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“Not sugar too,” he said when she reached for the sugar bowl.
She smirked at him as she dumped a teaspoon of sugar into her coffee.
“You’re hurting my soul.”
“Get over yourself. It’s just coffee.” She took another sip. Wow. Okay, as much as she was loath to admit it, his stupid fancy coffee was genuinely incredible.
It was Jonathan’s turn to smirk. “It’s great, isn’t it?”
She shrugged. “It’s okay.”
His smirk got wider. “It’s better than okay. It’s the best coffee you’ve ever tasted.”
“Maybe,” she admitted. “It’s still just coffee though.”
Still looking pleased with himself, he went into the living room and dropped onto the couch, setting his coffee mug on the table.
Esther took the opposite end of the couch. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” she asked, cradling her coffee in her lap. He hadn’t said anything about Jinny yet, and she was afraid to ask. No point in poking a sore tooth.
He clenched his jaw and nodded. “I can take it.”
She wasn’t entirely sure that was true, but she leaned over for the notes she’d left on the coffee table.
Sally had worked up the courage to venture out of the bedroom, and she wandered over to the couch, jumping up between them.
Jonathan startled at her sudden appearance beside him. “I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“That’s Sally,” Esther said. “As in Sally Ride.”
“Like the Clapton song?”
“Like the astronaut. The first American woman in space?”
“Right.” He nodded, watching warily as Sally stepped onto his leg, purring at him.
“She likes you.” Esther was surprised. It had taken six months of concerted coaxing before Sally would come near Jinny, and she still wasn’t exactly friendly to her. Jonathan had only been here twice, and Sally was already investigating his lap. “She doesn’t usually like new people.”
“Does she have to do that?” he asked as Sally started to knead his thigh.
“Are you allergic?”
“No, I just don’t like cats. Or cat hair all over my clothes.”
“How can you not like cats?” Esther leaned over to stroke Sally’s back. “Cats are great.”
“Cats are assholes.” He held a hand out tentatively, and Sally smushed her face into his palm. Like a real asshole, clearly.
“They’re not assholes.” Esther leaned back against the armrest as Jonathan scratched Sally’s head. “They’re just not servile like dogs.”
“I happen to like my animal companions servile.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What? You don’t like dogs?”
“Dogs are great.” She shrugged as she sipped her coffee. “I love dogs. I just like cats better. When a cat shows you affection it means something, because they don’t do it for everyone. They’re selective.”
“I guess.” He picked up his laptop and gently displaced Sally from his lap. She turned around twice and then flomped down with her back pressed against his thigh, rolling her head to gaze at him through half-lidded eyes.
