Page 19 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

“No.”

“Okay.”

I turn the cart toward the next aisle instead of arguing.

Sparkle tosses another item into the cart. “You don’t have to look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t.” I stop beside the cart and meet his eyes. “I think you’re incredible.”

He freezes. I grab the last item from his list and drop it inside.

“There. Shopping finished.”

Sparkle scrolls through the list twice. “We got everything?”

“I told you we’d breeze through it.”

His lips twitch. I want to kiss him. Gods, I want to kiss him. Instead, I push the cart toward the checkout. Sparkle catches up beside me. Our tails brush, and his jerks away. A few seconds later, it brushes mine again. This time neither of us moves.

“I really am too busy,” he whispers as we join the checkout line.

“I believe you.”

“I don’t want you thinking I’m saying no because of the song.”

I start unloading groceries onto the belt. “Good. Because I worked very hard on that song.”

Sparkle laughs and hands me a carton of eggs.

“And I rhymed.”

He laughs harder, his tail curling around mine for one beautiful second before slipping away. Fuck. I’m in trouble.

Sparkle bags while I pass groceries to him, and by the time the cart is full again, we’ve fallen into an easy rhythm neither of us comments on.

When the last bag is packed, I turn to him. “I’ll leave you to your errands.”

Something flashes across his face. Disappointment? Surely not.

“You’re leaving?”

“You have a lot to do.” I want to offer to teleport him everywhere he needs to go. I could have his entire afternoon finished in twenty minutes. I could take him somewhere quiet afterward. Somewhere warm. Somewhere no one could ask anything from him. But that’s not what he asked for. I gently tap one finger against his nose. Sparkle goes cross-eyed looking at it.

“Have a good day, pretty kitty.”

His ears twitch, and he swats lightly at my hand. “You too, ridiculous demon.”

I grin, take a few steps away, then snap my fingers and let the world fold around me. The last thing I see before Hex disappears is Sparkle standing beside an overflowing grocery cart, staring at the empty space where I stood.

He said no. I can live with no. What I can’t live with is the way that beautiful cat looked almost disappointed when I listened.

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SPARKLE