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“Kara?” Kal’s voice was quiet, and Kara turned around to find him peering around the doorway.
“What’s up, buddy? You were supposed to be asleep hours ago.”
He huffed and crossed his arms, looking far too much like a teenager for Kara’s taste, especially now that he’d abandoned the matching pajama sets that had once been a staple of his wardrobe. “I’m almost 12 now.”
“Mhmm, and even almost-12-year-olds still have bedtimes.”
“I just wanted to know how your date went.” He pouted, widening his eyes and sticking his lower lip out just enough to make her cave.
With a little sigh of exasperation, she shook her head and patted the sofa cushion next to her. One of these days those big blue eyes were going to get her in big trouble. “I don’t think Jeff’s gonna be coming around here anymore.” She took a deep, steadying breath. It wouldn’t do to cry in front of Kal; despite the teenage tendencies starting to rear their ugly head, he was such a sweet, sensitive kid, and it would only upset him.
“Why? I thought he liked you.”
“He does. Or, did, I guess. I don’t know. It’s complicated. You’ll—”
“—understand when you’re older,” Kal finished with her. “Yeah, you say that a lot.”
“Because it’s true.”
“You’re not that much older than me.”
Kara hoped Kal didn’t notice the slight cringe. She wouldn’t give up Kal for anything in the world, but it was barely an hour ago that Jeff was patting her hand and explaining that he just wasn’t ready to be a second parent figure to an almost-teenage son. Not that Kara was anywhere near ready to let someone else help raise Kal. At least not Jeff.
“Do you want me to get the ice cream?”
With a watery chuckle, Kara shook her head.
Kal’s eyes grew wide. “No ice cream?”
“I already finished it before you came down.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I’m barely even sad now.” She forced herself to smile.
Kal nodded and said something about ice cream fixing everything, but his brain was already whirring with ideas about how he might find someone better for Kara, someone who actually deserved to be with her. He didn’t want to wait up only to hear her crying outside the door another time.
---
At school the next day, Kal tossed his bulging lunchbox onto an empty table and dropped into a seat, waving to Jimmy to come sit next to him.
Even though the cafeteria pizza sucked, Kal’s stomach still rumbled at the smell of melted cheese wafting over at him from Jimmy’s tray.
“You want a slice? Trade ya for some of that mac and cheese.”
Kal threw a protective arm around the oversized Tupperware. “No way. Kara only makes it once a week!”
Jimmy laughed and pulled his pizza back. “Fine. Bet she’ll make me some tomorrow after swimp practice.”
Kal nodded, managing around a mouthful of food: “You c’n sleepov’r too.”
“Yeah? Cool, lemme just check with my mom.”
“You need to be there ’cause I’ve got a plan, and I need your help.”
Sitting back in his seat, Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “I’m not drinking another gallon of milk for that stupid challenge.”
“Okay, I didn’t throw up! How was I supposed to know you would?”
“Everyone does, man!”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. That was, like, weeks ago.” Jimmy didn’t look quite so ready to forget it, but he waved for Kal to keep going. “Jeff dumped Kara.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know. I told you he was weird.”
“Stupid too.”
“Yeah, well, this keeps happening. Brian and Jenny and Marc and now Jeff. And she deserves someone that makes her happy.”
“Okay…” Jimmy paused to take a bite of pizza, washing it down with lemonade—he hadn’t been able to touch milk since then. “So what are you gonna do? Take out a personal ad?”
“Nope.” Kal sat, grinning, waiting for Jimmy to ask.
“I give,” Jimmy sighed. “What is it?”
“Ya know that empty billboard over on the boulevard?”
“Uh, I guess?”
“We’re gonna paint it.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“That’s why you’ve gotta sleep over! So we can do it at night when they won’t see us.” Jimmy looked unconvinced. “I already got the paint. We’re gonna make sure everyone out there knows just how great Kara is.”
---
On Sunday morning, Kara woke up in her studio, a bit of charcoal clutched in her hand and faint outlines of her latest drawing visible on the side of her face.
She blinked once, then twice, her eyes still adjusting to the soft light streaming in through the open window. After two nights of poor sleep, apparently her body had finally forced her to make it all the way through the night. At least the boys would sleep for another hour or two.
