Page 64 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

Leo gave his head a hard shake. Twice. Then ran upstairs to do something he’d been doing a lot lately—take a cold shower.

Via had never been so mad at Dora in her life. She also felt guilty about feeling that way. Dora had been so excited to host Meow and Mingle and had spent most of the morning decorating thecafé for the event. It looked spectacular. But three hours ago she’d called and said she couldn’t be there and begged Via to take over.

They had twenty RSVPs, so she didn’t have a choice. She dropped everything and drove over to her sister’s apartment. Dora indeed looked like death, and Charlie had arrived ten minutes earlier to take care of her. Via didn’t own anything remotely appropriate for the event, so she borrowed one of Dora’s dresses, some shapewear because she desperately needed it, and the painfully high-heeled shoes, then hurried back to the café. Thank goodness Dora was as much of a planner as Via. Everything was in place, including an agenda for the evening.

When she got back to Pawsitive Vibes, she changed in her office and did her hair in the cat-themed bathroom. She didn’t have a full-length mirror or time to see how the dress looked on her. Even with the shapewear, she could feel a little roll around her midsection, one her sister didn’t have. Then when Leo was staring at her and told her she just looked fine, she knew he was being polite. Her midsection probably resembled a potato. Too late to do anything about it now. Hopefully tonight’s guests would be too busy looking into each other’s eyes and petting the cats to notice her too-tight dress or her feet that were already killing her.

Once she sent Leo on his way, she made another round of the café. She could hear Squeaks meowing from the back. The kitty wouldn’t stop antagonizing Luna, who ended up giving her a strong swipe across the whiskers. Via was worried she’d drawn blood. Thankfully not, but she couldn’t babysit her and host Meow and Mingle, so into time-out she went.

Ten minutes to showtime and she was already tired. She just had to get through tonight and she could relax for a little while. Tomorrow was camping, and that would give her a break. Leo hadinsisted on going with her but that was two weeks ago. She wasn’t holding him to it.

She moved to unlock the door in case anyone arrived early when she heard the stairwell door open. She frowned, thinking she’d closed it all the way. She scanned the café for Sir Meow and didn’t see him, assuming he snuck out when Leo left. Well, he was Leo’s problem now—

“Via.”

She turned at the sound of his deep voice, and her breath hitched, catching in her throat. He was wearing his suit, and this time he had on a perfectly knotted gold tie that she was sure wasn’t designer brand and more likely one of Earl’s from Kmart. Hair neatly combed, and he was freshly shaved. Lately he’d been sporting an irresistible scruff of a beard. But he was so meltingly handsome clean-shaven too, looking like he just walked off the cover of the highest fashion magazine on the planet. The wordfriendblinked in her brain like a flashing neon light, but she ignored it and let the delicious sensations flow through her.

“Do I look okay?”

His question forced her out of her stupor. “Yes.” An underwhelming response, because he looked way more than just okay. He was perfection. “Where are you going all dressed up?”

“Meow and Mingle.” He touched the knot, then adjusted his cuffs, shiny gold cuff links glinting in the low light of the café. “I know it’s fashionable to be late, but I hope you don’t mind if I’m a little early.”

She shifted from one aching foot to the other. He was here for the mingle? Wait, was he meeting someone? Her already anxious stomach churned. They’d spent a lot of time together over the past two weeks but not every minute. She could imagine him running into someone in Pecan Corner or the surrounding communitiesand them inviting him to the event. Jealousy twisted inside her. Jealousy she shouldn’t have over someone who was just a friend.

He moved closer to her, once again smelling enticing. But it wasn’t just his honey-leather cologne this time. It was all of him, filling all her senses.

“What do I need to do?” he asked.

He seemed oblivious to her internal struggle. Good, because that meant she was keeping her conflicting emotions from surfacing. She wished she wasn’t feeling them at all. “You’re the first one here, so you get your pick of places to sit,” she said dully.

He frowned. “Why would I do that?”

Via forced her best hostess-with-the-mostest face and walked to the tables that had white tablecloths over them. Luna had already shed on one, but Via had plenty of lint rollers in each basket on the table. Dora had borrowed three more tables from Sally’s bakery that would accommodate all the guests. She really wished Dora had gone with a more casual dress code, although she had to admit it was nice to class up the café a bit.

“According to Dora, everyone splits into pairs.” She picked up a laminated sheet that had questions on it. “These are the icebreakers. Each couple answers as many as they can for ten minutes, then they switch up. Every table has different questions.”

“Got it, but why do you want me to sit down?”

“Aren’t you meeting someone here?”

Seemingly totally baffled, he raised his brows. Then he laughed. A genuine, full-bodied one that made Via’s knees weak. Just when she was getting a grip on her “relationship” with Leo, he would do something that kicked her engine on. It wasn’t his fault he was a walking talking hottie, especially in his suit. Oh no, she was starting to sweat again.

“Via, I’m here to help you,” he said. “Not participate.”

“Really?” She sounded more excited than she probably should have, but she was so relieved he wasn’t here to do some speed dating. Then she fully realized what he said. “Why?”

There was no time to answer because the first three guests walked in the door, and both Via and Leo sprang into action. They were so used to working in the bookshop together that they picked up on each other’s signals. Via went over the mingle rules with the guests, including the café ones since there were several new visitors to Pawsitive Vibes. She also served coffee and treats, along with making sure both the cats and guests behaved with each other. Every single guest looked terrific in their dressy clothes. Dora was right—this night needed to be special.

Meanwhile, Leo circulated, visiting with each attendee, answering questions, refilling beverages when needed. Sir Meow tailed him the whole time of course, but Leo didn’t seem to mind. More than once when she was able to take a break behind the café counter and alternate her aching feet, she watched him through the lounge window. He seemed comfortable in this type of environment. Small talk, smiles, and solicitude. She felt a little sorry for some of the male guests, since there were several females who seemed more interested in him than their prospective dates.

Two and a half hours later, Meow and Mingle was over and it had gone off without a hitch. As soon as the last guest was out the door, she locked it and turned on the Closed sign. She immediately unstrapped her shoes. Ah, much better. She would have tossed them aside except they belonged to Dora, so she carried them by the ankle straps and went into the lounge, then plopped down on the couch, setting them gently on the floor.

Leo was loosening his tie as he approached her. She patted the empty space. “Have a rest. You deserve it.”

He sat and pulled the knot halfway down, then unbuttoned his top three buttons. She looked away. Too much temptation.

Sir jumped on the couch and flopped against Leo’s pants leg. “Sir!” she said, remembering how picky Leo was about his suit.