Page 14 of Fundamentals in Flirting

“Fine, I’ll keep her here in my flat for a couple of days. But you have to try and find her owner, agreed?” He nodded. “If you can’t find anyone, I’ll give the cat shelter a ring and they can rehome her, ok?”

“Ok. They won’t, you know…” He gave the universal sign of death by running his finger across his throat, before giving the cat a concerned look as if she might know what we were talking about. “Will they?”

“They’ll try and find a new home for her first. She’s pretty and fairly friendly, so I’m sure they’ll find someone.”

Teddy was now absently tickling the chin of the cat, a loud rumbling purr building up inside her body while she closed her eyes in total bliss.

“She likes you. You should keep her.”

“Er, no. My place is a building site – no good for a cat,” he protested, before adding softly (as if we were naming our firstborn child), “What should we call her?”

“I’ve logged her as ‘Fraser’ in the system,” I said, cleaning up the consulting table and chucking the used swabs into the clinical waste bin.

“You can’t call a girl cat Fraser,” Teddy admonished, and the tortoiseshell minx purred loudly as he crooned softly down at her.

“What do you suggest?”

“How about Hannah?”

“Hannah Fraser?”

“It has a ring to it, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, like a death knell, Ted,” I muttered, and he laughed, the deep luxuriant sound causing a ripple in my mind. I smiled in return. We stared at each other until I dropped my head away to look in the cupboard for a plastic collar to stop the cat scratching at her wound.

“It’s nice when you smile, Hannah,” Teddy murmured, almost tenderly, from somewhere above my head.

I’d lost count of the number of times I’d been told to smile more, or how much better I’d look if I just smiled. And when the universally awful phrase of“Smile – it might never happen”, was uttered in my presence, I could feel myself getting more than a little bit murdery.

“Do not come up with some ill-thought-out simile, Teddy, whatever you do.”

“Would I?”

“Yes, you really would.” Straightening, I gave him a pointed look. “We’re not calling her Hannah. How about Tramp, as she has no fixed abode?”

“No!” He looked aghast.

“Lady?”

“Fine.”

“Right, I’m starving and I should get her ladyship upstairs. You can pay your bill with Jenny on reception.”

“Ok, I can do that. But why don’t I help you get her settled and then buy you dinner in the pub?”

I stared blankly at him for a moment.

“As a thank-you for dealing with my first highly traumatic veterinary emergency, and to apologise for being a crap cat wrangler,” Teddy added. His smile was coy, seductive, enticing. Dangerous.

“You don’t have to do that,” I responded uncomfortably, twitching. I was itching to run away.

“I know, but I’d like to. Plus, I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to bribe you into not telling anyone that I nearly passed out in your consulting room.”

It was tempting. I had a frozen macaroni cheese ready meal waiting for me, but an awkward, intimate dinner with Teddy Fraser was most definitely the last thing I needed right now.

“Come on, Hannah. I’m not that bad. I can be charming, and I’m pretty funny,” he coaxed. “I promise not to liken you to any dubious professions and I’ll be on my best behaviour, Scout’s honour.”

He did the Scout Association salute. I remained mute.

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