After a proper stretch, Kara ambled down the hallway to her bathroom, intent on taking a nice shower before heading downstairs to make pancakes for Kal and Jimmy.
As it turned out, a long, luxurious shower was not to be. Just as she’d washed the shampoo out of her hair, the doorbell to her studio door rang. Even though Kara was normally excited about talking to potential buyers, the hours were posted right there, and she’d just wanted to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning before she had to be on for the whole world.
With a little burst of the superspeed she tried to avoid using anytime someone other than Kal was around, Kara threw on a pair of running shorts and a workout top before jogging to the storefront at normal speeds.
Two men stood outside the door, peering through the glass planes. As soon as she caught their eyes, they jumped back, elbowing one another in the side as she unlocked the door and waved them inside. Finally, the one in the denim jacket pushed the other one forward.
“Welcome,” Kara said, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t like she could get hurt, but she didn’t want to deal with a commotion when Jimmy and Kal were around either.
“Um, hi.” The man now in front raised his hand up in a little wave. “I’m Tyler. You probably don’t recognize me, but I, uh, I bought a painting. A while back. At the artists’ market down on the pier.”
“Oh! I knew you looked familiar.”
Tyler glanced back at his friend, who flashed him a broad grin and a thumbs up. “Yep, that’s me.” He cleared his throat, his adams apple bobbing up and down. “Right, so, um, I’m sure there are probably people lined up, but I just wanted to say that I’ve always thought you were very pretty and talented, and I’d love to take you on a date sometime. I’m just”—he fumbled in his pocket before grabbing a business card and thrusting it at her—“here. If you’re interested.”
“He’s a great guy!” his friend yelled as Tyler all but stumbled back out of the shop.
Kara couldn’t help smiling as they left. She wasn’t exactly ready to date again, but it was sweet to be reminded of the fact that there were apparently people out there who would still be happy to date her.
Swinging the sign back around to “Closed,” Kara headed back into the house, finding Jimmy and Kal lounging on the couch and looking forlornly at the empty kitchen.
“You two are up early,” Kara said by way of greeting.
“Doorbell,” Kal grunted.
“Good morning, Ms. Zorel,” Jimmy said, waving at her from the couch.
“I told you, if Kal can call me Kara, you can too.”
His cheeks flushed as he ducked his head. “Right. Um, do you need help with anything?”
“No, no. I’ll get pancakes ready for you two if that’s still your lucky pre-swim meet breakfast?”
They both nodded, and Kara began gathering ingredients, only to sigh as the shop doorbell rang again.
“Is the store even open yet?” Kal asked, glancing back at the clock.
“No, I don’t know what’s up this morning. And the first guy didn’t even want to buy anything.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he, uh… You know, it doesn’t matter. Let me just go deal with this. I’ll be back in a minute.”
That time, Kara found Eliana, who owned Kara’s favorite art supply shop in town. Any lingering traces of annoyance at her morning’s second interruption quickly disappeared as she pulled open the door. “Hey! How are you? It’s been too long.”
She wrapped an arm around Eliana and pulled her close, feeling the woman tense for a moment before relaxing.
“Good, yeah, keeping busy. I really meant to thank you for talking us up in that interview last month. Business has been way up.”
“Really? That’s awesome. You so deserve it.”
The corners of Eliana’s mouth pulled up into a smile. “And you? How are things?”
Kara shrugged. “Business is fine. Kal’s great, even if he’s growing up way too fast. Had the always fun experience of being dumped. Again. But you know.” She gestured around her. “Life goes on.”
“Well, it certainly looks like you’re moving on in a big way.”
Kara’s brow furrowed, but she figured it wasn’t too important. “Uh, yeah, trying to keep busy.”
Eliana’s eyebrows shot up at that before she burst out laughing. “Well good for you.” Kara nodded. “Look, I’ll be honest, I don’t have too much interest in being one among many, but if you ever decide to”—she looked up as she gestured around with her right hand, as if searching for the right words—“ya know, look for something a little more permanent, let me know?”
“For what? A supply contract? You know I pretty much get everything from you already. Except the canvases, I guess, but it’s just cheaper to buy them in bulk.”
