“That boy is smooth,” Gran whispered. “Bet he does anal like that too.”
I was not thinking about that this Christmas.
“The feral-cat committee is firmly against cat cafés!” Gertrude said shrilly.
“Shut up, you cat hoarder,” Ida booed. “You all constantly ask for donations, and there are cats everywhere, running amok in town. It’s not even a cool animal like the town of Waverly, which has all those chickens. Cats don’t lay eggs.”
“More cat cafés!” Zoe chanted form the back of the room. “Cats belong in cafés, not compost piles!”
The rest of the crowd drunkenly joined in.
Marius was smug when he sat back down.
The mayor called for a second to vote on expanding the area for cat cafés, provided they be geared for adoption.
I noticed the angry looks Gertrude and Alice were giving me.
Murderous looks, one might say.
14
MARIUS
I’d only had half a glass of that punch, and I had a splitting headache when I woke up the next morning, partially smothered by Moose, who had draped himself over my chin.
“Off.” I pushed the cat away and stumbled through my great-aunt’s small apartment.
“When you have a baby, I hope you’re not going to let that cat smother the poor mite,” Aunt Frances told me disapprovingly as I blearily searched for coffee.
“What baby?” I sat down hard in the kitchen chair, and she handed me a cup of coffee.
“You’re not even trying. You’re a catch! Women in this town are throwing themselves at you. You could be engaged by Christmas if you wanted,” Aunt Frances railed. “I don’t know how much longer I have left in this world.”
“That’s what got me in trouble the last time,” I reminded her dryly. “I am not falling for that again.”
“Well, shit. If you’re out today, go buy me a lottery ticket at least.”
“What kindof lawyer are you, buying a lottery ticket?” Emmie tapped me on the arm when I was in line at Ida’s general store.
“Buying boxed cake mix?” I teased her.
She hit me lightly. “Shh! You’ll start the gossip mill, and then where will my twenty cats and I go?” She held up a bright-yellow package. “I need to hack Brooks’s watch.”
“What?”
“Brooks’s watch was one of those fancy smartwatches. I don’t know the password, but I found this YouTube video that tells you how to crack into a smartwatch. Then I can read his text messages,” Emmie said excitedly.
I grabbed the little child’s-magnet-science kit. “That is not going to work. I’ll send it out to some of my techs in New York.”
“I feel like I already owe you a lot.” She wrinkled her nose.
It was cute.
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “After this is over, I’m going to really spoil you. I’ll make all your favorite foods, do your laundry, clean your bathroom, give you massages on demand…”
I raised an eyebrow, making her stammer.
