Page 78 of Something Borrowed

“Not at all. I mean, if you can’t dress up for a Christmas party—or in this case, an after Christmas party—when can you?”

Vic smiled.

In the way of pretty much all cats, as if sensing someone was getting attention that was due her, Christmas the Cat—it really was a cute name—popped out from the kitchen and glared at Cal.

“Yes, yes, you look amazing too, of course. I especially like your fur coat.” He bent and held out his hand. Christmas approached cautiously, gave his fingers a few tentative sniffs, then deigned to let him pet her.

Vic’s smile deepened. He loved her dimples and the sweet little creases that bracketed her eyes!

It felt so good to make her smile that Cal went a step further. “I went all out and fancy like too,” he said.

“Oh?”

He unzipped the first six inches of his coat.

Vic started laughing.

“Hey—what are you laughing for? This is my new, very posh Christmas sweater, I’ll have you know.”

“Ooolala,” Vic teased, and all Cal wanted to do was kiss her.

He handed her the flowers he’d bought, and she seemed surprised that now she was holding a bouquet—but he was still holding one too. “I thought it’d be nice to—well, I got one for Audra as well.”

If it was possible, Vic’s eyes glowed even more warmly. “That is nice. So nice!”

“Should I go in, or do you want to give them to her for me?”

“We’ve got lots of time to get to Madeline’s. Why don’t you come in for a minute?”

Cal nudged his boots off by each heel. Christmas, as if understanding the conversation, did an energetic jump-and-twist-in-the-air thing, then sprinted ahead of them down the hall. He and Vic padded after her toward the door to what Cal had started to refer to in his head as Audra’s chambers. The woman was hard to live with, he knew, and he figured the layout of this house and the fact that both Audra and Vic had their own private spaces along with the shared areas was the only thing that made their living arrangements manageable.

The door to Audra’s sitting room was closed, and Vic knocked lightly, then let herself in. A moment later, she was back at the doorway, beckoning to Cal. “I wanted to make sure she was awake and stuff,” she explained.

He nodded.

“Oh, it’s you again,” Audra said in greeting.

“Yep, me again.” He winced at how inane he sounded. She really didn’t make conversation easy. She was like . . . the polar opposite of her daughter.

Audra shot a suspicious look at Cal and the flowers he held. “What are those?”

“Flowers,” he said and wished he could yank the words back when she rolled her eyes.

“That much I figured, Einstein.”

This was not going how he’d hoped. But what had he hoped exactly? That Audra would suddenly morph into a gentle, normal person just because he and Vic were on a date? He shook his head at himself.

“I thought they were pretty, and well, Merry Christmas, Audra.”

Audra ignored him, thrusting a sword-like accusation toward Vic instead. “You put him up to this?”

“Wha—” Vic shook her head. “No, of course not. It’s a present.”

“Merry belated Christmas?” Shit. He’d put a question on the end of that.

“Did you tell him I liked carnations?”

“No, Mom. It’s a random coincidence.”