Chapter 5
The rest of the day flew by for Via, mostly because the café was busy until closing time. Great for business and excellent
for her state of mind. Sir had even behaved himself once Leo left. With the exception of a couple of stops and meows at the
side door, he took several long catnaps during the afternoon.
Birdie and Dora were curious about her conversation with Leo, but Via made sure to dodge them. She even cleaned out the kitty
litter boxes an extra, unneeded time—she was that desperate not to answer any questions. And she could tell Birdie and Dora
were filled with them. Too bad, that’s what they got for their preposterous behavior. Harvard Boy and Smitten Kitten? What
was Birdie thinking?
But after Dora left to meet Charlie for dinner and Via had locked up the café, she was thinking about Leo again. She was surprised
to find out he was only thirty-one. He seemed so put together. So accomplished. She didn’t have an MBA from Harvard but she
did have a bachelor’s in business. Becoming a hedge fund manager was no easy feat, and in Los Angeles no less.
She didn’t regret agreeing to help Leo, though.
She’d wanted to organize Second Chapter soon after she and Earl became friends, but he wasn’t interested.
Eventually she realized there was a method to his madness and she didn’t want to upend his haphazard system.
But autumn was a busy time at the café and in her personal life.
She even had a bucket list of fall activities—something she’d started when she moved back home.
Many of them were things Trevor refused to do when they were dating, like going to a pumpkin patch, walking through a corn
maze, and camping under the stars. He thought they were too boring, time wasting, and had no value. He also didn’t want her
doing them by herself and would come up with activities he wanted to do that she wasn’t interested in. Like going to lectures
about some obscure historical event in Europe. Because he was a professor of medieval history, it made sense he would enjoy
that type of entertainment, but lectures put her to sleep.
Wasn’t that what love was all about, though? Setting aside self-interests for the sake of someone else? She still believed
that. Trevor certainly didn’t. After they broke up she was astounded by how much they didn’t have in common. She’d been swayed
by his good looks, smooth talking, and unrelenting attention whenever she caught him in a lie or a misdeed. Love bombing,
she’d later learned it was called.
She scowled. Ever since Leo showed up, her ex continued to plague her thoughts. Better to get their discussion over with so
she could stop thinking about both of them.
Via glanced around the café. The eight cats currently living here were doing what they usually did after they had their dinner—relaxing
and snoozing. Only Luna and Juniper, a Maine coon rescue, were wandering about. Mochi, a sweet tabby with a nick in her ear,
was reclining on one of the cat shelves, chewing on a catnip toy. They were all getting settled in for the night.
“C’mon, Sir,” she said, motioning to the side door, only to stop in front of it. He sat by her feet while she decided what to do. Wait for Leo in the café? Meet him in Second Chapter? She should have specified. She’d check the bookstore first and if he wasn’t there, then she’d go upstairs.
But when she opened the door, Leo was standing there, holding a plastic bag and a drink carrier. Instead of his Harvard sweatshirt,
he had on a plain black one and a pair of slightly baggy jeans. Very dressed down for a Harvard boy, but she was finding out
he could look hot in anything. Sir immediately started weaving between his legs, but Leo didn’t seem to notice.
“I brought dinner, if you’re hungry,” he said.
This was a nice surprise—both the dinner and his thoughtfulness. “Thank you,” she said, and opened the door wider. “I’ll turn
the lights back on.”
“You sure? I’d offer the bookstore, but we’d have to disinfect it.” He shook his head. “Sorry. That was—”
“Accurate,” she said. “I haven’t been in there since January. I can only imagine the dust.”
He followed her into the lounge and set the bag and drinks on a table as she went to flip on the light switches. The kitties
stayed in place. Toffee didn’t even go to greet him. It was like they had accepted him into the cat family already.
“Do I need to get plates? Utensils?” Via asked.
“No, it’s all in here.” He pulled out the two Styrofoam cups with lids and straws and set them on the table, followed by two
square containers.
“Are those from the Corner Eatery?”
He picked a four-seater table and Sir parked himself on one of the chairs. All the cats knew they weren’t allowed on top of
any of the tables.
“Is that okay? It was convenient.”
“They have great food.” She sat down across from him and he put a container in front of her. She opened it. “Chicken fried
steak?”
Leo nodded and handed her a drink. “Orange soda. Or pop, as I was informed it’s called in Pecan Corner.”
“How did you know these were my favorites?”
