“You mean Zach and Isabelle-spying adventures?” Cole shook his head again. “You ladies have no limits.”
“Our limitlessness worked out quite well for you, didn’t it?”
Cole glanced toward Sophie, meeting her happy gaze. “Not sure about Butterfly limitlessness, but meeting Sophie worked out better than fine,”
Four Butterflies sighed, their gazes on him rather than the phone, until Sophie called their attention back to it. “Oh no.”
“Well, isn’t that just the cutest thing ever?” Ruby said.
Maybelle frowned. “Is the boy daft? He knew better than to buy something like that for Bobbin.”
“Does he want her to fall for him or not?” Rosie looked around the booth as if she expected one of them to give her an answer.
Aunt Claudia sighed with disappointment. “There went those points in his favor.”
Chapter Nine
Nose curled, Sophieheld up the pet-sized outfit. “You don’t seriously think Bobbin is going to wear this? Or that I’d let him?”
“I didn’t think you wore that shade of lipstick but was pleasantly surprised. You will be, too, when you see how dashing Bobbin is in camo.” Zach had known the kitty uniform would push Isabelle’s buttons.
That had been why he’d bought it. Yet, when she’d gone to open the bag, he’d wanted to stop her so as not to end the lightness they’d shared during his lesson.
“Besides, didn’t your mother teach you to say thank you when someone gives you a gift?”
“She taught me to be leery of gift-bearing men,” Isabelle shot back, then relented. “Thank you, though. It was very thoughtful of you, but Bobbin is not the kind of cat to wear clothes.”
She left herthank Godoff, but Zach heard it.
“You’re welcome, and you think he isn’t? I hate to break it to you, but during all that rubbing against my leg last night, he assured me he’d make apurrrfectsoldier.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Not that I’d put this on him, but if I tried, he’d either claw me to bits or poison my morning coffee.”
Zach grinned. “Surely he wouldn’t claw the hand that feeds him?”
“It’s bite the hand that feeds him, and if I put that on him, he’d never forgive me.”
“You’ve misjudged that poor cat. All this time, he’s been hoping for something camo. Can he help it if no one heeded his meowed pleas until he met me?”
Isabelle snorted. “Fine, O great cat whisperer, sign a release waiver, and I’ll let you try to put this on him.”
“Okay.” Because it meant spending more time with her and he wasn’t ready for their evening to end. “When we’re finished with my lesson, we’ll go by your place and enlist Bobbin. I need to see those photos of your dad, anyway.”
Isabelle’s face tightened. “You’re not enlisting my cat. Besides, Mom will be home.”
“It’s okay. She won’t think anything of us looking at the rest of the albums. She likes me.”
Isabelle placed the outfit on the counter, then gave him a skeptical look. “What makes you think that?”
“She told me. A dozen or so times when Cole and I helped her carry your Christmas totes in from the storage building out back.” He leaned against the counter, grinning at Isabelle’s head shake. Good. Maybe they could get back to relaxed. “Cole was a little jealous of how many times she said it, actually.”
“Cole knows Mom adores him. She tells him over and over, too, so don’t go thinking you’re something special. You’re not. She’s just not used to me bringing men home.”
Which made Zach feel special, even if he knew the real reasons why he’d been there.
“Why is that?”
Isabelle shrugged. “Mainly the shop and that I’ve not met anyone worth bringing home.”