“No…” Eliana rubbed her forehead, pushing her bangs back before letting them flop back down. “Maybe I haven’t been too clear in the past because I guess you were always sort of with someone else, so it didn’t seem like it mattered, but I just, well, I want you to know that I date women. And I’m single. So, yeah. I, uh, should probably get back to the store before we open, but I just wanted to drop by.”
“Uh, yeah. We—we should get coffee sometime soon.”
“Oh. Really?”
Kara nodded. “It really has been too long. And don’t think I’m just letting that little revelation slip by me.”
Eliana’s whole face lit up. “Okay! Well, you have my number, so…any time.”
With a smile, Kara waved her off and locked up the shop door again. This time she grabbed a pen and scrawled across a piece of paper: “Out until 11am. Will open store then.” At least that would save her from any more surprise visitors—even welcome ones.
After a relaxing pancake breakfast, Kara sent the boys up to get ready for their meet while she washed up the dishes. She felt a little guilty over missing the second meet in a row, but Kal insisted that it wasn’t a big deal (“Not like I’m going full speed or anything cool.”), so long as she could still make it to the two big meets against their rivals.
Once the dishes were done and a few snacks had been packed and left out on the counter for the boys to grab on their way out, Kara called up the stairs, “I’m heading down to open the shop for the day! Let me know when you’re leaving!”
“Kay!” Kal’s voice echoed down the stairwell.
With that, Kara headed back down the hallway to the back of the house, rounding the corner only to find a line at the shop door that snaked all the way around the building as far as she could see. What in the…
Maybe there had been a little write up about her in the paper again. Last time that had definitely driven in some extra foot traffic. But this was…well, it would have had to have been a big deal reviewer to bring in this many people.
As she glanced out at the line, she saw some familiar faces. A few neighbors. Some customers who’d bought pieces in the past. The father of one of Kal’s swim team friends.
Shrugging, Kara flipped the sign to open and unlocked the door, standing back as the crowd streamed in. Only none of them seemed to be paying all that much attention to the art. It was as if they’d queued up to see her and only her. She nearly snorted aloud at the thought.
“Kara!” Dani waved at her, and Kara wove through the crowds to get to her friend.
“Hey! You already back for another piece?”
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about it yet.” Kara nodded in acknowledgment; she’d bought a large painting just a month or two ago. Apparently she’d just decided to visit on the same day everyone else did. “But I saw that billboard, and, well, how could I resist dropping by?”
“The what?”
“The billboard. Down on the boulevard? It’s just a few blocks from here.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re—”
“We’re leaving!” Kal called out, waving to Kara from across the room.
“Uh, right, okay, good luck!” Kara quickly turned back to Dani. “What do you mean a billboard? Did someone take out an ad for the shop?”
“Um…not quite?”
“Dani,” Kara sighed, sending a pleading expression her way.
“Look, I think maybe that kid of yours might have had something to do with it. At first I thought it was just a really clever marketing… Actually, it’s you. That really doesn’t make sense.”
“Dani.” The whine to Kara’s voice stretched her name out into many syllables.
“I think you need to see it for yourself.”
Gesturing all around her, Kara scoffed. “I don’t think I’m leaving here anytime soon.”
“Yeah…I don’t know that they’re all here for the art.”
“What? Why?”
Dani cleared her throat and took a step or two back. “If you’re not here to purchase anything, please leave and come back later! We’re above capacity for the fire code and wouldn’t want dear Kara’s shop getting shut down, would we?”
After a bit of grumbling, everyone but Dani and few other people filed out. One older man stood contemplating a small sculpture in the back, while the other two lingered behind Dani.
She turned back to face them. “You two really thinking about buying anything?”
“I, um, I could be,” one answered.
Before Kara could chime in and start offering to show him everything in the store, Dani glared. “I can’t imagine it’s gonna help someone’s chances if they start things off by lying…”
With a quick glance at one another, the two turned on their heels and headed out of the shop.
“What was that about?”
“Once your real customer leaves, we’re closing the shop for a field trip.”
“Okay…”
After what felt like the longest half hour of her life, Kara had sold a small charcoal sketch and been dragged out of her shop and down the boulevard until Dani grabbed her hand, spun her around, and pointed up into the sky.
“What am I looking at?”
