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Jules licked her lips. If she concentrated, she could almost taste him there.
She watched Adam carefully pick his way across the coffee shop, doing his best not to trip over Khan and Loki and Ninja Kitteh as they came to investigate the new customer. The three cats refused to take a hint, though. They rubbed on his legs, purring up a storm and making it generally impossible to take a step without trampling one of them. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at the exasperated look on his face.
He finally took a massive step over them and strode to the counter before they could catch up. “Hey, Jules.”
“Hi.” Did her voice sound breathy? She was pretty sure it sounded breathy. She knew Adam more by reputation than anything else, but he didn’t seem so bad the few times they’d encountered each other. “Can I get you something?”
“Coffee would be great. Black, please.” He frowned when Khan leaped onto the counter and put his front paws on Adam’s chest, demanding to be adored. “A cat café, huh?”
The embarrassment she’d almost cured herself of after Grant left came back double-time. She focused on pouring him a cup of coffee. “What is so wrong about owning my own business? It’s something a lot of people aspire to, and the fact that mine just happens to be a little quirky doesn’t make it less of an accomplishment.” She turned around to find that damned eyebrow raised again. “What?”
“Well, hell, sugar, I wasn’t criticizing.” He looked around, still petting Khan. “It’s a neat idea.”
“Oh.” She passed over the mug, feeling stupid. “Sorry. Everyone keeps hinting at Grant and me getting back together, and then Grant himself stopped by, and I guess I’m just riled up.”
His mouth tightened. “That guy’s an asshole. And everyone else is, too, if they expect you to fall all over him again. You deserve better, Jules.”
She blinked. What was she supposed to say to that? “Er…thank you.” Lame. She shook her head when he reached for his wallet. “It’s on the house. For last night.”
“Anytime.” He leaned against the counter, which was too freaking close to hip height for her peace of mind, and lowered his voice. “And I do mean anytime.”
There was no mistaking the invitation in his voice. Her stomach fluttered and her inner devil’s advocate kicked into high gear.
It wasn’t so bad pretending to be his girlfriend. You could do it again.
She told that little voice to shut up, but it wasn’t listening.
Maybe this is exactly what you need to shake up the town’s perception of you.
That got her attention.
What she really wanted—more than shutting down Grant—was a chance to prove that she hadn’t been put on the shelf when he left her behind. She wasn’t the early-spinster cat lady they all suspected, darn it. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone by continuing this. Pretending to date Adam last night was all well and good, but it didn’t hold up to the light of day—not unless they made it hold up. She drummed her fingers on the counter, watching him drink his coffee and eyeball the cat. If they kept it up for a week or two…it might work.
There’s also the added benefit of more kissing.
“Adam…” She glanced over, and realized Mrs. Peterson was staring at them, once again not even trying to pretend she wasn’t eavesdropping. Crap. “Aubry, can you watch the counter for a few?”
“Sure.”
She gave Adam a bright smile. “Can I talk to you privately? You can bring Khan.”
He scooped up the orange tom with one hand and his coffee with the other. “You named a cat after a Star Trek villain.”
“Guilty.” She opened the door to the back. “The others are Cujo, Loki, Rick, Dog, Ninja Kitteh, and Mr. Winkles.”
He laughed. “That’s a whole lot of pop culture wrapped up into tiny bundles.”
“Hey, the names fit.”
“I bet they do.”
She stopped in the kitchen and made an effort not to wring her hands. The worst he can say is no. “So, uh, thanks again for doing me that favor last night.”
He paced around the kitchen, seeming to take in everything as he stroked Khan’s back. “It was really no problem. Kissing beautiful women isn’t exactly a hardship.”
He thinks I’m… She rushed on, refusing to dwell on that. He had to say something nice. He was Daniel’s friend, after all. “So, it goes like this—Grant is a giant asshole.”
“Agreed.” He made another circuit around the kitchen, pausing to poke at the cat-shaped cookie cutters she had out on the counter for the batch of sugar cookies she was baking later.
So far, so good. “When he dumped me and left town, he basically said the reason we couldn’t be together was that he wanted to be with someone more exciting—someone who wanted more out of life than to live and die in a small town.”
