Page 22 of The Little Black Rose

“Yes, please,” Allison says, and I can feel her excitement.

It must be contagious, because my heart pounds as I nod and head into the common room to grab him. This could be it. I could finally be finding this sweet boy his forever home.

When I come out, I lead the couple to a private meet and greet room and leave them alone with Popeye. As I pull the door closed behind me, I look up to see Chuck and Hayley grinning from ear to ear. I lift a hand and cross my fingers, and they both return the gesture.

I try to keep myself busy for the next ten minutes, but my eyes constantly stray to the closed door. What’s going on in there? Is Popeye charming them with his sweet personality? Will they see past his disabilities and fall in love with him like everyone here atCurious Catsdid all those years ago?

When the door finally opens, Bruce emerges with a wide smile as Allison carries Popeye in her arms. He’s pliant and relaxed, nudging her chin with the top of his head as she laughs with delight.

“This is definitely our cat,” Bruce says, stopping before me. “We’d like to officially adopt him.”

I immediately burst into tears, and poor Bruce looks like he might want to bolt at the sudden theatrics. Great sobs shake through my body, and the two of them glance at each other nervously as I try to pull myself together.

“Sorry,” I huff on an exhale, before sniffing up the snot trying to leak from my nostrils. “I’m just so happy.”

Fucking pregnancy hormones.

“Oh, congratulations,” Allison says brightly, and I realize I mumbled those words out loud.

“Thank you,” I say tearily, then clear my throat. “Let’s get you started on that paperwork.”

* * *

By the timeI get toJonathon’sto meet Zeke, I’ve gotten my emotions back under control. Finding a home for Popeye has been a longtime dream of mine, but saying goodbye to him was harder than I’d expected. But Bruce and Allison promised to keep me updated on his next adventure, so overall, I’m happy.

When I walk into the bistro, I see Zeke sitting in a booth on the left. As if he senses me, he looks up and gives me a little wave as I approach. I slide onto the bench seat across from him, and he nods toward a glass of water.

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted.”

“This is perfect,” I say, plucking the lemon wedge from the rim of the glass and squeezing the juice into the water before taking a long drink.

A waiter appears, asking if I need time to look at the menu, and I shake my head. I order a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with a side of tater tots, a wedge salad, and a chocolate milkshake. Zeke orders a burger, and our waiter assures us our food will be out shortly before hurrying away.

“What?” I ask, studying Zeke’s wide smile with narrowed eyes. “I’m eating forthree.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he says with a chuckle, holding up his palms in submission.

“Mm-hmm,” I hum, making his smile grow even bigger.

“How have you been feeling?” he asks, wisely changing the subject.

“Great, actually,” I say, relaxing. “The morning sickness is gone,thank God, and I have more energy than I did a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s good,” he says. “Glad to hear my little apples aren’t giving their mama so much trouble.”

My heart trips at the affection in his tone, but I try to ignore the reaction. “Apples?”

“Yeah,” he says, lifting his glass of water to take a small sip. “They’re not little plums, anymore. They’re now the size of apples.”

“Still studying, I see,” I muse, my mouth curving up into a grin.

But Zeke doesn’t return it. In fact, his expression grows serious, making my heart trip again, but not in a good way like before.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Ava. Ihavebeen reading, learning everything I can about what you’re going through with this pregnancy, but I still feel like I’m on the outside, looking in. I don’t like having to text you every day to find out how you’re doing. And I especially don’t like limiting myself to only one text so I don’t drive you crazy.”

“What are you saying, Zeke?” I ask, dread spiraling through me as I try to dissect his words to find the meaning behind them and come up empty.

“Hear me out before you freak, okay?” he asks, and I nod slowly. “I think we should move in together.”

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