End of Story(43)

“I saw.”

The man could stalk me on social media all he liked. It made me smile. Though my happiness didn’t last for long, as I recalled what I did next. “Then I walked a few blocks east to the legal offices mentioned on the divorce certificate.”

“Really?” His brows descended. “How was that?”

“The place definitely exists. Though it’s currently just Johnson and Cavanagh. I needed to see it for myself, but... I don’t know. Mostly, it just made me feel sad.”

“Did you show them the certificate?”

“Yes. Turns out the lawyer I met was Charlotte Yeoh. The third name in the law office’s title on our mystery divorce certificate. She thought I was pranking her. But she did say that if it wasn’t for the date and the name change, she’d have thought it was real.”

His brows drew together.

“Make of that what you will.”

For a long moment he said nothing. “I would have gone with you if you’d told me.”

“Thanks, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Thought it was best I went on my own.”

“Okay,” he said. “Guess if a professional authenticator couldn’t tell if it was a forgery then a lawyer probably wouldn’t say anything differently.”

“I guess so. Do you really still think someone’s playing a trick on us?”

He sighed. “Be rational. What else could it be?”

“But neither of the official people I showed it to could explain it.”

“There’s got to be another answer. I refuse to believe in magical documents appearing from the future.”

I just shrugged.

“Hear anything from Austin?”

“He called yesterday. Said his friend at the guitar shop gave it a clean and a service and it was all good. Thank God.” My fingers toyed with the hem of my skirt. “There’s a small chance I don’t always react well to stressful situations. Thank you for talking me down. And for asking Tore to help.”

“You’re fine,” he said. “Did Austin ask you out again?”

“Yes. I said no.”

Lars said nothing. He rested his elbows on his thighs, his head turned to watch me. But a careful distance remained between us. The cat used it to saunter back and forth, rubbing herself against his body.

“Look at her, she’s all over you,” I said, amused. “Acting like she’s been treated badly. I gave her steak cut up into tiny bite-size pieces yesterday. There is nothing wrong with this feline’s life. Even the vet said she’s in excellent health considering.”

He stretched out his fingers and gave her a scratch. “When are you going to name her?”

“If I pick something she’ll probably just ignore me.”

“You want me to do it?”

“Go for it,” I said.

“Hmm. That’s a big responsibility.”

“I believe in you.”

He picked up the cat and held her in front of his face. Of course the little monster started purring real loud. “I’m going to name you Kat with a K. Kat the cat. It’s in honor of the girl who lived across the street when I was a kid. She was a handful. Her name was Kate, but she’d only ever answer to Kat. Drove her mom wild.”

“Kat with a K. That’s ridiculous, but I’ll allow it. Mind you, I’ll sound like an idiot calling for her. The whole neighborhood will mock me.”

“I’m sorry about Friday night at the bar,” he said, tone sober. “Guess I didn’t really understand before. I’ve known him a long time and he’s only ever been a good friend to me.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry I asked you to stay in a situation where you were the target of that bullshit. It won’t happen again.”

“Let’s talk about something else.” Thunder echoed in the distance and the first drops of rain fell. “Would you like to come in?”

“Sure.”

As soon as the front door opened, Kat darted inside.

“What I’d like is to take you out to dinner,” he said, wiping the soles of his shoes on the mat.

“Or I could cook something and we could hang out here,” I counteroffered.

“Would that feel like less of a date to you?”

“Yes.”

He laughed and followed me into the kitchen. “At least it’s not just me you don’t want to date,” he said. “That does actually make me feel better.”

“I’m here with you, aren’t I?” I opened the fridge door and said, “Have you considered that maybe your friendship is so important to me that I don’t want to risk it by dating?”

“But you’ll risk it with sex?”

“I’m only mortal, Lars. I have needs. And I know you said to be rational, but what if the divorce certificate is in fact the great beyond’s way of saying not to push things between us?”

He just sighed.

“Now, we’ve got Seattle Strong Cold Brew or Reuben’s Super Crush Hazy IPA. What are you in the mood for? Coffee or beer?”

Instead of answering, he stared at me. There was neither a smile nor a frown on his face. Just this quiet kind of thoughtfulness.

“Lars?”