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Since my cursed cat rarely swore, I guessed right away what had raised his ire.
Uh-oh.
Well,I told myself,you knew this moment was going to come sooner or later. Just get it over with.
I pulled in a breath and turned back toward him. He advanced into the kitchen, tail lashing, baleful golden gaze fixed on the glimmering engagement ring on my hand.
“Calvin proposed last night,” I said, since I knew there was no point in beating around the bush. Then I added, “You slept through a lot.”
“Apparently.”
Archie’s tone was grim, and even though I guessed he needed some water and food, he showed no sign of moving any closer to his bowls.
“This isn’t going to change anything right away,” I said, even as I wondered whether that was strictly the truth. True, we hadn’t set a date yet, and neither one of us had seemed inclined to start making any concrete plans. For Calvin and me, it was enough that we’d made this commitment to one another. Even so, I knew we’d start figuring out our next steps soon enough.
It seemed pretty obvious to me that Archie had also been doing some mental calculus, because his eyes narrowed as he responded, “Oh, it is going to change agreatdeal. What am I supposed to do now?”
“Nothing,” I said calmly. “I told Calvin all about you, and he said you would always have a home with us.”
Although I’d intended those words as a reassurance, it was clear that Archie wanted to have nothing to do with any of it. “A ‘home’?” he repeated, back arching in indignation. “Meaning, I suppose, that you want to drag me off somewhere to live in the wilderness, where I have no doubt I’ll be eaten by wolves or bears or — ”
“There aren’t any wolves around here,” I cut in, making sure I kept my tone level. My cursed cat could be a real drama queen sometimes. “Coyotes and mountain lions, sure.”
“Exactly!” Archie snapped. “I suppose you expect me to stay trapped in the house all the time, rather than having the freedom to roam as I choose.”
Since that had been sort of the plan, there wasn’t much I could do except give a helpless lift of my shoulders. At that opportune moment, Calvin appeared, and I murmured a silent thank-you to the universe that at least he’d pulled on a T-shirt and his jeans. I could only imagine Archie’s reaction if my fiancé had decided to wander into the kitchen while wearing only his underwear.
“Is everything okay?” Calvin asked, glancing from me down toward the cat.
“No, it is most decidedlynotokay,” Archie snapped, then stalked out of the kitchen, probably heading toward his refuge on the rug in the laundry room.
Calvin sent me an inquiring look. “I assume you were arguing about something,” he remarked. “But you’re right — if Archie was talking, I couldn’t understand any of it. Just sounded like hissing and growling to me.”
Well, that seemed to prove Archie’s theory on the matter…not that he was around to be vindicated. “Yes, we were having a bit of a disagreement,” I said, then reached for the carafe. “Coffee?”
Calvin nodded, even as he said, “Let me guess. Arguing about me?”
“Something like that,” I replied, since I didn’t see the point in trying to pretend the argument hadn’t happened. When he began to frown, I went on, “Archie has very heavy Virgo influences in his chart, so change is hard for him. But I’m sure he’ll come around eventually.”
This hopeful statement was met with a measured nod. It seemed clear enough to me that Calvin wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, but at least he gave the impression of someone who was willing to stand back and wait for the smoke to clear before he weighed in. He sipped some coffee, then asked, “Any thoughts on a date yet?”
I didn’t bother to ask which date he was inquiring about. “I’d have to look at a calendar,” I said. “But maybe late May or early June, before it gets too hot? That would give us some time to plan…but I definitely don’t want anything huge or over the top,” I added hastily. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was about to morph into Bridezilla and turn our nuptials into some kind of crazy six-figure extravaganza.
With the money I’d inherited from Lucien Dumond, the former leader of the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers Guild, I supposed I could have done that very thing. But conspicuous consumption really wasn’t my style, and besides, I knew I’d feel more than a little strange about spending Lucien’s money on my own nuptials, considering the — entirely unrequited — feelings he’d had for me.
A thought had begun to form in my mind, however. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have the wedding in the gardens at the Bigelow mansion, the historic home my mother and stepfather had bought a few months back? There really wasn’t a prettier place in all of Globe. And I wanted to think my mother would be excited to have the wedding at her house. She’d stopped nudging me about dating, but I knew in her heart of hearts she’d kept hoping I’d eventually meet the right person and settle down.
Well, I’d definitely met the right person, and now I’d be able to call her and tell her the happy news that Calvin and I had decided to make our relationship permanent. Surely she’d be okay with us having the wedding at the mansion as long as Calvin and I handled all the logistics, and all she and Tom would have to do was show up and enjoy the party.
At least, that’s what I was hoping.
“That is a nice time of year,” Calvin agreed. He sipped some coffee. “But I see the wheels turning in your head, Selena. What else are you thinking about?”
I explained how I thought the gardens at the Bigelow mansion would make a great venue, and he tilted his head to one side, eyes narrowing slightly as though he was trying to conjure the image in his head.
After a moment, he said, “That would be pretty nice…as long as your parents are on board with it.”
“I’ll give my mom a call today,” I told him. “I mean, I was going to call her anyway with the big news, and if I know my mother, she’s probably going to want to jump into planning everything right away.”
