Page 83 of Something Borrowed

“Yes! Maybe we can go for a walk or something, and can I take you for dinner later?”

The heart squee thing again. Or maybe it was a hormone-related A-fib?

You need to stay off the Internet, Angel said kindly. Wow, it had been a while since those voices had piped up. Devil remained quiet. Double wow.

“Sounds perfect,” Vic typed, then added several rosy-cheeked, beaming-eyed, smile emojis.

Multiple rows of smiling faces with tiny hearts coming from their cheeks flashed back to her, followed by “It’s a date!!!!”

Oh, how she loved this guy—

Wait, what? She shook her head, apprehension literally making her shiver.

Yep, there’s the old Vic we know and cringe about. Always in love, always so fast—

Ah, so Devil was still alive, after all. Of course.

No, she wasn’t going to let herself—any part of herself ruin this. Cal was lovely and fun and kind and sweet and a hard worker and wonderful to be around. It was normal to feel squishy and lovey. She’d take her time, enjoy the feelings—and the roller coaster. If it was real, time would tell. And even if they didn’t end up being a forever thing, it was nice to know there were men like him in the world.

Gag, said Devil.

Hear, hear, said Angel.

Vic rolled her eyes.

A notification sounded on her phone, different from a text alert. The first line in a message from the Community board scrolled across her screen. “Thank goodness you found her!”

Vic closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and clicked the blue lightning bolt app to see the message.

Chapter 40

The “thank goodness” message ended up just being a sympathetic person, and within an hour of posting, there were twenty similar comments. Vic couldn’t decide if it was good news that no one had come forward to claim Christmas or offer any concrete leads as to who her owner might be.

Yuck, though, she did hate the word “owner” when it came to animals. She remembered something she’d seen online about how in Hawaiian, you are not a pet’s owner. You are their kahu, a guardian, protector, steward, or—her favorite, that seemed especially applicable to cats—their “beloved attendant.”

Vic shared the kahu thing with Cal when he came over that afternoon to go for a walk, though so far, they’d only snuggled and kissed on the couch. It was a deliciously lazy way to spend the day, and she didn’t feel like stopping anytime soon.

“That might be a bit too much to reference in my posts, though, hey? ‘Looking for the protector, cherisher and beloved attendant of one young cat’ . . .”

Cal laughed, and Vic’s insides fluttered happily. He found her funny—often. And when she was intending to be. Like he appreciated her humor. She wracked her brain. Had she ever felt like he’d laughed at her, not with her? No, she didn’t think so. It was weird. And sad. Fifty-three years old and she was with a man who, by not saying a word on the topic, made her understand how much shoddy treatment she’d accepted over the years. And it was also, of course, delightful. She was discovering a whole new type of affection and attraction.

“Your eyes are like a beautiful lake on a cloud-strewn sunny day,” Cal mused, reaching out and playing with a strand of her hair.

Vic chewed the corner of her bottom lip, embarrassed, pleased—surprised again—by this man. What poetry he spoke to her. It was over the top. She loved it. That scary word again!

“They go light, they go dark, they cloud over, they clear again . . . It’s like I can see the shifting moods of your thoughts.”

Although Vic was flattered—of course she was!—it was unnerving to be paid such close attention to. He’d wake up from their dreamy attraction and find her wanting, see her myriad flaws.

“No,” he said softly, touching her cheek. “Save sad thoughts another time.”

She had to smile at that.

“And the waters brighten again,” he said triumphantly.

“You’re a bit nuts, hey?”

“A lot nuts, completely nuts—over you. I hope that’s okay.”