I’m having to hold her with both arms to keep her from going to the other Persian. “Just one. And his name is Ro . . . lo.” He swallows.
“Like the candy?” I ask.
“Yep. The candy. Love that stuff.”
In my peripheral vision, Romeo’s owner waves this way. I turn to look, but he’s studiously petting the cat now. I narrow my eyes and turn my back more fully to him. He’s probably being an ass.
“Can I meet you in the hotel lobby at noon for lunch?” I ask Joe. “And do you mind if we talk to a couple of Juliet’s fans that I met last night before we go? They said they only need a few minutes.”
He hesitates for a second, but then says, “Sure, that’s fine. I’ll see you there.”
His lips touch mine, and marching bands stride through my chest. I already can’t wait to kiss him again.
The other cat owners greet Juliet and me and introduce themselves when I walk over after. Romeo’s owner sneaks over at the last second, his cat in his arms. He’s behind me and to my right in the circle.
“That was great, everyone,” the CatFest volunteer who gave us instructions before the meet and greet says. “I know your fans loved it, and thanks to them and to you, we raised over ten thousand dollars for Colorado Cat Rescue.”
We all grin. I’d clap, but I’m holding Juliet, her dress hanging over my forearms. When one of the other owners does clap, Juliet startles. At the same time, Romeo perks up. I glance down at my cat. She’s noticed the black Persian.
A second later, Romeo leaps out of his owner’s arms and darts to my feet. He tries to climb my legs—ow—but he gets tangled in the bottom of my maxi dress and has to fight his way out. His owner shouts and dives toward me, but Romeo doesn’t want to be caught. He dodges and weaves around the crowd, keeping his eyes on Juliet.
Clutching my cat, I back away, but she’s doing her own fighting . . . to get down. When her claws sink deep into my arms, I yelp and let her go. Romeo and Juliet race to each other, stopping a foot apart.
Romeo stands, tail erect, looking at Juliet. Juliet waits in her worse-for-the-wear dress, looking back at him. Should I grab her again? I brace for an awful cat fight.
Instead, they purr and rub the sides of their heads together and then run them down the lengths of each other’s bodies. When their tails curl around each other’s heads, they turn and do it all again on the other side.
“Aww,” one of the other CelebriCat owners says, “Romeo and Juliet are in love.”
Romeo’s owner and I stare at our cats as they snuggle for a moment. His expression is uncertain. He says, “Looks like they might have taken to each other.”
I want to tell him what I think of that—and of him. But with a herculean effort to be polite, I instead quote a line from The Two Gentleman of Verona.
“Love will not be spurred to what it loathes.”
I snatch up my Persian and move to the far side of the group. Other than the second meet and greet tomorrow morning, which I can’t help, I’ll make sure Juliet never sees Romeo again.
She’s a cat. She’ll get over it.
Chapter Eleven
“’Tis he, that villain Romeo.”
- Romeo and Juliet (Act 1, Scene 5)
Kathleen
A half-hour later, with Juliet comfortably ensconced in my room with James, who’s napping after a hard morning of eating a free breakfast and being insufferable, I head to the lobby. Viv and Jess are already there, sitting in a foursome of chairs. Their heads are close together, deep in conversation, but they smile and invite me to sit when they see me.
“How did the rest of the meet and greet go?” they ask as I settle in.
“Really well!” I think of Juliet and Romeo’s spectacle at the end. “Well, mostly.”
They give me a questioning look. “Juliet liked Romeo a little more than I’d like.” They exchange glances and raised eyebrows, but don’t comment. “Are you two having a good time at the convention so far?”
Viv nods and leans back in her chair with her sandaled foot on the seat. She wears about ten anklets on her right ankle. “We went to a panel about cats on film and a seminar on special needs cats, because our Count Catula is blind in one eye and is losing his