19644d8eebdf42e4b611005d94748ece

“Yup. And there’s even a surpriseinside the box.”

He raised a paw to his chest.“Double presents? I’m touched.”

It had been so hard to keep this surprise from him for the last few days, and I couldn’t wait another minute for the big reveal. “Well, go on and open it up,” I urged.

Octo-Cat jumped into the box, then popped his head back out with a satin blue swatch of fabric clenched between his jaws.“What is it?” he mumbled, unsure.

“It’s a bowtie,” I explained. “I figured you could wear it on your video date with Grizabella this afternoon.”

“It matches her beautiful sapphire eyes,” he said after setting it carefully on the floor.

“Yes, it does. And if you take another look inside, you’ll find a green bowtie as well.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, then cocked his head slightly to the side—a sure sign that Paisley was beginning to rub off on him just a little bit.

“Why green?” he asked.

I put a hand over my smiling mouth and waited for it to sink in.

Octo-Cat swooned with delight less than a minute later.“Green. Glorious green! Does this mean…?”

I picked up where he left off.“Yes, I’m taking you to visit Grizabella for St. Patrick’s Day. That is, if you still want to go.”

He zipped up and down the stairs in a rare show of kitty zoomies, then came back to rest at my feet. I reached out to pet him, but before I could, he licked my fingertips.“You are a very good human, and I love you, Angela.”

I stroked his soft back.“Awww, I love you, too. Now are you ready to FaceTime with Grizabella?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I fastened the blue bowtie to his collar and showed him what he looked like in the selfie mode of my phone.“I am a very handsome cat. Aren’t I?”

I nodded my endorsement.“Grizabella is very lucky to have you.”

“And I’m lucky to have you,” he said sweetly before zooming away to call his girlfriend.

My heart melted a little at that. Getting love from any cat—but especially Octo-Cat—was a rare treat, and I planned to savor every single second.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

At five o’clock on the dot, I pulled into the parking lot outside Charles’s law firm. He wasn’t expecting me, but that was part of the surprise.

It felt strange being back in the location where our love story had first begun—and also where I’d almost died and then woke up with the strange ability to talk to Octo-Cat. Yes, Longfellow& Associates had given me so much during my brief tenure there—love, friendship, a cat, a home, and access to an impressive trust fund—and for all of it, I would forever be grateful.

But today wasn’t about the associates, it was about Charles Longfellow, III, and me.

When he saw me enter the office, he jumped up from his desk and wrapped me in his arms.“What are you doing here? I was just about to sign off for the day and come to see you.”

“Kidnapping you. Now let’s go.”

“Sure. Just let me turn off—”

“Nope. Just lock the door and come with me. There’s no time to waste.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

We settled into my car, and I began the drive.

“Where are we going?” he asked me with an enormous grin.

I shrugged, keeping my eyes straight ahead.“It’s not as fancy as what you had planned, but it’s very us.”

“Tell me. Tell me!” he whined playfully.

I took a deep breath and shook my head.“I won’t tell you what we’re doing, but I’ll explain why.”

“Okay, hit me.”

I licked my lips before continuing. I’d practiced this a couple times but still worried it would come out wrong.

“Well, we first met at the law firm, which is why we started there today. A lot of people meet at work, but our relationship has always been a bit different as you so rightly pointed out last weekend. And even though you’d wanted to spend a relaxing, romantic day together, we ended up spending that day in a veryus way—by throwing all our plans out the window and then helping those who needed it most. Think about it. When we first became friends, we got Brock Calhoun acquitted for murder and reunited a lost, little dog with his human. When we first became more, we saved Octo-Cat from a kidnapper and protected his trust fund from angry relatives. Last weekend, we ended up finding five abandoned kittens and one stray dog their forever homes.”

Charles nodded along, then frowned.“Yes. I guess you’re right about that. Do you ever wish we spent more time doing normal boyfriend-girlfriend stuff?”

“No way!” I protested. “I love you, and I love us. Exactly as we are.”

“I love you, too.” He squeezed my shoulder and leaned in to plant a kiss on my cheek, then asked, “So what are we doing for Valentine’s Day?”

“Haha, nice try,” I teased. “Don’t worry, though. We’re almost there.”

Ten minutes later, we arrived at our very favorite restaurant, the Little Dog Diner all the way over in Misty Harbor.

“This restaurant has always been special to us, too,” Charles observed as we approached the entrance hand in hand. “Remember when we came here after catching the real Hayes murderer?”

“I do. And do you remember who came with us?”