Fortunately, he didn’t stalk her while she fed the strays out back this morning. No Maine Coon kitten in sight either. The construction noises didn’t kick-start until 9 a.m. But when they did, they drowned out the lovely orchestra of autumn noises that had accompanied Cali that morning. Since it was Friday, thelibrary was slammed, and she found herself swamped handling overdue notices, checking the book drops and sorting returned materials, and answering patron questions as everyone rushed to grab their books, DVDs, and puzzles for the weekend.
She retreated to her office to catch her breath, only to find herself breathless again when she glanced out her office window to find Ethan, shirtless again, in her purview. It was all she could do to peel her eyes from veins running like cords down his forearms, the play of shadow and light along his sharply cut obliques. She shut the window blind before he could catch her and got back to work.
All through her workday, the Nine Lives Club was messaging. The Maine Coon kitten was seen begging for scraps near the park’s picnic benches, chasing mice in the dusty back lot of Bastet’s auto repair shop, even perched on a tombstone at the cemetery. But no one was able to catch it.
Between the Friday patrons and text message pings, Cali was exhausted by closing time and filled with a wistful hunger for the chicken salad sandwich she’d given to Ethan the previous night. So as soon as the clock struck 6 p.m., she grabbed her purse and trench and bee-lined for Minka’s café.
The September skyline was waiting there for her, with flocks of geese printing dark chevrons across the fading blue. She noticed the first reds and burnt oranges at the crown of the maples, shifting in the wind. The sun was dipping faster these days, an amber coin sliding into a pocket behind the faraway hills.
She took a moment on the library steps to breathe in the faint apple-sweetness when she saw him again. Ethan. Fully clothed in a faded gray t-shirt this time but walking toward the café several yards from her nonetheless. Her stomach clenched momentarily, and she had to remind herself she was headedthere for food, not him. But her pulse ticked up when his shadow fell in step beside hers.
“Hey.”
His voice was so soft and disarming, she almost wondered if he’d had a bad day.
“Oh. Hey, Ethan.” She pretended she hadn’t noticed him leaving the construction site at—coincidentally—the same time she left the library.
“Any word on the cat?”
“Lots, actually. The Nine have been reporting on its whereabouts all day long, but no one’s caught it yet.”
They both paused in front of the café door. Cali expected him to smell gross after a long day of work, but an irresistible scent washed over her. Spiced, with a hint of skin-hugging sweetness.
He grasped the handle of the café door and opened it for her. “Ladies first.”
His height made the door look smaller, as though he belonged to a world a little bigger than everyone else’s. There was a steadiness in the way he stood, the way he moved—grounded and unhurried, like the earth tilted to accommodate him.
Cali raised an eyebrow in surprise then slipped past him and into the café.
“Any seat!” Minka yelled from the back of the café, unaware it was the two of them. But when she peeked through the window to the kitchen, her eyes lit up at the sight of them side by side. She mouthedOh my God!at Cali through the narrow kitchen window as Ethan scanned the room for a table.
“Evening, Ethan,” someone called from the corner booth. Another turned and waved from the counter.
Cali blinked. Half the café seemed to know him. Since when did construction workers collect fan clubs? Then sheremembered the way he’d looked without his shirt on yesterday. She could think of a few reasons.
Cali found her mouth suddenly dry. “I was just going to grab something to go,” she tried to tell Ethan, not really wanting to linger. But when she glanced over, Ethan was already planted in the cozy booth next to her, gesturing as if he expected her to sit across from him.
Cali frowned.
“This booth not to your liking? We can move anywhere you’d like.” He gestured around the café. “Please, I owe you for that croissant you donated to the Hungry Ethan Fund last night at Nine Lives.”
She offered him a faint smile. “It’s just that I—”
“Need to wash your hair?” he quipped. A glimmer of knowing passed between them. “C’mon. Sit. I want to know where they’ve seen that cat today anyway. He hasn’t been near City Hall at all. I looked.”
Before Cali could answer, Minka swept up to the booth, setting down an empty mug and a fresh pot of coffee in front of Ethan and a steaming cup of Oat Couture in front of Cali.
“Chicken salad croissant and two apple cider donuts for Cali, coming right up,” she said brightly. “Ethan told me this morning to save some of those donuts for you since he knew how much you liked them.”
Cali blinked. “He did?”
Ethan’s head snapped toward Minka, eyes wide. “I—what?”
Minka only grinned. “Don’t be modest, hon. Not many men remember what a woman wants the first time.”
She took his order. Breakfast for dinner. Over-easy eggs on corned beef hash, home fries, and buttered toast. Cali liked the sound of that, too. Her mouth watered with hunger already.
“You want apple cider donuts, too, Ethan? They’re fresh.”
