Cat.
Cat?
He blinked, looked again.It was her.Catriona Blake stood in the doorway, her favorite blue scarf askew, a familiar blue knit cap on her head, her pale cheeks flushed pink.
For a second, Rhys honestly thought he was dreaming.His brain felt slow.Then she smiled, shy, nervous, impossibly beautiful.
His chair scraped against the tiled floor as he stood.“Cat?”
“Surprise, Daddy!”Jillian cried, jumping at his side.
He looked from Jillian to Cat and back.“I don’t understand.”
Jillian’s eyes shone with a mixture of mischief and triumph.“She’s come for my birthday too.I thought it would be more fun this way.”
Rhys couldn’t think of a single thing to say, and Jillian kept chattering.“I went to Michigan to see Cat, and I convinced her to come so we could all celebrate my birthday together.”
Rhys blinked, trying to catch up.“Youwent to America?When?”
“A couple weeks ago.”
“Impossible.”
“You thought Mummy and I were in Bath, but we were actually in Kalamazoo.”
“I need to speak with your mother,” he growled.
“Well, you can, later.She’s here too.”Jillian pointed.
Rhys followed her gesture and through the café window saw Lyndsey across the narrow street, bundled in a wool coat.She gave him a cheeky wave and held up her phone.
“I cannot believe this,” he said to Jillian.“Sit down.Stay here.I need to talk to Cat.”
“You better before she runs away.She looks like she’s about to bolt.”
Rhys looked at Cat, still standing inside the door, her dark hair glinting in the soft café light.She was bundled up and looking incredibly embarrassed but also more beautiful than he remembered.
She met him midway across the café floor.
Two spots of rosy color stained her cheeks.“Hello, Rhys.”
His breath left him in a rush.“You’re really here.”
Her smile trembled, just at the edges.“This is madness, I know.”
“A good kind of madness,” he said huskily, drawing her closer, step by step.“How…” And then he swore under his breath and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
He would have kissed her far longer, but Jillian’s voice broke through.
“See, Cat?I told you it would work.”
And Rhys, still reeling, still half-convinced the universe had tilted on its axis, could only laugh, something he hadn’t done since Cat had left.
*
They lingered inthe café longer than they meant to.Lyndsey joined them for a light bite, sharing that she’d managed to get some good photos of the reunion.The four of them crowded around a small table near the window, and while Jillian did most of the talking, they were all smiling.Laughing.
Cat couldn’t stop watching Jillian.She’d grown taller since Christmas, her confidence shining through every movement.But beneath the birthday excitement, Cat could feel the careful glances Jillian kept sending toward her father—small, hopeful flickers that seemed to sayplease be happy.
