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Kat couldn’t stop smiling at the vision of Janice sitting on her couch, Bubbles draped across her lap. After the uncertainty and dread of the past twenty-four hours, this was the reward and it was well worth it.
Lucy looked equally thrilled by their neighbor’s safe return. She kept bouncing on the couch next to Kat and flexing her fingers as if she wanted to rush across the living room and envelop Janice in yet another hug. Kat figured the only thing stopping her was Tom. The big cat was curled up in Lucy’s lap, and every time Lucy shifted positions Tom hooked his paw over her knee as though to keep her in place.
Matty was the only one present who seemed troubled by Janice’s reappearance. Although, in truth, Kat figured Matty’s sour expression and retreat to the top of the cat tree had more to do with Bubbles than Janice. Despite how Bubbles hadn’t given the tortoiseshell a second glance since he’d bounded out of Kat’s bedroom to be joyfully reunited with his human, his presence alone was enough to disrupt Matty’s peace.
Bubbles barked, and Matty’s tail puffed up. Kat would have thought the tortoiseshell would be used to the dog’s exclamations by now. Since Janice had arrived, Kat didn’t think Bubbles had gone two minutes without voicing his pleasure at having her back. It was as though he needed to remind himself that he was awake and his human’s return wasn’t part of a dream.
Janice fingered the dog’s ears. “I missed you too, Baby Bubs. You’re Mommy’s whole world.”
Matty climbed down from the cat tree and started toward the bedroom, evidently unable to stand another minute of this disgustingly happy reunion.
Janice’s grin stretched from ear to ear as she looked across the room at Kat. “I can’t thank you enough for watching over Bubbles while I was away. I was so worried about him.”
“He was no trouble at all,” Kat assured her.
Matty paused on her way to the bedroom to glower at Kat. Clearly the feline had a different opinion.
Kat reached over the side of the couch to give Matty a pat before the tortoiseshell resumed her retreat. “Bubbles was the perfect houseguest. I thought with all the stress he was under he might have an accident or be inclined to tear up stuff, but he never misbehaved once.”
“He’s my rock.” Janice ruffled the dog’s fur. “All I could think about during my interview with Andrew was how anxious I was to see him again.”
Kat nodded. Neither she nor Cameron had been surprised when Janice had announced her intention to report Cameron for what he’d done. “You were down at the station for a good three hours,” Kat said.
A cloud darkened Janice’s face. “Yeah, well, I had a lot to say. Although I guess I should be somewhat grateful to Cameron for not hurting my baby.”
Lucy stiffened. “Did he threaten to?”
Janice shook her head. “Cam told me Bubbles was fine as soon as I came to in that bedroom and realized what had happened, but I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. I was still reeling from the discovery that he’d kidnapped me, and I wasn’t about to make the mistake of blindly trusting him again. I mean, what kind of man holds a woman for ransom as a publicity stunt?”
Lucy’s hands clenched on top of Tom. “A crazy one.”
Tom twisted around to lick Lucy’s fingers until she gradually relaxed.
Janice sighed as she sagged against the couch. “I should have seen the signs sooner. Cam was always telling me how there was no such thing as bad publicity, and that fame was linked to how often a person ended up in the news. I thought those speeches he was always spewing off were just pep talks, but I guess he really meant what he said.”
“You couldn’t possibly have guessed he would go to such extremes.” Kat grimaced. “I should have guessed though. The first time Bubbles barked at him I thought he was upset because Cameron had practically run us over. But he was really telling me the man was trouble.”
Janice gave Bubbles a kiss. “Poor baby. He must have seen Cameron carrying me out of the apartment after he’d drugged me.”
Bubbles whimpered, then pressed closer to Janice.
“Hey, I almost forgot,” Janice said, looking at Kat. “Happy birthday.”
Affection warmed Kat’s insides. “Having you back is the best gift ever.”
“I’m sorry I missed your celebration.”
Lucy snickered. “You didn’t miss much. Trust me. Kat here had us brushing cats all night.”
“Compared to my Friday night, yours sounds like pure heaven,” Janice replied.
The three women fell silent. Kat figured they were all reflecting on the past twenty-four hours. She was sure Lucy and Janice had experienced the same roller-coaster of emotions that she had.
“So what’s next for you?” Kat finally asked. “Are you still going to L.A. next week?”
“I am,” Janice confirmed. “I can’t let all of Cameron’s hard work go to waste.”
“Please tell me you ditched that snake,” Lucy said.
“I did. I don’t ever want to see him again.” Janice bit her lip. “Though I suppose I owe him in a way. I never would have gotten a callback if it weren’t for his connections.”
Lucy made a face. “Don’t give that wacko any credit. You were invited down to L.A. because you’ve got talent, plain and simple.”
Janice smiled. “You think so?”
“I know so. And you’re going to rock this audition. And you’re going to rock the next one you go on, too. Then before you know it, everybody in Hollywood is going to come calling.”
Janice practically glowed from the praise. “Thank you, Lucy. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the movie earlier. I was afraid to jinx things.”
Lucy waved off her concerns. “It’s all right. If you had told me, I probably would have been so jealous I wouldn’t have been able to see straight. But now that I know what it’s really like in the world of Hollywood, you can count me out.”
“Not everyone’s like Cam. But I’ll tell you, before I sign with another agent I’m going to make darn sure he or she has never created a hashtag before.”
Kat laughed. “And don’t forget about the other red flags—I mean T-shirts.”
Janice groaned. “I couldn’t believe he actually wore that thing in public. And he was so proud of himself when he showed it to me, like I’d be pleased by his initiative when all I wanted was for him to let me out of that bedroom.”
“Supposedly he has a thousand more on order,” Kat informed her. “They should be arriving on Tuesday.”
Lucy clapped her hands, startling Tom. “I am so wearing one if I can get my hands on it. I want everyone to know I’m friends with America’s next movie icon.”
“We won’t be friends for long if I ever catch you wearing one of those shirts,” Janice warned. “You are authorized to use them to clean up motor oil spills and to gag overzealous talent agents. That’s it.”
Lucy and Janice erupted into giggles. Watching them take such delight in each other’s company brought a smile to Kat’s face.
She relaxed against the couch, feeling incredibly lucky to have such wonderful women in her life. No matter whether Janice ended up relocating to L.A. one day or Lucy eventually moved to a city with more options for singles, she figured for now she could sit back and enjoy this beautiful bonding experience.
