Page 62 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

She did, and it was a slow song, “How Deep Is Your Love.” Itwas playing perfectly now. Oh, she liked this one. Mellow, relaxing. She might have to add it to the café playlist.

They sorted through the album stack as the song played, and Via started paying attention to the lyrics. Oh boy, was this a romantic song. She glanced at Leo. He was completely focused on the records, so much so she doubted he’d even noticed the words. The last thing she needed was for him to catch her gazing at him while the singers sang, “We belong to you and me.” He had a different type of shirt on today, one with navy blue three-quarter sleeves and a cartoon picture of The Who on a white background. “That’s an interesting shirt,” she said, moving her thoughts away from romance.

“Another one of Earl’s. He’s got loads of clothes from every era, it seems.”

“Him being a Who fan makes more sense than the disco stuff.” Her father exclusively listened to classic rock and she was aware of the bands in the genre.

“Did he ever listen to music?”

“Not around me.”

Finally, the song ended and switched to another fast-paced disco tune that immediately skipped again. She lifted the needle. “This record’s defective.”

“Appears that way.” He picked up the last album in the stack and showed it to her, grinning. “Wanna listen to Disco Delight?”

“I’m good.” She handed him the soundtrack album, grateful they were done with the pile. She didn’t want to risk another slow, romantic song. They started putting the albums back in the box. Like everything else about Second Chapter, it was shabby but still useful. “Needle Drop would probably buy all these from you,” she said. “Including the player.”

He stood. “I thought about that, but I think there’s a betteruse for it.” He held out his hand to help her up. Sir moved out of her lap.

Like the rest of him, his hand was perfect too. Not too large but big enough to totally cover her own. Strong, warm... amazing. Too soon she got to her feet and he let go.

“I’m going to keep the player on the counter up front, for aesthetic value,” he said.

He was actually caring about what the shop looked like. Was he coming around to seeing what she saw in Second Chapter?

“When I told the Realtor we probably wouldn’t have everything sorted by the time she listed the property, she said that might not be a bad thing.” He picked up the box.

“Realtor?” Her smile disappeared.

“She said the shop didn’t have to be completely empty in order to sell, regardless of the buyer’s intent. It just needs to look nice.” He walked into the storage room.

She followed. “You contacted a Realtor already?”

“Time to get the ball rolling on this sale.” He set the box next to another one labeled Egyptian Nonfiction.

“Leo...” Her stomach dipped. “Don’t you think it’s a little soon?”

His expression was unreadable again. “Not at all.”

“I thought you were going to list it yourself.”

“I thought so too, but it’s more practical for a local agent to do it. Bennett highly recommended Susan, and she seems to know her stuff.”

Before she could say anything else, he walked out of the storage room.

His eagerness to list the shop so soon was confusing. Didn’t he say he wanted to stay a whole month? There were still a couple weeks left. Was he changing his mind about everything?

She found him up front with Sir Meow, who was crouched on the counter near the turntable. “Does Needle Drop do refurbishing? The player needs some TLC.”

“I don’t know.” She’d only been in the store a couple of times out of curiosity. “I can ask.”

“I’ll go over there in the morning.” He flashed her a full-throttle grin. “Ready to divide and conquer?”

“Sure...” She was about to ask him for an explanation about why he was pushing forward with a Realtor already, but she held back. She’d never sold a business before—maybe that was protocol. He was the expert... and the owner. She had to remember that.

Against his will, or most of it anyway, Leo was getting used to Pecan Corner. Via played a big part of that, naturally. The two days they spent working in the shop were surprisingly relaxed, with the exception of the confusion he sensed from her when he told her about listing Second Chapter.

With her help, he was confident he’d finish the stipulations. This week he’d found three more books on the list, bringing the total up to five—halfway there. Once the month was up, the inheritance would be his, and he wanted everything teed up. He wanted to tell her all that but decided against it. The terms of the will didn’t concern her, and he didn’t want to complicate their friendship... something he was also getting used to.