a short drive from his house in LA. They were indeed breathtaking, and he couldn’t imagine Lake Erie could compare.

His gaze went to her hands, which were cupping her mug. No wedding ring. He assumed she lived alone too. There hadn’t been anything in the parts of her apartment he’d seen that reflected a man living there.

The bell chimed above the door and several customers entered to the tune of multiple meows. Luna dashed toward the front, along with Toffee.

“My break is over.” Via stood, her attention diverted. “Feel free to finish your coffee.”

“But—”

“We can discuss this later.”

“When?” Hopefully she didn’t detect the urgency in his tone. Just in case, he leaned back in the chair and took a casual sip of his drink.

“Tonight, after work. We close at five.” She smiled. It wasn’t directed at him, but at the customers she was moving to greet.

He relaxed a little when she was out of view. At least she agreed to help him. And whatever she was willing to do, he would take it.

Chapter 5

The rest of the day flew by for Via, mostly because the café was busy until closing time. Great for business and excellent for her state of mind. Sir had even behaved himself once Leo left. With the exception of a couple of stops and meows at the side door, he took several long catnaps during the afternoon.

Birdie and Dora were curious about her conversation with Leo, but Via made sure to dodge them. She even cleaned out the kitty litter boxes an extra, unneeded time—she was that desperate not to answer any questions. And she could tell Birdie and Dora were filled with them. Too bad, that’s what they got for their preposterous behavior. Harvard Boy and Smitten Kitten? What was Birdie thinking?

But after Dora left to meet Charlie for dinner and Via had locked up the café, she was thinking about Leo again. She was surprised to find out he was only thirty-one. He seemed so put together. So accomplished. She didn’t have an MBA from Harvard but she did have a bachelor’s in business. Becoming a hedge fund manager was no easy feat, and in Los Angeles no less.

She didn’t regret agreeing to help Leo, though. She’d wanted to organize Second Chapter soon after she and Earl became friends,but he wasn’t interested. Eventually she realized there was a method to his madness and she didn’t want to upend his haphazard system. But autumn was a busy time at the café and in her personal life. She even had a bucket list of fall activities—something she’d started when she moved back home.

Many of them were things Trevor refused to do when they were dating, like going to a pumpkin patch, walking through a corn maze, and camping under the stars. He thought they were too boring, time wasting, and had no value. He also didn’t want her doing them by herself and would come up with activities he wanted to do that she wasn’t interested in. Like going to lectures about some obscure historical event in Europe. Because he was a professor of medieval history, it made sense he would enjoy that type of entertainment, but lectures put her to sleep.

Wasn’t that what love was all about, though? Setting aside self-interests for the sake of someone else? She still believed that. Trevor certainly didn’t. After they broke up she was astounded by how much they didn’t have in common. She’d been swayed by his good looks, smooth talking, and unrelenting attention whenever she caught him in a lie or a misdeed. Love bombing, she’d later learned it was called.

She scowled. Ever since Leo showed up, her ex continued to plague her thoughts. Better to get their discussion over with so she could stop thinking about both of them.

Via glanced around the café. The eight cats currently living here were doing what they usually did after they had their dinner—relaxing and snoozing. Only Luna and Juniper, a Maine coon rescue, were wandering about. Mochi, a sweet tabby with a nick in her ear, was reclining on one of the cat shelves, chewing on a catnip toy. They were all getting settled in for the night.

“C’mon, Sir,” she said, motioning to the side door, only to stopin front of it. He sat by her feet while she decided what to do. Wait for Leo in the café? Meet him in Second Chapter? She should have specified. She’d check the bookstore first and if he wasn’t there, then she’d go upstairs.

But when she opened the door, Leo was standing there, holding a plastic bag and a drink carrier. Instead of his Harvard sweatshirt, he had on a plain black one and a pair of slightly baggy jeans. Very dressed down for a Harvard boy, but she was finding out he could look hot in anything. Sir immediately started weaving between his legs, but Leo didn’t seem to notice.

“I brought dinner, if you’re hungry,” he said.

This was a nice surprise—both the dinner and his thoughtfulness. “Thank you,” she said, and opened the door wider. “I’ll turn the lights back on.”

“You sure? I’d offer the bookstore, but we’d have to disinfect it.” He shook his head. “Sorry. That was—”

“Accurate,” she said. “I haven’t been in there since January. I can only imagine the dust.”