Page 43 of One Bossy Date

Even now at the end of the evening, she looked beautiful. All the commotion and drama had taken my focus away from that, but in this dark car, with the passing glow of the streetlights, I remembered, and I had to refocus.

“You know,” I started as I rolled up my shirt sleeves, “I like your family. They’re all down to earth.”

She seemed happy. “Yeah, they are. Except Brody, of course.” Her laugh sounded again. “But he’s not family, so we don’t have to worry about that one.”

“What did he mean when he said that pet sitting is all you ever do?”

I noticed as annoyance flashed over her face at the thought of him calling her out.

“I won’t lie, I do work all the time,” she said. “I have to, but with him…it was also an excuse to turn down dates.” I lifted my brows in surprise, not expecting that. “He always called and insisted that we go out because it would make my gran happy. I just kept finding excuses not to go.” With a shake of her head, she dismissed him from the conversation.

I understood her reasoning, but the way she spoke about her work stayed with me. Inside, she’d said that this was her passion, yet whenever it came up, she seemed stressed. “If you don’t mind my asking, why a cat boutique? It doesn’t look like it’s been the easiest job.”

She tipped her head to the side as she thought her answer over. “Um, you’re right, it’s not easy. But it’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a child.” I watched her quietly. “I studied law, at first.”

“Really? Of all the things you could’ve done—you’d studied law?”

“Yep. I even passed the bar exam. But…I knew it wasn’t what I wanted for my life. I thought I’d be helping others, but it was much more about struggling with paragraphs and useless, complicated laws.” She shrugged one shoulder. “It was just a really stressful career to be in. And since I get stressed out way too easily, I found that working with cats instead of humans gave me a certain calmness.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“And shocking, Iknow.” She rolled her eyes. Clearly, this had been a major topic of discussion in her family. “The whole lawyer career just wasn’t my vibe from the start. I was trying to satisfy my family, mostly my gran—as always—with an impressive career. You know, to prove that her raising me hadn’t been for nothing. To prove that I was capable.” She opened her clutch and applied lip balm to her lips. “I made it all the way through. It was only when I had to find a job, the last step, that I decided I couldn’t do it. I dreaded actually starting my life as a lawyer.”

I understood that. She might have been perfectly capable, but it wasn’t the kind of person she truly was. “In my mind, you’re more a mediator than a lawyer,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that I don’t see you fighting in a courtroom.”

“What? Why? I’mtotallya fighter.” She pressed a hand to her chest, looking playfully offended.

I chuckled. “Yes, I know that much. You are. That’s not what I meant—”

She lifted a hand. “You know what, you’re probably right. I’m just teasing. A lawyer needs to be self-composed and prepared. Never impulsive. So, the exact opposite of me, really.”

“So why the cats, then?”

Her smile appeared, and it was a sweet, genuine smile. “I’ve always had cats. Gran would say I caused all her gray hairs because I kept bringing stray cats home. We would take them to the vet, give them shots, have them sterilized, then find them a new home. When I asked myself what I really wanted to do with my life, I knew it had to be something with animals.”

“Just…not dogs.”

She laughed, and I had to chuckle as well.

“It seems that might change though,” I added.

“Oh, I don’t know. Ares and Hades are all right, but any dog off the street? It’ll take me a while to build the courage for that.”

“Fair. But I think you’ll get there.”

“I’m trying. The grooming business was just my starting point. I’ve got other plans.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll fill you in another time, I think we’re here.”

“Right.” I noticed we were pulling up to her storefront. What a crazy night it had been. I opened my door to walk around to hers.

When I opened her door, her heeled foot stepped out carefully, and I reached down to help her. She held on tightly when I lifted her out of the seat and onto the sidewalk.