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“And why do you think she did that? You never should have said what you said to her.”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “So I’m not allowed to tell my sister... my twin sister... that I’ve been worried about her ending up alone.”
“That isn’t what you said and you know it. You implied that you didn’t think she was ever going to find anyone... that she was going to end up a lonely cat lady.” People like Josie rarely ended up alone, and when they did it was by choice. She was sunshine personified, a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale world. “I even told him that setting her up with you was a bad idea. That she didn’t trust our judgment, but no, heaven forbid someone knows more than Kyle.”
Frowning, Hank barely heard the rest of the explanation. It was like his mind latched onto 'setting her up with you' and the rest was just background noise. The conversation took place at his niece's fifth birthday party. While the rest of the adults sipped on juice boxes laced with vodka and watched their kids combat it out in a bouncy house, Hank hid in the spare bedroom with the family cats. It didn't take long for Jonas and Kyle to join him. Over cake and kittens, Hank let it slip he missed being in a relationship. That was when Kyle brought up his sister. His sweet, beautiful sister who loved cats and thought about everyone but herself. When they offered to arrange a date, Hank shrugged. Why not, it wasn't like there were any better offers. And then he met coffee girl. He'd shot Jonas a text nixing the blind date, he'd met a girl at the coffee shop. “Wait. Did you just say the woman who just left is Kyle's sister?”
“Mhm.” Jonas rolled his eyes and then let out a gasp. “Omigod is Josie coffee girl?”
Hank scraped a hand down his face as Jonas' words sunk in. Kyle's sister Josie was coffee girl. He had shut down being set up on a date with the woman he wanted to ask out.'Don't forget the part where she invented a fake boyfriend to avoid going out with you.'He dismissed the thought. Josie didn't invent a fake boyfriend to avoid going out withhim, she invented a boyfriend because nobody would listen when she said no. Kyle said it himself: she thought of everyone but herself. The boyfriend lie had been her way of making her brother accept 'no.' Hank couldn't say that he agreed with lying, but he understood why she did it. “Josie is coffee girl.”
“I knew you’d be perfect together,” Kyle mused, excitement lighting up his face, only to fall away. “I don’t think she’s some lonely cat lady, and I never meant for her to think I saw her that way.” The admission was too little, too late in Hank’s mind. The person who needed to hear it wasn’t there. “Iknow you probably think I don’t appreciate her, but I do. And I didn’t mean to abandon her when dad got sick. None of us knew what was going on and Aunt Beckett kept harping about how this is why you need to pre-plan your funeral. A summer long dance program a thousand miles away seemed like the perfect escape. You can’t blame me for wanting to escape. Anyone would... ”
‘No, Kyle, most people wouldn’t,’Hank thought bitterly.‘Most people wouldn’t run away when their dad is diagnosed with cancer.’“I’m not the one you should be saying this to.”
“Right. Of course.” Kyle took a deep breath, his cheeks puffing out as he released it. He muttered something under his breath before pulling out his phone. For a moment Hank thought he was going to call his sister, instead he sent a text. The response came quicker than expected. “I need space, please respect that and leave me alone,” Kyle read aloud. Instead of accepting that his sister might actually need space, he rapidly composed a text.
“No.” Jonas yanked the phone from Kyle’s hands before he could hit send. “She wants space and you’re going to give it to her.”
Chapter Nine
Hank
“Take the risk or lose the chance.” - Unknown
Social media was like a black hole. It was a time suck that Hank would avoid if he could. Unfortunately, most of the business at Delilah’s was because of the artsy photos his youngest sister Alyssa posted on Instagram. Who knew a carefully crafted image was just as important as the espresso machine and atmosphere. His nineteen year old sister apparently, because she’d been the genius behind their social media presence. She’d also been the genius to suggest he reach out to Josie through her Instagram. ‘She asked her brother for space, not you,’ Alyssa had reminded him when he brought up what Josie had said during the blow up with her brother. A run-in with Jonas at a family get together yielded a similar response. ‘She’s upset with Kyle, not you. The only reason you haven’t seen her is she’s probably embarrassed about Kyle causing a scene.’ It took him two weeks to work up the courage to go for it.
His fingers shook slightly as he looked up the account Jonas had given him. There was no mistaking the bright smile that made him want to smile. Taking a deep breath, he hit the follow button. A moment later he received two notifications; one saying Josie had followed him back and another saying he had one new message. ‘Don’t get your hopes up. That message could be from anyone.’ It wasn’t from just anyone though, it was asimple hello from Josie. Without thinking twice, he typed back hey. Almost instantly she responded by asking what he was up to. Smiling ruefully, he replied ‘not much, just finalizing next week’s specials.’
‘Chai is always an excellent choice.’
A faint grin stretched across Hank’s lips. Josie and her chai. ‘Don’t forget the chocolate croissant.’ A chai tea and croissant special wouldn’t be a bad idea. The pair was a popular one. ‘The Josie special,’ he teased.
‘Only if it comes with a side of drama.’
Clenching his jaw, Hank couldn’t stop his thoughts from drifting to the scene that had unfolded outside his coffee shop. Jonas had mentioned that Josie was probably embarrassed by it, but the way Hank saw it, Kyle was the one who should be embarrassed. Hank’s relationship with his siblings wasn’t perfect, and he couldn’t say he understood the bond between twins, but the way Kyle went after Josie had been extreme. Yeah, she’d lied but instead of lashing out Kyle should have asked himself why his normally honest twin sister felt the need to create a fake boyfriend. Either the guy was clueless about how much he’d hurt Josie by implying she had no life, or he didn’t care. The digs about her cats had been uncalled for too. His phone vibrating from a message notification drew him back to the present.
‘Hank?’
‘Yeah, sorry,’ he texted. ‘Got distracted. What do you think about cake pops?’
‘Homemade or those waxy pre-made ones?’
‘What kind of question is that? I don’t do pre-made, you know that.’
The next hour flew by. They talked about baked goods, her cats, how Hank was thinking about opening a second location that would double as a cat cafe, and the constantbickering between Josie’s mother and great aunt. There was a silent understanding that anything to do with Kyle was off limits. Each message seemed to bring a little more of her walls down. He could almost hear her laughing when she sent him photos of a peach colored cat that looked like he’d been through some shit, followed by another one that had an alien-like appearance.
‘Is that even a cat?’ he asked.
‘Would you like to come see for yourself?’
The underlying question was did Hank want to see Josie in person and the answer was absolutely.
***
The scent of vanillas mingling with freshly baked cheese pizza and popcorn greeted Hank as he stood outside Josie’s front door. Heart pounding, he gave a sharp knock and then took a step back to wait.A moment later the door swung open and Josie greeted him with a tentative smile. Her blonde hair was piled into a haphazard bun atop her head and she wore an oversized sweatshirt that hung to her knees and slid off one shoulder. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had on shorts beneath it, or... he cleared his throat. ‘Don’t go there buddy. You’re here to see a cat.’ “Hey,” he grinned.
“Hey.” Josie shifted from one foot to the other before stepping forward to give him a quick hug. The scent of apples mingling with jasmine, teasing his senses. “I was just about to put on a movie. It’s an older one. Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. Have you seen it? It’s one of my favorites,” she rambled. She gestured for him to come inside before closing and locking the door behind her. “If you don’t want to watch it, that’s ok. We can watch something else. Or we don’t have to watch anything. You can just meet Muffin and-”
