“Maybe I don’t want to go on dates.” Her eyes drifted to the left.
Courtney wanted to get right up in her face and say, “Liar, liar pants on fire.” Instead, she said, “That’s what we all say.”
Juni nodded. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
Courtney pointed at the Jaybird’s owner. “You need to find a manager. As long as you’re stuck behind that bar, you’re never going to have a life.”
Juni nodded. “I’ve come to that conclusion myself, and I’m already taking steps to change my life. So the question is: What about you?”
“Well, I tried to adopt a cat.”
Juni rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count. That’s just trying to conform to some stupid meme that isn’t true anyway. And besides, not everyone is a cat person.”
“I was making progress with Aramis until Matt Lyndon moved in next door. Honestly, the guy seduced my cat.”
“Really? I don’t see him with cats.” Juni’s eyebrow arched, and for some reason—probably Courtney’s frustrated libido—the angle of that arch reminded her of Matt. She envied Juni’s ability to move her eyebrows in two different directions at the same time. Oh, the things she could accomplish with recalcitrant brides if she could stare them down that way.
Courtney pulled the cherry from her drink and popped it in her mouth. A moment later she said, “Now that Aramis has moved into his house, Matt has two cats. And you know what?” Courtney picked up her drink and took another healthy swig.
“What?”
“Single guys with cats is a thing. Who knew?”
“Really? I always thought guys with cats were, I don’t know, kinda wimpy or something. But I guess you’re right—if the single cat lady meme is stupid, then so is the single cat man meme, right?”
Courtney nodded her head. “I kid you not, there are articles all over the Internet about men with cats. The new consensus is that these men are hot. I don’t know what to do with this. I mean, Matt is clearly a Hook-up Artist, but he also classifies as a Cat Guy. And according to many sources, a girl could do worse. I mean, think about it. A Cat Guy would have to clean the cat’s litter box and pick up hair balls. That has huge implications.”
“You’re right. I never thought of that before.”
“And a guy with a cat isn’t always trying to prove how macho he is either.”
Juni nodded. “Uh-huh. That’s true. Matt’s very confident in his masculinity.”
“And, when you think about it, a Cat Guy is probably super sensitive to people’s moods.”
“You mean like when we get grumpy on a monthly basis?”
“Uh-huh. I think that’s important.”
“Yeah, it probably is.”
“And a Cat Guy isn’t super needy either. I mean he has a cat, not a dog, right?”
“Yup, definitely.” Juni continued to nod with a goofy smile on her face. The evil eye had disappeared.
“Damn. I could probably go for a Cat Guy, if it weren’t for the cats.”
“Since when do you have a problem with cats?”
“Since Aramis. The little stinker.” Courtney propped her head on her fist and drew circles in the condensation from her glass. “He ran away after only five days in my care.”
“You know, that’s not long enough to draw any conclusions.”
“You’re probably right. And Matt said he’d tried to return him. But who knows if he was truly sincere. Maybe he only tries when he knows I’m at work. Maybe I should assert my rights to the cat.”
“Honey, I think you should do more than that.”
“Really?”
“What have you got to lose? And besides, if Cat Guys are a thing, then research is required. And who’s going to do the research if not you? I mean, you may have to add Cat Guys to your list of man types.”
“I never thought of that before.” Courtney sat a little straighter in her chair.
Just then Ryan Pierce strolled through the front doors. “Okay, my work is through here,” Juni said. “Let me know how it works out.”
The Jaybird’s owner turned, her lacy top billowing as she moved to the far end of the bar, away from Ryan Pierce’s usual spot. A moment later, Steve, the Sunday bartender, returned from the stockroom, and Juni disappeared into her office.
Ryan watched this ballet, his eyes focused on Juni with a yearning that was so clear it was hard to ignore. Courtney had seen him look in that direction before, but he never did anything about it. And Juni was clearly uninterested.
Courtney gulped down the last of her drink and then glanced at her watch. It was almost eleven o’clock. Did Cat Guys go to bed early on Sundays?
She hoped not.
Chapter Ten
Matt left the family brunch at Charlotte’s Grove determined to head off his mother and aunt before they foisted some kind of sissy decorator on him. Neither of them seemed to understand that he didn’t want their help or their money. For once in his life, he wanted to be a normal guy, furnishing his first solo apartment the way anyone else would. By taking a trip to IKEA and buying some stylish but inexpensive furniture.
Just because he had a trust fund didn’t mean he had to behave like a trust fund baby. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Mom pay for his furniture. If he wanted to earn Dad’s respect, he would do this on his own.
The way Dad had. Mom came from a wealthy family, but Dad had never touched one penny of Mom’s money. This explained why Matt and his brothers had grown up in a modest split-level home instead of a big mansion like Charlotte’s Grove or the sprawling hilltop compound that Uncle Jamie had built for himself.
Dad would appreciate the fact that Matt stood up to Mom and Aunt Pam. And even though it might hurt Mom’s feelings, he had to do it. He had to be independent.
So he asked Uncle Jamie if he could borrow his truck a second time, and Jamie agreed, no questions
