Page 46 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

I change my shirt four times. Sending a picture of each option to my friends. The first one makes me look too desperate. The second makes my shoulders look weird. Why the hell did I buy it? The third is purple, and I refuse to wear purple on my first date with a purple demon. That feels like I’m trying to coordinate with him, which is ridiculous. I settle on a soft green sweater that matches my eyes and black pants that makes my ass look fantastic. I adorn my face with a bit of makeup. Nothing too flashy. And slide on a pair of comfy sneakers just in case we end up walking a lot.

At exactly seven, there’s a knock on my apartment door. I stare at it because Lucien can teleport, who's to say he won’t just teleport right into my living room? My tail curls around my leg as I open the door. Lucien stands there with a smile and flowers.

“Hi.” I take in the pink and purple flowers filling the brown paper. There are tiny white flowers tucked between the rest. Nothing overly fancy. Nothing that looks like he bought out an entire florist to impress me. Thank fuck. “They’re beautiful.”

“So are you.” Lucien’s gaze travels over me before coming back to my face, and heat crawls up my neck. His grin grows. “There’s that pretty blush.” Lucien laughs before offering me his hand. “Ready?”

“Let me just put these in some water.” I rush into the kitchen and grab a water pitcher since I don’t have a vase. “Where are we going?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

“You agreed to a surprise. You are not ruining this for me.”

“What if you’re taking me somewhere horrible?” It’s a joke. I don’t think he could.

Lucien presses a hand to his chest. “Sparkle. I have eleven steps and centuries of life experience. Have a little faith in me.”

That should probably worry me. Instead, I laugh and take his offered hand.

The world folds around us. My stomach flips, and my fingers tighten around Lucien’s. His other arm immediately circles my waist, pulling me against the solid warmth of his body. Oh, hello muscles! I grab his shirt until the world stops doing weird things around us. I don’t know if he thinks I’m going to fall or if he just wanted an excuse to hold me. I’m okay with either.

When the world settles again, we’re standing in an alley. I glance around at the brick walls and dumpsters before looking up at him. “Romantic.”

“Give me a chance, kitty cat.” Lucien keeps hold of my hand as he leads me around the corner. Humans are everywhere, but enough supernatural scents mix among them that I relax. This must be one of those areas with enough magical protections that we don’t have to hide.

I’m so busy staring at everything that I almost miss the sign. Almost. I stop so abruptly Lucien gets yanked backward.

There’s a giant cartoon cat painted on the window with at least twenty smaller cats around it.

WHISKERS & WISHES CAT CAFÉ.

I slowly turn toward Lucien. The demon looks so fucking proud of himself.

“You brought a cat shifter to a cat café.”

His smile grows. “You like cats.”

“I am a cat.”

“Exactly!”

I stare at him. He stares at me. His tail gives one excited little flick behind him. He really thought this was a good idea. I start laughing.

Lucien’s smile grows. “It’s sweet, right?”

“Very sweet.” I cover my mouth, trying to get myself under control.

“It’s a practice run for when I meet your family. I already accept everyone, though. Maybe not your dad. He was an asshole. Anyway, I have reservations.”

That only makes me laugh harder. Reservations? At a cat café?

The woman at the front desk barely glances at Lucien’s horns or my ears when we walk in. She explains the rules before opening the door into the café.

Every cat in the room freezes. I freeze with them. Oh, this is going to go great.

Lucien, oblivious to the sudden tension, grins. “Oh, look at all the kitties!”

I grab his arm. “Lucien.”

A giant orange cat rises from a pillow, his back arching as a black cat on a shelf puffs up to twice its size. Another creeps out from beneath a table and gives me the slowest, bitchiest blink I’ve ever seen.