“That billboard!”
Kara glanced up at it, squinting in the bright, midday sun as she struggled to make out the slightly crooked words.
She’s single. She’s pretty. And she’s SUPER cool! Interested?* Come visit Kara at Super Zorel Art at 108 Haven Avenue.
*No ex girlfriends or boyfriends are welcome.
Beside the sign was a quick sketch of Kara’s face that she easily recognized as Kal’s style. She clenched her teeth. He was so very…in trouble. Grounded! Yes. That’s what Earth parents did. They grounded their children. Which meant something about staying inside. She’d look it up again.
“So I take it this wasn’t your doing?” Dani asked.
“What gave it away?”
“Ya know, normally I’d say that level of self-promotion, but right about now your expression is even more obvious.”
“Kal,” Kara sighed, rubbing her temples. She didn’t think she could get migraines, but Rao, it felt like one.
Dani grimaced. “At least he thinks highly of you?”
“I knew he heard me crying after Jeff broke up with me.”
“What?” Dani’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Don’t even think about it. Apparently Kal has already had his little revenge. At my expense.”
“I mean…he was probably just trying to be helpful. And Jeff’s an asshole.”
Kara shrugged. “Jeff…he wasn’t ready for the responsibility of getting serious with someone who’s responsible for a kid.”
“Like I said, asshole.”
“Dani.”
“It’s one thing to casually see someone a few times. It’s another to date them for months and meet the kid and everything.”
“Maybe…”
“You know I’m right. Anyway, I know you don’t really drink much, but this seems like the kind of occasion that calls for it. So if you want to go out, you just let me know.”
“I think I’m gonna be spending a lot of nights home making sure Kal is firmly in his room.”
Dani grimaced. “Sometimes it really is good to have you around to remind me why I don’t want kids, even though yours can be so damn cute.”
Kara pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “Happy to help.”
With a light laugh, Dani bumped her shoulder against Kara’s upper arm. “C’mon, let’s go get you a latte before you have to go back and face your crowd of admirers again.” As they walked, Dani began musing, “Hey, do you think maybe you should have a vetting system in place? Maybe I could be your first line of defense against those assholes you tend to pick…”
---
After an afternoon spent deleting voicemails and taking business cards and scrawled out phone numbers from hordes of people who had, apparently, no interest in art, Kara closed the shop early and unplugged the phone in the living. When she turned on the local news, though, she found a quick segment about her store featuring the crowds of people lined up while she was still closed. From there, they flashed to the billboard, pairing it with a photo of her that had been taken at her last gallery show before she made the decision to convert part of the house into a storefront.
Well great. Now everyone with a television would know that she was single and desperate.
She sank back into the pillows with a groan.
Half an hour later, the front door slowly creaked open, and she could barely hear the sounds of Kal sneaking inside.
She cleared her throat loudly, watching his eyes widen as he glanced over and found her on the couch. “Um, hey!” His voice was overly chipper. “I got second in my race, and we got first in the relay!”
“That’s great. You’re grounded.” She tried to hide her smile at getting the phrase right on the very first try. The words felt weighty, like they really meant something, and Kal’s expression seemed to confirm it.
“Okay, so I guess you saw the billboard, but—”
“No buts! That’s illegal, Kal!”
“It’s been empty for, like, two whole months.”
“But you didn’t pay for it.”
“It’s not like it’s hard to paint over it again. It was so easy to paint over that old one that was already half gone.”
Covering her face with her hands, Kara took two deep breaths, then counted to ten. “Kal, you can’t bring attention to yourself like that. You know better.”
His gaze dropped to the floor. “It was supposed to be a nice thing. You’re supposed to be happy.”
“Sweetie, if I ever need you to do something for me, I promise I’ll ask you.”
“No! You never ask! You never tell me when anything’s wrong.” Kal stomped his foot, and Kara found herself grateful for all the renovations she’d done to the house and its foundations when she first bought it. “You wouldn’t have even told me about Jeff if I didn’t wait up.”
“That’s not—”
“I’m going to my room.”
Kal stormed off, and Kara found herself collapsing back into the cushions again. It was turning into a very long day indeed.
****
Cat looked up as a packet of paper was dropped on her desk. “What’s this?”
