Page 48 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

“One.” I hold up a single finger.

His smile comes back instantly. I cuddle the kitten against my chest while he pulls out his phone. The kitten purrs, and I scratch beneath her chin. Then I start purring too. Damn it, I can’t help it. Lucien lowers his phone.

His gaze settles on me, and I’m far too aware of the sound rumbling from my chest. “What?”

“Nothing.” His voice is softer now.

“You’re staring.”

“You’re beautiful.”

My purr gets louder. Fucking traitorous body.

Lucien doesn’t tease me. He sits beside me on the floor, pressing his knee against mine as he reaches out to scratch beneath the kitten’s chin. His tail slowly curls around my ankle, and when I look down at it, he doesn’t pull away.

Neither do I.

The kitten eventually abandons me, but we stay on the floor while other cats cautiously investigate us. Lucien tells me about The Rot when it first opened and how terrible the original music system was. I tell him about the time I climbed onto the roof when I was twelve and refused to come down because Mama wanted me to babysit instead of going to a birthday party.

“You stayed up there for six hours?” Lucien asks, looking far too amused.

“I was making a point.”

“Did she get the point?”

“She stopped asking around hour four. I stayed another two to make sure.”

Lucien laughs and bumps his shoulder against mine. Warmth settles through me as I lean back against him.

By the time our reservation ends, three cats have decided Lucien is a heated piece of furniture. The orange asshole still hates me. And I’ve had more fun than I expected.

Outside, Lucien is unusually quiet. I bump my shoulder against his as we walk away from the café. “What’s wrong?”

“That did not go according to plan.”

“What was the plan?”

“Cats would love you. You would love cats. We’d have fancy little drinks.” His tail droops behind him. “I’d impress you with my excellent knowledge of your interests.”

I stop walking. “You thought liking cats was one of my interests?”

“You have cat stickers on your romance guide.”

“Because I was sixteen and I’m a cat.”

Lucien groans and covers his face. I laugh and grab one of his wrists, tugging until I can see him again.

“I had fun. A lot of fun.”

“But it wasn’t romantic.”

I open my mouth to agree, but I don’t. Because he brought me flowers. He knocked on my door when he could have just teleported into my apartment. He held me when we teleported, sat on the floor with me, and let cats crawl all over him because he thought this would make me happy. And it did.

Maybe it wasn’t what sixteen-year-old me had in mind when I wrote the guide, but what the hell did that little guy know about dating, anyway? Apparently not much, because this feels pretty damn romantic to me.

I step closer, and Lucien’s expression changes. His smile disappears as his attention drops to my mouth before snapping back to my eyes.

“What are you doing, kitty cat?”