“Honestly?” He inches toward her. “I saw this video on TikTok,” Greg says. “It was one of those gut-wrenching stories about this little cat named Boots that had been found on the side of the road. Someone had just dumped her there—”
“How did they know her name was Boots if she’d been dumped there?” I ask, genuinely curious.
Miles snorts, but neither Greg nor Daphne seem to hear me.
Daphne gasps. “No. Way.” Her hand is back on her heart. “Did the video show Boots hiding in a cage until another cat went in and got her?”
“Yes!” Greg practically shouts this.
“You aren’t going to believe this—” Daphne is clicking around on her phone.
“What?” Greg hasn’t touched his food. “You saw it too?”
She turns her phone around. “Was it this one?”
“Wait.Wait.Yes! That was it! That’s the cat!”
“This is so crazy!” Daphne clicks a few more buttons, then turns the phone around, a pouty look on her face. “That’s Boots. She’s my cat!”
Miles catches my eye, then slowly reaches over to take a piece of Daphne’s sushi roll. I widen my eyes and shake my head no, but then he scrunches his nose and nods slowly at me. I stifle a laughand try to look nonchalant as he lifts a piece from her plate and slowly eats it.
Neither Greg nor Daphne notice.
“I can’t believe Boots’s story actually convinced you to savetwocats, Greg.” She studies him meaningfully. “That’s amazing. You are a hero.”
“Just call him ‘Feline Fury,’” Miles quips.
I almost choke on my sushi.
Daphne frowns over at him, clearly unamused, and I have to look away.
“It was a hard decision,” Greg says seriously. “But your video really painted a picture of how desperate the situation is. Dire, really. I couldn’tnothelp.”
She reaches across the table and grabs Greg’s hand, leaning toward him, cavernous cleavage on full display.
He freezes, and I watch something silent pass between them.
“You know what”—Daphne pulls her hand back—“I need to run to the restroom.” She widens her eyes at Greg for a quick second, and then she rushes off.
Miles picks up his soda and takes a drink, watching with an amused expression as Greg fumbles to put his phone back in his pocket.
“Oh, wow, I have to take this—” Greg pulls his phone back out and stands. “I’ll be right back.”
He rushes off, and I look at Miles. “His phone didn’t even ring.”
Miles chuckles.
“Did we just get ditched?” I ask.
He looks past me, out the front window, and nods toward it, making me look.
I follow his gaze and see Greg, arm draped around Daphne, hurrying away from the restaurant.
I look at Miles. “Unbelievable.”
He shrugs and eats the last of his sushi. “Man, these are good.”
“Aren’t you annoyed?” I ask.
