Page 101 of Actually Yours

I stop and she looks bemused and a little scared.What does she think I’m about to say?

“The next step?” she stutters.

“Yes, I think we should…”

Her hands are trembling in mine and I forge ahead, putting her out of her misery. “We should get a cat together!”

Her pretty mouth falls open. “A cat?”

I grin at her, pleased that I’ve caught her off guard. “Yes, a cat.”

“Together?”

“Yes.”

She shakes her head slightly, trying to get her bearings. “But I can’t have a cat. I kill all things I look after.”

And this is the reason we need to do this. Even after all the therapy and every piece of evidence to the contrary, Amelia stillthinks she is incapable of giving enough love to another person. Or animal.

“That’s complete rubbish, and you know it.”

She shakes her head, more firmly this time. “I can’t have pets in this apartment, Jake.”

I put my arm around her, tucking her into my side. “That’s where the ‘we’ comes into it. I said we should get a cat. As in you and me…”

“We’d share custody?”

OK, this is getting annoying.

“Yes, we’d share custody because we’d be living together.”

She squeals, and a laugh is torn from me. That’s the reaction I’d been hoping for.

“You want to live together? With me?”

I want to do more than just live together, if the diamond ring I’ve been hiding in my bedside drawer is anything to go by. But with Amelia, I know we need to take baby steps. Adopting a cat and living together seems the most natural next step.

“I do.”

She thinks about it for so long, a trickle of sweat runs down my back.Is there a chance I misread this, and she’s going to say no?

“Yes!”

My heart sings in response to this one word.

“Yes?”

“Yes, Jake, I want to live with you and get a cat. Maybe we can get two…?” Her brain is off and running, filled with thoughts of running a feline hotel if what she’s saying is anything to go by.

“Let’s start with the one and go from there.”

She nods and snuggles back into me. “So, should I move into your place…?” She sounds uncertain again.

“How about we get a place that’s just our own? A fresh start, somewhere we can make new memories together?”

She bites her lip; a sign of relief and I know we’re doing the right thing. My place, while having so many wonderful memories of our time together, is also shrouded by memories of her time with him. With Robby.

“I’ve been looking online for a while.”About five and a half months.“And I found a place close to your salon, and Love, Lilly, and it has a cute enclosed yard out the back for the one cat we’re getting.” I emphasise the wordone, pulling out my phone to show her the real estate ad for a place that I’ve already fallen in love with. I can just picture the two of us living there together, making a life and raising a family. It’s a crystal-clear image in my mind.

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