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I shrugged. “I don’t know. Beg him? Offer him money?”

She scoffed. “He doesn’t want money. He wants to piss you off. Steal her.”

“It’s a moot point anyway because I don’t know where she is,” I said,

“How is it so hard to find someone?” Laci said, throwing up a hand. “I swear that PI is just taking your damn money.”

“He had good reviews,” I said defensively.

She mumbled something under her breath about having to do everything herself and disappeared back behind the server station.

I took a deep breath and turned back to my customer.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“Who? My ex?”

“Yeah.”

“Tate Greenwood,” I said. “Why? You know him?”

“No, never heard of him,” he said, sounding apologetic.

“Yeah, that’s what my PI says.” I sighed.

“What does he do?” he asked.

“Odd jobs, all under the table. He doesn’t have good credit so wherever he’s living, he’s probably not the name on the lease. Makes it harder to find him.”

“Why’d you guys break up?” he asked. “Because he’s the kind of guy who steals someone’s cat?”

I laughed a little. “Yes. He’s the kind of guy who steals someone’s cat.”

Laci rounded the corner with an order. “He’s also the kind of guy who punches holes in walls and has a hidden dating app on his phone that he deletes every time he comes home.”

He winced. “Damn,” he said, looking at me.

“Yes, I know how to pick them,” I mumbled.

“Women should stop apologizing for picking bad men,” Laci said, dropping a plate of eggs off at a table. “Instead, how about men start explaining why they don’t act right?” She paused to purse her lips in front of us, then she left.

“She’d love my grandma,” he said, watching her go. “She’s right, though.”

He got a smile out of me.

“What’s the cat’s name?” he asked.

“Christmas,” I said. “She was a Christmas gift. I was hoping I’d get her back by then, too, but… anyway. I think I’d be more okay with it if I knew he was taking care of her, but he’s not. He doesn’t even like animals. I’m worried he’s not taking very good care of her.”

His jaw ticked.

“Let me know if I can get you anything else, okay?”

“Sure.”

I paused there for a moment. “You’re really not going to tell me what the bet was?”

He shook his head. “It’s too stupid to talk about. You’ll think I’m an idiot.”