If he turned into a human again, maybe he could ask her to allow him to become her assistant.Not that she would.
Even though he’d done a fabulous job of being her assistant in Riyel.
Until he’d left.
No, she wouldn’t allow him to do so.But he could ask, and maybe it would inspire her to search for one herself.She shouldn’t be the only one here, day in, day out—not when the café was always so busy.
It would be one thing if it hadn’t grown in popularity over the years and she was still struggling to make ends meet.But he knew better than that.He had seen the way the pantry was beginning to fill with a surplus of things she might need, in a way that he hadn’t seen since their days in the bakery in Riyel.
Thea was a good business owner, and he knew it had irked her to not have what she would have thought was a sufficient backup.The pantry filling up was a good sign.
“It was nice to see Nathaniel yesterday,” Thea mused as she began pouring ingredients for muffins into a bowl.“You don’t know him,” she said, turning to look at Nat, who was frozen in place, “but he is one of the most kindhearted souls I know.”
Part of Nat couldn’t believe he was actually hearing this…and part of him thought maybe he should leave so he didn’t.
Did it count as eavesdropping if you were cursed to turn into a cat?
“It would seem that hasn’t changed, given the way he helped me yesterday.”She paused, chewing on her lip as she measured something on the counter.“It does make me wonder, though…but I suppose it doesn’t matter what could’ve been.”
She took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
“You should have seen us before,” she said as she began whisking briskly, though her movements were slower than he remembered.Was it because they had both grown up, or was it because she was not feeling well?
“We were the best team in Riyel,” she said quietly, “and I knew that I could count on him no matter what.”
I know we were,he said, though she couldn’t understand him.You can still count on me.
“I haven’t let him be part of my team since I came here, but I got a taste of it yesterday, and I don’t know how I can go back.”
She sighed as she began scooping the mix into cups for baking.
“It is a pity,” she said.“I loved him then, and it would be far too easy to love him again.”
I never stopped loving you.
But she couldn’t hear the words under the meowing.
She let out a new noise as she brushed her hands off on her apron.“Well, that’s enough reminiscing.Let’s get these in the oven.”
Nathaniel did his best to stay out of her way as she made her way to the oven with the tray in hand.She was clumsy enough without a cat tripping her—but he couldn’t be too far from her.She was a magnet, pulling him ever closer.
And his human heart couldn’t withstand it, especially not with his feline nature drawing him ever closer to her feet.Not when his heart was breaking in two, listening to her talk about their past in ways she would never dare say to him.
“Of course, you’re a cat that likes to be in the middle of things,” she said, looking down at him as his tail brushed against her leg.
He’d never touched her leg before.It felt too intimate.
“What am I going to do with you?”she said with a sigh.“I suppose I should name you if you’re going to stick around.What are the odds that another orange cat would find me?Your fur is close to the color of Nathaniel’s hair, so I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when he meets you that the two of you match.But what shall I call you?”
She thought about it for a moment as she made her way back to the counter and began to crack some eggs.
“Baker.What do you think?I think my father and Nathaniel would approve.”
Nat’s nose twitched at the egg white dripping on the floor, and he made his way around it carefully to sit at her feet and look at her with a purr.He couldn’t say that he liked the name in as many words, but he could show his approval anyway.
“You like it?”she asked, looking down at him with a smile, and he stepped forward and rubbed against her leg, letting his tail drape around the outside of her skirt.
“Think you like it,” she said with a laugh.“I would pet you, but I have to keep my hands clean.I don’t suppose you want to be covered in egg white, either.”
