13. ALEXI

I wanted desperately to know the surprise. I was his assistant. I should have known. It wasn't on any of his calendars or emails. They were quite boring to look through. But no secrets to be found there—except for his birthday at the end of July.

"Are you excited?" he asked, catching me tucked into the desk, looking for clues. "Trying to find something?"

He already knew me so well. It was either a good thing, or a recipe for disaster. "Give me a hint."

"I've been giving you hints all day," he said, his voice turning low as he leaned across.

I grabbed his tie, dangling over the monitor. "What if I pulled it?" I asked.

"I'd probably fall, break the computer. There would be a bang, and—" he sighed.

"A bang," I said, trying to hide my smirk.

"That would hurt Daddy. You don't want to hurt me, do you?"

I gasped, shaking my head. "I don't want to hurt you. I'd never hurt anyone." I let go of his tie. "Would you hurt me?"

He smiled, kissing my forehead. "Never."

It was almost the end of the day, and my heart continued to race as thoughts drove themselves wild in my mind, they were swirling around, wondering what it was that he could have been promising. I was excited, but the type of excitement that came with anxiety, and a necessary dose of caffeine.

"Let's go," he said. "I'm finished for the day. Everything is being prepared. And remember, we're taking a day off tomorrow because we'll be working the weekend."

"A day off," I repeated. "But I just started."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Didn't I mention it?"

It made sense. His calendar for tomorrow was clear. I hadn't forgotten about the food festival, it's all he'd been talking about for a week now.

"Well," he said, "you'll have the day off too, so you can stay the night."

That was always a nice idea. "Is that the surprise?" I asked, hoping it was. Spending the night with him was always a gift, but it wasn't really a surprise.

"So, where are we going?" I asked. "You have to drive?"

He shook his head. "Nope, it's a short walk in the city. Another clue, maybe I've told you, but I have a friend from university, he's in charge of marketing, and this is something to do with that."

"Huh?" I froze in the chair, my hands clutching at the leather arms.

"You'll find out soon enough." He pulled me out from beneath the desk. His hands on the back of the chair wheeling me. "So, to show you that I listen, and I want to know you better, this is a surprise."

Suddenly everything I told him came to the front of my mind, and I didn't know what it could have been. I'd rarely spoke the first couple times we met, but since then, I felt like I'd come out of my shell. I was happy inside my shell, and now he was picking me out like one of those French snails with the garlic butter—damn, I was hungry.

On the short walk, which felt like an hour since my anxiety wouldn't allow my racing brain a single break. And, of course, trying to listen to Warren. It was a juggling act, and I had never been fond of the circus, so it was too much.

We stood outside a painted neon pink wall. The sign above the door. ‘Pink Paws' in yellow bubble letters. I was in awe, staring at the white painted paw prints climbing the glass. And inside, the same yellow and pink colour scheme. There were tables, there were a couple of people, and there were cats.

"Oh." I gasped. "Cats!"

"It's a cat café," he said, "soft open, not available to the public yet, so we're getting a view before everyone else."

"Cats!" I squealed, jumping at him. He wrapped his arms around me in a squeeze. I listened to the gentle inhale from his nose, seeming to inhale me. "I love cats."

"And kittens," he said against my ear. "It's basically open to us and a couple other people. Let's go."

I didn't need to be told twice. I grew up with a cat. I'd told him as much, only briefly. And I'd shown him pictures too. I clutched at the embroidery on my sweater. He was right; the clues were there; he'd been trying to tell me all day.

Inside, there was a heavenly smell. I couldn't place it, but it was my new favourite.

Along the side of the wall there was a small pen and inside it were the kittens. All different breeds and colours. I wanted them all.

Warren was already occupied greeting a man near the back of the room.

A woman in a pink T-shirt with the café logo approached me. "You want to go inside?" she asked.

"Yes—oh my god, yes." I couldn't chew her hand off fast enough for the opportunity.

"We're a new place, all the cats and kittens here are ones that haven't been adopted out," she said, "we also offer people to come in and donate, as well as purchase coffees and other treats, all of which supports the care of these cats."

"They're all small," I let out, not quite listening. I noted others sitting around tables on the other side. The older cats walked around on the tables, counters, and anything else they could climb.

"If you sit there," she pointed to the ledge with the back to the window, "they will come to you. They get free rein of the place, but the kittens stay in here for their safety."

There were around ten or twelve kittens, each one equal parts adorable and cute. Except for the one with the brown line down its back. That kitten had an attitude, clawing at the others.

"Hello," I said quietly once the woman left. I reached out, scooping a silver-white kitten into my hands. "Oh, aren't you a cutie." I stroked a hand down its back, looking at the attitude kitten. It glared. "I think that one is a bully."

"Didn't take long," Warren chuckled. I hadn't realised he was so close. "So, do you think it's a good surprise?"

"It's what my happy place feels like," I whispered. "I wish the colours were a bit nicer, but it's a nice place."

"They really took the pop from pop art," he said. He dipped to his knees, holding on the edge of the pen. "So, I was actually thinking, and I just spoke to my friend over there." He nodded to him.

"Oh, maybe I could work here." I let out a gasp. "You know, I think I would like it, and then—"

"No, no, I mean, sure," he said, "but, I was actually talking to him because he set aside some things for me, and I wanted to know if you'd like to adopt one of these kittens."

"What?" I yelped, startling the poor kitten in my hands.

Warren's warming hand on the side of my cheek. "I mean, these kittens are looking to be adopted, and you love kittens and cats. And a kitten would be easier to bond with."

"You mean it?"

"Absolutely. But—"

I looked away. I hated the other shoe dropping. I couldn't even look at the cute kitten curled up in my hands.

Warren's hand at my chin, stroking it in his direction. "Look at me."

"Yeah?"

"But it will have to stay at mine," he said, "which means you'll have to stay over more."

"Is this your way to get me to spend the night?" I asked, trying not to laugh. It was working, and tonight was already on the books for us. Besides, it's not like I could take a kitten back to my place. The room was only a little bigger than this kitten area.

He smirked like he knew what I'd thought. "So, pick a kitten, I have my friend drawing up the papers, and a nice donation to the place."

The one in my hands, that's the one I wanted. I nodded to it. "This one."

"Perfect," he said, giving the kitten a little stroke under the chin. "I don't have anything to worry about, do I?"

"No, what like?"

"You spending more time with the kitten than me."

Maybe he did have a little bit to worry about. It had been a while since I'd been around kittens, I'd forgotten just how loving they were. I didn't know if I wanted to be relied on like a parent to a kitten, but I also wasn't one to shy away from responsibility.

"I'm a kitten Daddy now," I said.

"Oh, you're a Daddy now, huh?" he bit his lip a little. "As long as you're my little in the bedroom."

I pouted, almost trying to tease him with my lip. "Always."

Warren puckered his lips and gave me air smooches before being called to.

Alone with my kitten, I wondered what this meant for our relationship. Getting a pet was a step in the relationship department, and an extra knot in my stomach. I was happy to surf the wave of enjoying time with him, but now I needed him to define the relationship, and tell me what the kitten meant.