Page 4 of One Bossy Date

What I noticed lifted my spirits instantly.

Was the whole unpleasant interaction worth it?

It sure was.

The cup was decorated with a little painted snout and whiskers, and suddenly, when he lifted it to his mouth, I had to stop myself from cracking up. The sight of such a darkly handsome, sophisticated, not to mention grumpy man, sipping from the humorous cup was enough to make up for his, well, let’s say “spiky attitude.”

It wasfrickin’hilarious.

Skeptically, his dark-brown eyes locked onto mine. He had no idea what I was so happy about. Nonetheless, he lifted the cup again and suddenly morphed into the sexiest cat-man I never knew I needed.

A giggle erupted from my throat, and my hand flew up to cover my mouth.

Control yourself, Zoe. Control yourself.

All cat-man did was frown at me.

2

ANDERS

This bubbly, overly energetic woman found something about me amusing. What the hell was she laughing at?

She was beautiful, sure, with attractive curves, long golden-brown hair, and big hazel eyes. Her face was rounded, and she had a small button nose. With such appealing features, she certainly had an aesthetic about her. She would’ve been my type based solely on those aspects, but—she wore bright pink lipstick. What woman still wore bright pink lipstick? What was this? An ‘80s revival store?

To add to it, she had on a girly frilled dress of a similar pink hue, yellow hair clips, and her nails were painted a vibrant, sunny yellow. Who the hell matched pink with yellow? Definitely not any of the women I was attracted to. Reserved, cultivated, even demure women, who wore stylish clothing in graceful colors were my type—who painted their nails an elegant color that matched any outfit for any occasion, whether for work or cocktail hour.

This cat lady, on the other hand, seemed to revel in her bright colors. The whole damn place was like the inside of a paint truck that had turned over on the highway.

Yellow.So much yellow.

I was sure that other men enjoyed her type, she had the body to attract them after all, but the packaging? Imagine if you peeled her out of her impossible top layer, and then found she wore, what, yellow underwear, too?

No.

And what kind of books was she into? Why the hell would she read something as ridiculous asMy Boss’s Big D? Certainly not because of the beauty of the sentences. Not only did my fingers itch to give her a color consultation, but also to hand her a decent book in which the literary value didn’t rise or fall with the size of her boss’s assets.

While observing her with vague interest, I took the last sip of my coffee.

Another giggle burst from her, and she shook her head, pulling her lips in, clearly attempting to control herself.

I put the empty cup onto the counter, right beside her lame excuse for a book.

“Something amusing you?” I asked, irritated more with myself than with her. Why did I even care?

“Nope.” Controlling herself further, she shook her head. “Nothing at all.”

With only a look, I let my eyes convey that I didn’t believe that for a moment.

She took my mug to the back, and when she returned a moment later, her brows were raised, her expression questioning. “You need anything else?” she asked. It came out snippy.

It seemed I had overstayed my welcome, and I was only too happy to get the hell out of there.

“No. Thanks again for the coffee.” I looked outside, relieved to see the rain had eased up a bit. At least, just enough for me to escape “cat haven,” which had by then seriously started to affect my sinuses.

Whatwasthe name of the shop?

Not that it mattered. She had likely named it something ridiculous. Cat-astraphe would be appropriate. Anyway, it would no longer be relevant as soon as I walked out the door. I wouldn’t make the mistake of coming in here again.