“Story,” Evan said.
“About?”
“They’re calling her Billboard Mom.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh. You haven’t heard?” He looked smug. Cat hated him. “Some local artist got a personal ad printed on the billboard. Local news says her kid and his friend did it. She’s got people lining up for blocks trying to date her.” He paused, tilting his head to the side. “She’s pretty hot. I guess I get it.”
Cat scowled at him, confident in the knowledge that he’d never even care enough to look directly at her face. But he’d see one day. They all would.
“It’s the hot gossip in town, and we all know that’s what you do best.”
Deep breath. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Take all that rage and save it until there was the power and money to back it up. “If you’ll recall, I’m not the gossip columnist anymore. I’m doing human interest stories now.”
“Yeah, well, the people are interested. And I’m not asking you to do it; I’m telling you to get out there and get me an interview before someone else does.”
“Fine,” Cat grumbled, snatching up the paperclipped packet from her desk and flipping through. The front page had a photo of the billboard itself. “Ex girlfriends and boyfriends.” That was interesting at the very least… Even still, by the time she’d finished reading there was no part of her that was burning to chase down leads on the story, no part of her that thought, “Oh yes, this will be the story that truly launches my career out of the Style and Entertainment section and into the world of investigative reporting.”
Evan took that moment to swing by, leaning over her desk and looking far too smarmy with that over-gelled hair and those ill-fitting khakis. “I expected you to already be out on the street or at least on the phone. You wouldn’t be thinking this story is beneath you, now would you, Cat?”
She flashed him the smile that never failed to placate men with just enough power to choke on it but not enough to matter. They never noticed the fangs hiding behind it. “I was just heading out. Wouldn’t want to go into interviews underprepared. After last week’s debacle, I’m sure you understand.” Cat watched with a kind of cruel satisfaction as the muscle in Evan’s jaw worked. She could only imagine how humiliating it would be to take two new trainees out for an interview only to fumble the facts and have to be corrected by a source. Twice.
He cleared his throat loudly. “Right, well, see to it that you’ve got copy on my desk in time for tomorrow’s issue.”
With a little hum of understanding, she shooed him off her desk. Apparently she’d be heading into the fray.
---
The walk down to the art shop wasn’t particularly long, but by the time she got there, Cat’s heels had started to pinch, and she was even more miserable than she had been when Evan first assigned the story to her. The sight of masses of people milling about inside and around the studio did little to help her mood, and she forced herself to take a deep breath before elbowing her way through the throng of bodies to the door.
Once inside, there was even less room to breathe or think, but at least she’d made it to where she needed to be. Pulling out her notebook, Cat began to take in the crowd. Dozens of people. Mainly men, though enough women had come out to throw their hat in the ring that Cat didn’t feel disingenuous jotting it down.
Figuring there was no time like the present, Cat tapped on the shoulder of the man standing next to her and started asking him questions about how he’d heard about this Kara Zorel and why he’d shown up.
The answers she got from people ran the gamut.
Several people hadn’t seen the billboard themselves, but they’d heard about it through friends and colleagues or that short piece on the local news. Others had actually walked past it and been intrigued. Two or three people didn’t know anything about the billboard; they just saw the crowds at the store and assumed something important was happening.
When asked about the woman herself, a number of people really were interested in throwing their hat into the ring for a chance at a date. A few mentioned just how gorgeous she was. Cat tried not to roll her eyes. She’d seen the blurry little picture from the coverage the paper ran a year or two ago; she wasn’t that impressed.
Others stressed that they weren’t desperate enough to date some woman who needed to advertise on a billboard; they were only here for the spectacle of it—a kind of drive-by curiosity.
It was in the middle of another boring, repetitive interview that Cat caught a glimpse of long blonde hair and hurried to excuse herself and chase after what she hoped was the elusive Kara. Evan certainly wouldn’t accept any piece that didn’t feature an interview with the actual Billboard Mom.
“Kara! Kara Zorel!” Cat called out, slipping between two lanky men who seemed to be debating the merits of taking their turn at wooing her.
