“Huh. I thought they only did that on TV.”
“Paige doesn’t have…the best judgment. I don’t know if she only dates guys who are all wrong for her or if she hasn’t quite learned that men are not exactly at their most truthful when filling out their online dating profiles. Either way, she goes on a lot of bad dates.”
“Yikes.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Paige is great. One of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll ever meet. She was one of Lauren’s bridesmaids at the wedding, actually.”
Josh frowned. He had missed the wedding and was still upset about it. He’d flown to Chicago two days before to interview at one of the big law firms there, figuring he and Megan could save their relationship if he moved with her, even though he had the job at DCL waiting for him in New York. Not only had he completely bombed in the interview and not gotten the job, but a massive storm had blown through the Midwest and grounded a bunch of flights, and Josh couldn’t get anywhere near the East Coast until the day after the wedding. So he’d missed his own sister’s wedding and had not gotten the job or the girl in the end.
Caleb shrugged. “She’s smart and together most of the time. Just not when it comes to her love life.”
Lauren put her phone on the table. “No fake emergency needed. He stood her up.”
“Wow,” said Caleb.
Josh laughed, a little surprised at all this. He and Lauren had always been close, but many years of living in different cities meant they weren’t up to date with each other’s friends or personal lives. This was also quite different from life at the law firm, but in a refreshing way. Nice to talk about friends’ misguided dating decisions instead of depositions and briefs. “Anyway, you were saying about the pastry chef?”
Lauren waved her hand. “It’s all boring work stuff. Not important. How’s the job going?”
Josh would rather have gossiped about strangers than talk about work, but he said, “It’s pretty interesting. I just wish I didn’t keep getting stuck at the office after hours to get everything done. On the other hand, I just made a huge student loan payment. So, silver lining.”
“Oof,” said Lauren.
“But actually, there is something you can help me with. My boss is urging all the associates to do some kind of volunteer work, because DCL gives back to the community.” Josh added some sarcasm, which made Lauren chuckle. “You work with a lot of animal rescue organizations, right? Can you think of any opportunities?”
Lauren nodded. “My friend Mitch runs an organization that traps, neuters, and returns feral cats. He’s doing an event next Thursday. He dropped off brochures at the café yesterday. I can email you the details.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It can be, but he trains everyone before he puts them to work.”
“Have you ever done it?”
Lauren shook her head.
“I did events like that a few times when I lived in Boston,” said Caleb. “A lot of it is just setting up traps and waiting around for the cats to walk into them.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound too hard.”
“Then I’m one of the vets who actually neuters them and has to deal with them when they come out of anesthesia. So you have the easy job.”
Caleb’s tone was light, but Josh took his point. “Fair enough.”
“The feral cats don’t usually bite too hard,” said Lauren, a twinkle in her eye.
“Gee, thanks.”
Cat and Mouse
On sale December 2021
Acknowledgments
This book would not have happened without Cat Clyne, who was the first to suggest a cat café as the setting for a romance series and start my brain down the path that led to Whitman Street. I also want to thank Deb Werksman for her guidance and enthusiasm when she took over this project in Cat’s stead. And thank you to my agent, Moe Ferrara, for her feedback and help getting this series out into the world.
The Whitman Street Cat Café is very loosely based on the Brooklyn Cat Café on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. I invented a lot of the details in my cat café, but I drew inspiration from the real-life café’s mission to rescue and find forever homes for the city’s cats. As of this writing, the Brooklyn Cat Café is the only cat café in the city run by an animal rescue organization. And as the pet parent of two shelter cats myself, it’s a mission I believe in strongly. Please consider donating or volunteering at an animal shelter near you!
And finally, I want to thank my Writing Gals: Rayna, Tere, Libby, Sabrina, and Holly. You guys are all amazing, your support and encouragement mean the world to me, and you have kept me sane through some truly difficult times. Go team!
About the Author
Kate McMurray writes smart, savvy romantic fiction. She likes creating stories that are brainy, funny, and of course, sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities. She advocates for romance stories by and for everyone. When she’s not writing, Kate edits textbooks, watches baseball, plays violin, crafts things out of yarn, and wears a lot of cute dresses. Kate’s gay romances have won or finaled several times in the Rainbow Awards for LGBT fiction and nonfiction. She also served in the leadership of Romance Writers of America. Kate lives in Brooklyn, New York, with two cats and too many books.
Website: katemcmurray.com
Facebook: facebook.com/katemcmurraywriter
Twitter: @katemcmwriter
Pinterest: pinterest.com/katem1738
Instagram: @katemcmurraygram
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