He opened his container to reveal a plain hamburger and fries. “I asked your sister.”
“When?”
“Right before I left. You were busy with customers.” He grabbed the bag and fished out the ketchup packets. “Did you want
something else? I can run down there and get it.”
“No, this is great.” She unwrapped the plastic fork, knife, and napkin. The chicken fried steak from the Eatery was so tender
the plastic would cut it with ease. “Did she say anything else?”
“Dora?” He dipped a fry in ketchup. “No. Just told me to make sure you had extra gravy.”
She looked at her steak. Sure enough, there was a gravy cup by the mashed potatoes. Thank goodness her sister stuck to her
food order and hadn’t said anything embarrassing. Between hitting Leo with a lampshade, thrusting her hands in his hair, being
near tears with him in front of Bennett’s office, having a cat that was obsessed with him, and the worst one, being called
Smitten Kitten in his presence . . . she’d had enough humiliation for one day. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.” He bit into the fry and glanced at Sir, then smirked. “We’re being watched.”
Sure enough, Sir’s face was poking over the edge of the table as he sat between her and Leo. She smiled at her goofy cat.
“He thinks if he plays cute, he’ll get a nibble.”
“Does it work?”
“Every time.” She pinched off the tiniest piece of steak and held it out to him. He delicately took it. Then she dug into
her food and she and Leo ate in silence for a few minutes. He quickly plowed through half his fries.
Via sensed he was waiting for her to bring up Second Chapter, reminding her of his offer to sell. If she could, she’d buy
the building in less than a heartbeat. But Pawsitive Vibes had just started to show a profit two months ago. She had the loan
she’d taken out for the business, the loan she’d taken out to pay Earl, and after her business and personal expenses were
paid, including reimbursing her parents, she barely had any margin. A third loan was impossible.
He took another bite of his hamburger. “Wow, this is really good.”
“Best in town. Also the only restaurant in town.” She smiled. “Good thing it’s all delicious. They’re short on alfalfa sprouts,
though.”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that a thing in California?” She scooped creamy mashed potatoes onto her fork.
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not into eating grass.” Then after a pause, “Are you still willing to help with
Second Chapter?”
She nodded. “If you still need me.”
He wiped his fingers and set the napkin on the table. Sir Meow started to paw at the thin paper, but Leo smoothly swiped it
away from the cat without a glance. “Cleaning and organizing the bookstore is the priority. Bennett also gave me a short list
of books he thought might be, um, useful.”
Odd, but then again that was Earl. He probably had lists of books all over the place. There had to be some way he kept track of his business. She cut into her steak. “Anything else?”
“I’ll take care of the apartment. I took the month off to—”
“A whole month? I thought you had to get back to California ASAP?”
“My boss has been bugging me to take a vacation, so I decided I might as well do it now.” Leo’s gaze scanned the café. He
was looking everywhere except at her.
Her spidey senses started tingling a little, and that wasn’t good. “Cleaning a bookstore and apartment is a vacation?”
“Well . . .” Leo grabbed another fry and glanced at her. “I figured I’d get to know Pecan Corner. Maybe take a trip to Cleveland,
or even Lake Erie. Gather information that will be helpful when I list the property.”
“I thought you were a hedge fund manager,” she said.
“I am. But I have background in real estate. I haven’t dealt with properties in several years, but I keep my license up to
date.”
He was even more accomplished than she thought. And what he said made sense. But it also seemed like a lot of work for a guy
who until now had wanted to speed out of town. A whole month was a long time, even if it went quickly. Her niggle of doubt
grew. “Is your wife okay with that?” She wasn’t being subtle, but she had been wondering.
“I’m not married,” he said around a mouthful. “No girlfriend either.”
She felt her lips turn up in a smile at that news. Quickly she stopped herself. She had no business being happy he was single.
“Via, I don’t want this project to interfere with anything or . . . anyone.”
More blank eyes from him, but his comment seemed loaded. “It’s just me, myself, and I,” she said. “And Sir, of course.”
“Of course.” He pushed away the container, still sounding reserved, as if they’d mentioned their stock portfolios instead of their personal lives. Not that she had a stock portfolio.
“Guess all that’s left is to figure out a schedule,” he said.
Via appreciated that he liked a plan. She did too, and was firm about sticking to her calendar, with few exceptions. But she
still wasn’t sure he was being as candid as he appeared. She couldn’t pinpoint why, and she certainly didn’t trust her own