“How very like a cat.”
Lauren laughed. She reached into a little refrigerator behind the counter, and Caleb took a moment to appreciate her ass. When she stood back up, she had a couple of croissants in her hand. “Aha. Monique sometimes leaves the day-old stuff in the fridge for me. These croissants are really good. I get them from this little hole-in-the-wall French bakery in Prospect Heights. They are…” She made a chef kiss.
“Lovely.”
“I mean, they were delivered fourteen hours ago and have been in the fridge for a bit, so they aren’t at peak freshness, but they can’t be sold now and are still pretty dang good.” She sighed. “When we first opened, we were giving the leftover pastries to a homeless shelter close to the river, but ever since the Star Café closed and everyone is coming here instead, the morning commuters have been cleaning us out. These two croissants represent all that is left after the plunder this morning.”
“I’m honored you’re willing to share with me then.”
Lauren poured two cups of coffee and put the croissants on a plate, and somehow managed to get all of that to the table without spilling anything. She probably had some table-waiting experience in her past. She sat across from him and dug into one of the croissants.
“How are the kittens?” she asked.
“Really great. I checked on them when I grabbed the carriers. They’re all pretty lively now. Rachel gave them names based on their physical traits.”
“I know. I dropped in to check on them yesterday.”
Of course she had. Lauren was just the sort of busybody who wouldn’t take anyone’s word that the kittens were okay.
Caleb sighed. His whole resolution to make friends and try to find a community here wasn’t going to get anywhere if he let everyone annoy him.
“Anyway,” said Lauren, “those kittens will be too young for the adoption event we’re hosting here next week, but I can definitely let people know there will be kittens up for grabs in a few weeks. We can make flyers or something. People love kittens.”
“I usually try to talk people out of adopting kittens.”
“Really? Do you prefer puppies?”
He sighed. “It’s not that. Kittens and puppies are just a lot of work. They’re energetic, they eat a lot, they get into places you don’t want them to go. Not to mention, as you must know very well, it’s harder for adult animals to get adopted because people love kittens and puppies, but grown cats and dogs make perfectly good pets if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“Said like a man who likes a big, slobbery dog.”
“Well.”
“What kind of dog is Hank?”
“Yellow Lab and…something else. Definitely not a purebred. I can’t tell what the something else is, though. He’s on the big side for a Lab and has a shaggier face than any Lab I’ve ever seen, and he has some random patches of darker fur, but is otherwise basically a yellow Lab. He’s a good dog, though. He came housebroken and mostly trained.”
“But someone left him at the clinic?”
“Yeah. Could be anything. The previous owners moved or died or who knows? My gain, I guess. It’s nice to have a dog at home again. My ex took ours in the divorce.”
“That bitch,” Lauren said with a bit of a smile.
“Yeah. That was probably our most vicious fight.”
“Over the dog?”
“I really liked that dog.”
Lauren nodded. “Sure. I’d be pretty upset if an ex wound up with one of my cats. Mostly, though, I just end up with other people’s cats. And you’re right, it’s harder to adopt out older cats, but we try here. The point is to lure people into adopting by letting them spend time with the cats first.”
“Does that work? Do people fall in love with the cats and want to take them home?”
“Yep. A few times a month. We let it be known that all the cats here, except for Sadie, are looking for forever homes. I figure if this place ever closes, I’d just take her home. Molly can cope with a new roommate.”
Caleb sipped his coffee. “This is some place you’ve got.”
He looked her over. She looked good today. Her long brown hair was up in a messy bun, her long bangs loose over her forehead. She had on a soft-looking pink sweater and dark jeans tucked into stylish brown boots. Her clothes hugged her body in an appealing way, and Caleb enjoyed a moment of remembering what she looked like under her clothes.
