“Sam is a lot of cat.”
Lauren smiled. Evan had been among the first to adopt a café cat, a chubby gray street cat named Sam who was too sweet and lazy to survive among the feral cat population from which he’d been rescued, but who had enough feral in him that he was savage toward the occasional bug that got into Evan’s apartment. Evan was convinced his apartment remained roach-free because word had gotten out among the roach community that any bug that got near Sam would be disemboweled.
“How are things otherwise?” Lauren asked.
“Fine. Is Caleb still your nemesis?”
“Yep.”
“You’re so gonna marry him.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “How’s that whole ‘sleep with a guy who’s not Pablo’ thing going?”
“Ugh. Not well. That housewarming party I went to? Everyone was in a couple. Everyone! How can that be? Is this just how my thirties are going to be? I thought I had more time.”
Lauren tried not to smile at Evan’s histrionics, so she said, “More time for what?”
“Before my classy yet understated destination wedding at a B and B in the Finger Lakes.”
“Right, of course.”
“I mean, come on, no one in New York settles down until they’reat leastthirty-five. I’ve still got a few more years until I get there.” He sighed. “I don’t want to get married tomorrow. I just want to have some fun. Find a nice fellow to fool around with.”
Lauren tried to school her face so she wouldn’t let on that she had one of those in Caleb. She still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the fact that she was sleeping with a guy she didn’t get along with otherwise. In bed, everything was peaceful and harmonious. Out of bed, things were still pretty messy.
This was normally the sort of thing she’d share with Evan, but she didn’t want his judgment—or his gloating—and there was no reason any of her friends needed to know about all this. At least not until Lauren had a better handle on whatthiswas.
And speaking of the devil, Caleb himself strolled into the Cat Café then.
“Your future husband is here.”
“Bite your tongue. He isn’t my future anything.”
As if making that point, Caleb greeted nearly everyone else in the room before making his way over to Lauren.
“Hello,” Caleb said placidly when he was close enough.
Evan sipped his cocktail and made a “See?” face.
“Hi,” said Lauren. “You know my friend Evan?”
Caleb frowned, which meant he didn’t. He shook Evan’s hand. “I’m Caleb Fitch. I’m one of the vets from the clinic next door.”
“Yes,” said Evan. “Lauren has mentioned you. I’m Lauren’s best friend. I’m very protective.”
“Right.” Caleb’s frowned deepened, which was gratifying.
Monique walked by, her clipboard in hand. “Lauren, can you give me a hand?”
“Oh, hey, gotta go,” said Lauren. She followed Monique to the back room to carry more cardboard carriers and other supplies back out front.
“Callie and Steve have been adopted,” Monique said. “They went home with a really sweet newlywed couple who live in Carroll Gardens.”
“Together? That’s great!”
“Yeah. I’m happy they found a good forever home, but I always feel a little sad when our cats leave.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Lauren felt a pang of sadness, too. Callie was a brown-and-black striped tabby and Steve was a black tuxedo cat, and the two of them had been nearly inseparable since they’d moved in, so it was good they were adopted together. But Lauren would miss them both, just as she missed all the cats who came through the café. She felt a pang at knowing she probably would never see those cats again.