The woman’s shoulders stiffened, and she spun back on her heel, her eyes flashing. And oh. That picture didn’t do her justice. Not even a little. Because the woman standing in front of Cat wasn’t blurry or visible only in the smudgy grayed tones of the paper printer. Her skin was lightly tanned with a bit of pink color high in her cheeks, and those eyes…god, she could drown in the blue of those eyes.
Just as Cat began taking in the visible arm muscles and contemplating the pros and cons of possibly outing herself by describing the woman as being built like a Greek goddess, the woman sighed. “Are you actually here for the art?”
“Um, yes,” Cat lied.
The woman’s eyes narrowed.
“I—I’m not sure. But only because I have a son, so I need to make sure it’s family friendly.”
“Oh!” Her features brightened considerably, and Cat’s heart hammered in her chest at the sight. It was juvenile and beneath her, but suddenly her head was filled with sentimental notions about wanting to make this woman smile day after day. “How young? Like, no-sculptures-and-breakable-things young or just no nude paintings?”
“You do nude paintings?” Cat could feel her cheeks warming slightly, but before she could begin chastising herself, Kara laughed. Almost a giggle, really.
“None that I sell,” she answered with a wink.
“Oh,” was all Cat could manage. Then she remembered the question. “He’s six, so we’re moving out of the knocking things off tables accidentally stage.”
“Aww, six was a good age.”
Cat’s head shot up at that, as the facts of the story started hitting up against the reality of the woman who looked about her age standing in front of her. “Is your son already older than six?”
“Uh, it’s sort of a long story. He’s actually turning 12 this year, which I’m so not ready for, but he’s my cousin, not my son.”
“Oh. I assumed given what they’re saying…”
“Ah, you’ve heard about the whole Billboard Mom thing?”
Cat shrugged and gestured around her.
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve raised Kal since he was a baby. Our parents—they, uh, passed away in a bad accident.”
“Oh, Kara, I’m so sorry.”
She shrugged. “It’s…it’s in the past. We had a very nice family take us in while I was still in school, but a few years ago we moved out here. I think it’s been good for him.”
“That’s… You can’t have been more than a teenager when this happened.”
Kara dipped her head in confirmation. “I’ll always be very grateful to the Kents for taking us in. But it wasn’t really the place for an artist, and I’d always wanted to see the ocean so…here we are.”
“Here you are.”
“So, um, did you want to look at the paintings?”
“Right, yes.”
Cat followed as Kara deftly navigated through the crowds to the back wall. “These are some of the larger pieces. Mainly landscapes.” Cat nodded, though they weren’t landscapes she recognized in the slightest. “I’ll be honest, these might be some of my favorite pieces, but if you’re interested in seeing something smaller, I have a few small-scale paintings or a series of charcoal sketches that might—”
“I need to be honest,” Cat interrupted, hating herself as she watched Kara’s features close off, growing guarded once more.
“I—I didn’t originally come here to buy art.”
Kara sighed. “Look, you’re beautiful and all, and if everything else wasn’t going on, I’d probably say yes in a heartbeat, but—”
“No!” Cat scrambled to find the words to explain herself when her mind was still stuck on words like “beautiful” and “in a heartbeat.” “I wasn’t here for a date either.”
Kara’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. “Oh.”
“My name’s Cat Grant. I’m a reporter and was assigned to write a story about Billboard Mom.”
“Look, you can’t print the things I told you. I didn’t know this was an interview!”
“I mean, I could.” Before Kara could get even angrier, she held up a hand. “I won’t, though. I was honest when I said I was interested in the art. It’s not the reason I came, but those paintings were absolutely breathtaking. And you are…not what I was expecting. Not even close.”
“So then what are you going to print about me?”
“I’d like to do a proper interview with you. When you know it’s an interview.” Kara nodded. “And maybe watch you interact with some of your suitors. Hear about a few of the dates.”
“There aren’t any dates happening.”
“Really?” Cat glanced around the shop. “There are some attractive people in here, and they’re all interested.”
“No, they’re interested in the spectacle of some woman who was desperate enough that the kid she’s raising thought she needed a personal ad big enough that you could see it from space.”
“I’m sure some of them are still interested.”
Kara’s head tilted from side to side. “Maybe a few. The few I knew before this who suddenly reappeared. But I’m not exactly looking right now. I’ve got work and Kal and—”
“You wouldn’t want anyone who might interfere with those priorities?”
