Page 45 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve slept with people, but we never dated. I was a soul tracker for centuries. Then I’ve been running The Rot for decades.” I rub my chin as the realization settles in. “Huh. I’m always doing things I want, but they’re always connected to business. I haven’t really had time to do anything like dating before.”

Truthfully, no one ever struck my fancy. But then a cute little cat shifter wearing a ridiculous jingle bell collar on Halloween caught my full attention.

“So neither of us knows what we’re doing,” Sparkle says.

I straighten. “Excuse you. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

His ears perk. “You just said you’ve never dated anyone.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be spectacular at it.”

Sparkle snorts and covers his mouth, but the laugh escapes anyway. “That sounds very confident for someone with no experience.”

“Darlin’, I have centuries of experience being charming.”

“Is that what you call it?”

I clutch my chest. “You wound me, kitty cat.”

His tail swishes behind him as he laughs, and I can’t stop smiling. This is going to be so easy. I already have everything I need. Sparkle has an entire guide to romancing him. Flowers. Cute dates. Laughter. Affection. Slow kisses that make the world stop. I can do all of that.

“What time should I pick you up?”

Sparkle thinks about it. “Seven?”

“Seven it is.” I take his hand and lift it to my lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. His ears immediately flatten into his hair, and that gorgeous pink comes rushing back. “Wear something comfortable.”

His eyes narrow. “Why?”

“It’s a surprise.”

He tries to glare at me, but his tail ruins the whole thing by curling around my wrist. I glance down at it. Sparkle immediately snatches it back and shakes his head. A smile creeps across his lips.

He laughs again before heading toward the stairs. Halfway there, he turns around and walks backward for a few steps. “Seven.”

“I’ll be there.”

“And shower first.”

I sniff myself and grimace. “That was already part of the plan.”

Sparkle disappears down the stairs, and I wait until I hear the door to the club close before I pull my phone from my pocket.

Lucien: I have a date. An actual fucking date. With Sparkle.

Ryan: Yay! Congrats!

Lars: You didn’t kidnap him and call it a date, right?

I roll my eyes.

Lucien: Of course not! But I haven’t ruled it out.

I should probably sleep. I definitely need to shower. Instead, I open the picture Beau sent me of that ridiculous, glittery pink guide. Eleven steps. How hard can this possibly be?

18

SPARKLE