“And I’m lucky to have you,” he said sweetly before zooming away to call his girlfriend.
My heart melted a little at that. Getting love from any cat—but especially Octo-Cat—was a rare treat, and I planned to savor every single second.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
At five o’clock on the dot, I pulled into the parking lot outside Charles’s law firm. He wasn’t expecting me, but that was part of the surprise.
It felt strange being back in the location where our love story had first begun—and also where I’d almost died and then woke up with the strange ability to talk to Octo-Cat. Yes, Longfellow& Associates had given me so much during my brief tenure there—love, friendship, a cat, a home, and access to an impressive trust fund—and for all of it, I would forever be grateful.
But today wasn’t about the associates, it was about Charles Longfellow, III, and me.
When he saw me enter the office, he jumped up from his desk and wrapped me in his arms.“What are you doing here? I was just about to sign off for the day and come to see you.”
“Kidnapping you. Now let’s go.”
“Sure. Just let me turn off—”
“Nope. Just lock the door and come with me. There’s no time to waste.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him along.
We settled into my car, and I began the drive.
“Where are we going?” he asked me with an enormous grin.
I shrugged, keeping my eyes straight ahead.“It’s not as fancy as what you had planned, but it’s very us.”
“Tell me. Tell me!” he whined playfully.
I took a deep breath and shook my head.“I won’t tell you what we’re doing, but I’ll explain why.”
“Okay, hit me.”
I licked my lips before continuing. I’d practiced this a couple times but still worried it would come out wrong.
“Well, we first met at the law firm, which is why we started there today. A lot of people meet at work, but our relationship has always been a bit different as you so rightly pointed out last weekend. And even though you’d wanted to spend a relaxing, romantic day together, we ended up spending that day in a veryus way—by throwing all our plans out the window and then helping those who needed it most. Think about it. When we first became friends, we got Brock Calhoun acquitted for murder and reunited a lost, little dog with his human. When we first became more, we saved Octo-Cat from a kidnapper and protected his trust fund from angry relatives. Last weekend, we ended up finding five abandoned kittens and one stray dog their forever homes.”
Charles nodded along, then frowned.“Yes. I guess you’re right about that. Do you ever wish we spent more time doing normal boyfriend-girlfriend stuff?”
“No way!” I protested. “I love you, and I love us. Exactly as we are.”
“I love you, too.” He squeezed my shoulder and leaned in to plant a kiss on my cheek, then asked, “So what are we doing for Valentine’s Day?”
“Haha, nice try,” I teased. “Don’t worry, though. We’re almost there.”
Ten minutes later, we arrived at our very favorite restaurant, the Little Dog Diner all the way over in Misty Harbor.
“This restaurant has always been special to us, too,” Charles observed as we approached the entrance hand in hand. “Remember when we came here after catching the real Hayes murderer?”
“I do. And do you remember who came with us?”
Just then we caught sight of Nan, Mr. Gable, and my parents as they waved from a big booth by the window.
Charles turned to me with a curious look.“I thought Nan and Grant were going on the date I’d originally planned for us.”
I squeezed his hand and rested my head on his shoulder for a moment.“Remember about helping people in need? Those two are still too nervous to be alone together, so we’re going to help break the ice. And you know another thing about us? We love to be with the people we love, so why not be with them on Valentine’s Day? Well, for a little while, at least.”
“We’re just staying for a quick drink.” My mom looked ravaging in a pink cable-knit sweater. I swear, only she could look glamorous in such simple winter attire. She gave me a tight hug and then kissed me on either cheek.
“Thank you again for setting up the ice castle dinner for us,” my father said, giving my boyfriend a manly hug and several fast pats on the back.
“We’re sharing,” I revealed the favorite part of my plan with a smile. “My parents are doing the dinner, and you and I get the string quartet.”
Charles laughed, and I jabbed him in the ribs.
“What? You think I’m going to pass-up a romantic starlight dance to all my favorite ‘80s classics?”
“No, I know you better than that.” After a moment, he asked, “You said that we were sharing the date I’d planned. What part do Nan and Grant get?”
“They’re going to have the snowball fight, of course. They need something more light-hearted to help them get comfortable dating again. It’s been a long time for both of them.” I eyed the new couple, glad to see they were holding hands across the booth. Maybe they didn’t need quite as much help as I’d expected.
“Take a seat, you two,” Nan urged, motioning for Charles and me to slide into the large booth with one hand while still hanging tight to Mr. Gable’s hand with the other.
The waitress came over and handed out waters all around.“I see the rest of your party has arrived. Are you ready to order?”
“Four lobster rolls for here and two to go,” I said as my mouth began to water in anticipation.
“Oh, that’s nice, sweetie,” Mom said, “But your dad and I don’t need anything to take home.”
“So just four for here?” the waitress asked, her pen raised over the little Steno pad in her grip.
“And two to go,” I confirmed with a sharp nod.
After she’d left, I whispered to Mom, “They’re not for you. They’re for paying the rest of my debts to a certain cat and his raccoon friend.”
12. LEGAL SEAGULL
Chapter One
It all started with a coffee maker that should have been tossed into the dumpster years ago. One fated zap from that thing, and I reawakened with the strange ability to speak with animals.
Ever since then, my life has been full of four-legged chatter. You’d think being able to understand animals would mean that I’d know more about the world around me, but instead I find myself knowing less and less as I’m tossed into one mystery after the other.
I guess that’s why I set up shop as a private investigator…
Oh, hi. My name’s Angie Russo, and I’d be remiss not to mention that my partner in solving crime is none other than my tabby cat, Octavius Maxwell Ricardo Edmund Frederick Fulton Russo, Esq, P.I. And much to his chagrin, I’ve taken to calling him Octo-Cat for short.
When Octo-Cat entered my life, he brought the first of many mysteries and a giant trust fund from his previous owner, for which I am now the guarantor. It pays our monthly bills and then some—including the giant Blueberry Bay manor house that he tricked me into buying. It’s a good thing his previous owner hooked us up because we’ve earned exactly zero dollars for our investigative efforts to date.
My grandmother, Nan, lives with us and uses her retirement funds to pitch in, even though I tell her not to. She keeps our kitchen stocked with fresh baked goods and our walls decorated with all kinds of quirky homemade art projects—yeah, she’s worked in everything from metal to hand-spun silk. She’s a bit of a character, but we can always count on Nan to keep things interesting for us all.