Autumn - In Love With My Boss (An Office Romance)| Completed

Chapter 40 - Autumn

Awkward. Terribly awkward. That is the situation as James' brother and I stroll through the endless aisles of the kids store. We don't know what to talk about, so for the most part, we just don't speak, unless it is about an item we think Julie might like. Such as now.

There is an oversized bright pink cat sitting on the top shelf, its blue eyes glaring down at us. I remember the cat-shaped earrings she wore at the ice rink, and how I concluded that pink must be her favorite color, since everything that girl wore was that same shade.

I try to reach the stuffed animal but fail miserably due to my rather short size.

Jake, who is standing right behind me, chuckles. "Let me."

I step aside and grant him access to the plush feline. He doesn't even have to stretch to be able to grab it. He is as tall as his brother. Must be a family gene.

"Do you think she would like this?" I inquire.

"I bet," Jake nods. "She likes everything cats. Her favorite animal. She's crazy about those fur balls. In fact, she's always wanted to have one, but Fiona," he makes a disapproving sound, "never allowed it. Too dirty, too much trouble."

Staring down at the pink toy, the metaphorical light bulb in my head was being flicked on. Right there, I'm convinced I have the best idea ever.

"What is it?" Jake asks amused. "You suddenly look so..." He pauses to find the right expression. "Enlightened."

Facing him, I grin. "I just got an idea. Let's go pay."

I snatch the stuffed animal out of his hand, push it randomly between several colorful bears, and steer our cart toward the register.

"What are we doing here?" he wants to know as we step through the doors of the local animal shelter.

"We're getting a cat," I inform him briefly.

I'm not really sure what's so funny about this, but Jake can't hold it in. He laughs so hard he can't breathe.

"You're crazy," he declares, catching his breath.

"Why?" Suddenly I'm not so confident in my plan anymore. "You think it's not a good idea?"

His head jolts from side to side. The man is snickering again.

"No, I think it's a perfect idea. James will be thrilled."

"Oh." I stop in my tracks to look up to him. "He doesn't like cats? Is he allergic?"

Damn, why can't he just stop chuckling and give me a helpful answer.

"No, he's not allergic." Finally, he pulls himself together. "And he does like animals. He's just never had a pet since he was a kid."

"Why not?"

He shrugs his broad shoulders. "No reason, just never thought about getting one, I guess."

"Do you think he will be mad if I get one for Julie?"

For a moment, he contemplates my question, then smiles encouragingly down at me.

"No. No, he will not be mad. To be honest, I doubt there is much you could do to make him angry."

Butterflies. All of a sudden, they're fluttering all around my stomach.

"What ... what do you mean by that?"

He tilts his head, as if that was a silly thing to ask.

"He's too much in love with you to get mad at you over a harmless little kitten."

Unfortunately, there are no chairs in the entry area of the shelter, let alone a bench, so I have to keep standing on my far-too-jello-like legs.

Jake is a good observer and notices my being flustered right away.

"He hasn't said it yet, has he?"

Unable to make my vocal cords respond, I shake my head.

"Don't worry about that." His hand makes a dismissive motion. "He will. He hasn't said it yet because he probably is still trying to figure out what's going on. He simply hasn't realized it yet, but I have. I know him just as well as I know myself, maybe even better, and man, I can tell you that I have never seen my brother as deeply in love before. Not even when he was about to get married. A cat won't change that."

I really, really want to sit now. How am I supposed to process something like this in the entry hall of an animal shelter, people with dogs on leashes trying to get past us?

"Are you alright?" Jake examines me closely. "You look a bit pale."

It seems like some uncomfortable thought pops into his mind, since his expression grows serious now.

"Do you not feel the same for him?"

What?

"Oh, I do!" I reply quickly and maybe a little bit too loud. A staff member turns her head into our direction. Inhaling deeply, I add quietly, "I do. I love him. I love him so much that I would do anything for him. I guess that's why we're here. I want him to be happy. And I want his daughter to be happy. He asked me to go shopping for her, to make her feel at home at his place. I don't want to disappoint him, so I guess that's why I got that silly idea of getting a cat. It's way over the top, I know."

"It's not silly," he insists. "You just want everything to be perfect. And perfect it will be. Boy, Julie will be over the moon when she sees her new friend."

I regard him questioningly, but he just lays his arm around my shoulder and says, "Let's go get a cat."