“This is really just a fancy cat shelter that serves coffee.”
Josh nodded and sipped his latte. “This is a solid latte. I’m impressed.”
“There used to be a great coffee shop across the street, but it closed, I dunno, eighteen months ago? After that, we became the main place for coffee between about Henry Street and the subway. Business basically doubled overnight.”
“Wow, okay.”
“I mean, we always sold good quality products, especially since this is the sort of place where people tend to sit for a while. But we stepped up our coffee game when we got all the business from the old coffee shop. Also, your brother-in-law is a coffee regular type, and when he mentioned offhand once that the plain old coffee here was a little on the weak side, Lauren spent a month figuring out how we could make a better cup of coffee.”
“Coffee regular?”
“That’s a New York thing, I guess. Coffee with cream and sugar.”
“Ah, okay. Lauren has picked up some New York slang since she moved here, but I hadn’t heard that one.”
“You didn’t sit next to me to talk about coffee.”
“True.” Josh smiled. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I was going to call you today. Is Thursday still good for you?”
She clicked around on her laptop. “Yes, I’m still free.”
“Perfect. There’s an Italian place near my office, if you don’t mind coming to Manhattan. Uh, real middle of the road. Not remotely romantic. Like barely a step above meatball subs.”
Paige laughed. “I don’t mind coming to Manhattan.”
“Cool, I’ll text you the address.”
Mr. Knightley hopped up on the table and stared at Josh. Josh stared back, wondering what he should do. Mr. Knightley lifted his paw and tapped Josh’s arm. Josh took this to mean he was supposed to pet the cat, so he did. Mr. Knightley immediately started to purr.
“That cat really likes you,” said Paige.
“Yeah, not sure what I did to deserve all this.”
“Cats choose people more often than people choose cats. I have an aunt in New Jersey who got a cat recently because one showed up on her back porch one day.”
“Well, buddy,” Josh said, petting Mr. Knightley’s head. “I hope you like sitting around while I do legal work, because that’s pretty much my whole life right now.” He scratched under Mr. Knightley’s chin. “You’re just trying to get sprung from this place, aren’t you? Are you going to be my friend once I get you home?”
Mr. Knightley kept purring.
“Are you going to be one of those guys who talks in baby speak to their pets?”
“It’s possible. Does that make me look cute and charming or like a pathetic loser?”
Paige smiled. “More cute than anything else.”
“Then yes. Who’s a good boy?”
Mr. Knightley butted his head against Josh’s chin.
* * *
Josh and Mr. Knightley really were awfully cute together.
He’d ended up hanging around the café until close because Lauren had been so tied up helping customers and her staff that she hadn’t had enough time to help Josh get the cat into the carrier. So she and Josh had spent a couple of hours chatting while Josh steadily put more caffeine into his body. She’d enjoyed his company immensely, even if it distracted her from putting together the next month’s event schedule. She could finish that tonight, though.
Josh was a great-looking guy; it was true. Now that she knew he and Lauren were related, the resemblance was unmistakable. They had the same coloring, the same eyes, the same freckles, but Josh’s features were harder, more masculine. He had an ease about him, too, like nothing really bothered him. Maybe that was true; he seemed to be able to compartmentalize work when he had a day off, and he definitely was not a worrier the way Lauren could be. Paige had enjoyed watching him as he’d lounged in the chair across the table from her, wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and Washington Nationals T-shirt that stretched nicely across his chest.
The Cat Café was closed now, and Josh and Lauren were struggling to wrestle the cat into the carrier. “You want to go home with me so bad, go in the carrier, cat,” Josh grumbled.
