Like Cats and Dogs, Kate McMurray [miss read books .TXT] 📗

should have left. What he was offering was not enough, not after everything she’d felt with him, everything they’d done together. But she said, “Then let’s make the most of it.”

Chapter 22

When cats came to the Cat Café without names, which sometimes happened when they were rescues, the staff picked a theme and chose names based on it. Monique had suggested names from antiquity, so the new group of cats had been named Caesar, Ramses, Boudicca, Antony, and Cleopatra. The last two were inseparable and often slept curled together on one of the sofas, so Lauren thought the names were apt. She’d taken to calling them Tony and Cleo and hoped to find a forever home that would take them both.

She was sitting on the sofa beside Tony and Cleo with her laptop balanced on her thighs, updating the Cat Café’s website, when Caleb walked into the cat area. Paige also sat nearby, finishing some paperwork, and Evan was in a corner, working. There were a smattering of customers at the café tables, chatting, so it wasn’t quiet, but it was pleasant, and Lauren was enjoying the afternoon in her domain.

Caleb carried a sack of cat food. “Courtesy of the clinic,” he said, shifting it in his arms.

“All right. Come on back.”

Lauren put her laptop aside and escorted Caleb to the storage room. After directing him where to put the food, they stood there smiling at each other for a moment.

“How are you?” Lauren asked.

“All right. Wondering again why these huge sacks of food can’t be delivered to you directly.”

“The clinic gets a discount the café is not eligible for.”

“Maybe the better question is why I always get appointed to carry these bags over here.”

“You’re still the new guy. Maybe it’s hazing.”

Caleb grunted.

One of the cats, a calico named Chester, wandered in through the open door and rubbed up against Caleb. He knelt on the floor and pet the cat, who immediately presented his backend to Caleb’s face.

“Why do cats do that?” Caleb asked, sounding like the question was rhetorical. “You’re cool. Smell my butt.”

“Your friend the cat behavioral specialist said it’s to show they trust you. Cats expose vulnerable parts of their body to humans they trust not to hurt them. Did you not listen to the lecture?”

“I listened. That was my poor attempt at a joke.”

“Right. This cat has only known you about thirty seconds, so he doesn’t know you’re a vet. If he knew, he’d probably run from the room.”

“Ah. Thanks for portraying me as the root of all evil. I should get back to torturing animals.”

“I didn’t say that. Cats are generally distrusting of vets, though.”

“Sure. I really do need to get back, though. I’m on a tight schedule today.”

“Now, wait a second. I don’t get so much as a hello? You just come over here, grunt a few times, and dump a big bag of cat food here?”

“What is it you want here? I have appointments all afternoon.”

“Right, I forgot. We’re not a couple.”

Lauren didn’t mean to throw a fit, but she was suddenly so mad she didn’t want to look at Caleb, so she turned on her heel and walked back into the main room.

Caleb ran after her. “Now, come on. I didn’t mean anything by that. Don’t be offended.”

Conscious of the audience, she turned toward him and said under her breath, “You can’t have it both ways.”

“Is this about the other night?” he asked.

Lauren glanced toward the other people in the room. The customers were mostly ignoring them, but Paige and Evan had both picked their heads up and were watching Caleb.

“I can’t do this here,” Lauren said.

Caleb rolled his eyes. “So like a woman to not just say what you mean.”

Lauren took a step back, surprised. “Are you serious right now? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“We keep talking around things without saying them.”

“All right. I refuse to argue with you in my place of business, so I am telling you we can talk directly about anything you want at another time and in another place. Satisfied?”

“No. Why are you mad at me? What did I do this time?”

What had he done? Why was she so mad? He’d been rude and had refused to acknowledge their relationship, but that wasn’t new. The truth was, this was about the discussion of the other night, about how they had no future, and Lauren was pretty sure they were both wasting time investing in something that would never go anywhere.

But her friends and several customers—who had taken notice now—were in the room and she would not have this conversation here, with this many witnesses.

“Fine,” she said, lowering her voice. “I’m sorry for getting mad. You didn’t do anything. I guess it’s just your face.”

He sighed. “Gee, thanks.”

“I didn’t mean that the way I said it. What I meant was seeing you reminded me of our…discussion the other night, and I guess I’m still upset about it, but this is not the place to discuss that, so I’m calling a truce.”

“Fine. Then I’m going back to work.”

“But you were rude.”

“Well, I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I wasn’t aware I had to be overly polite when interacting with you.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Come on, Caleb.”

He looked at his watch. “I really do have to go. My shift ends at six if you want to yell at me more then.”

He left, which was essentially what she’d told him to do, so she shouldn’t have felt as angry as she did. In the early days of this…thing with Caleb, whenever she’d felt this worked up, they threw themselves at each other, but maybe whatever had happened between them had matured.

No, it definitely had matured. But Caleb wouldn’t admit that, which was the central problem. They had a relationship or they didn’t, was basically what he’d said the day before, and it was becoming increasingly clear they didn’t have much of anything.

She turned to go back to her laptop on the sofa, but Evan was now standing