“Exactly.”
Cat nodded. “I get it.” She held up her empty left hand. “My ex-husband did not.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. At least not anymore.”
“And sorry for, um, assuming that you were interested in me. Or women in general, I guess.”
“Darling, you’re not the only one who could have a billboard line about ex-girlfriends.”
“Oh!” Cat couldn’t help but preen at how pleased Kara looked. “Right, well, as attractive as they may be—”
“Some of them,” Cat clarified.
“Right. But I’m really not looking. And even if I were, I think after the first dozen men I talked to basically assumed I had to say yes because I’d advertised myself as single, I’d be done with any period of interest anyway.”
Fighting back the urge to make every entitled asshole in the shop get the hell away from Kara, Cat crossed her arms. “I can understand that. Well…if you’re not interested in any of them, there’s no harm in making them all leave so that we can do our interview, is there?”
Kara shrugged. “I guess not. I’ve got a friend who’s helping to run the cashier while I’m fending off suitors. Let me just tell her I’m heading out. Once I leave the place really empties out again, then she can lock up.”
Cat nodded and wandered over to the back wall once more to stare, entranced, at the haunting landscapes displayed there. She only allowed herself to be led away once Kara was at her side, talking about some quiet coffee shop down the road where they could talk.
---
The next morning, Cat actually picked up a copy of the paper on her way into the office. She knew the story she’d submitted hadn’t been what Evan wanted, but it was true and certainly said a whole lot more about “Billboard Mom” than any of the other news stories that had been pushed out in a hurry.
Pulling out the local section, which is where Evan told her it would be printed, Cat scanned the headlines until she found hers, shaking her head at the new photo that still didn’t do the woman any justice. But at least the content of her article hadn’t been changed much, aside from a few line edits and cut sentences for space. But it was out there now: the real story of the artist with the beautiful paintings and the cousin she’d taken in (though the whole story wasn’t shared, per Kara’s wishes); the talk of breakups and first dates that never took off; the laughter over a good kid who thought he was doing something right but was now enjoying his first ever experience at being grounded. There may have been a bit of editorializing added in by Cat as she described her own interviews with the hordes of would-be-dates and the entitlement too many of them displayed in talking about this woman who had “made herself available” as they bothered her day in and day out, crowding her business and driving away any paying customers day after day.
Even though she was due to be at work any minute now for the early morning shift, Cat couldn’t resist the temptation to take a copy over to Kara. After paying for a skim latte for herself and two bear claws for Kara, who seemed to have the metabolism of a teenager going through a growth spurt, Cat hurried down the street in the direction of the studio.
When she arrived, she found only a few people loitering around the back entrance. As she caught sight of the handwritten sign about the store being for patrons only, she realized why. She figured she could probably be an exception—at least until she saw the disabled buzzer and the sign about hours that listed a 9:30am opening time.
After a moment’s hesitation, Cat ducked around the side to the actual house entrance Kara had snuck them out of the day before, crossing her fingers and hoping Kara wouldn’t mind the intrusion at such an early hour. She knocked softly, as if that might mute the possible offense.
Mere moments later, the door swung open, and she found a boy with dark hair and blue eyes almost identical to the ones that had left her reeling the day before. “Good morning. Can I assume that you’re Kal?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe. Who are you?”
“Cat Grant. Your, uh, Kara and I grabbed coffee yesterday.”
“Wait, really?” His whole demeanor changed in an instant. “She told me she wasn’t gonna date anyone from the billboard. Is that why she was late and all smiley yester—”
“That’s enough, buddy!” Kara practically yelled, skidding into view as her socks slipped across the hardwood floors. “Uh, Cat. Hi! I wasn’t expecting you.”
Cat swallowed heavily at the sight of Kara looking a little disheveled, her hair falling in soft, slightly messy waves, as if she’d just pulled herself out of bed. “I just wanted to drop off a copy of the story.” She held out the paper, which Kara took, already flipping through the pages.
“I didn’t know it’d be out so soon.”
With a shrug of her shoulders, Cat explained, “People are interested. Strike while the iron’s hot and all that.”
As the pages stopped rustling, Cat watched Kara’s eyes trail down the page once, then again—slower the second time.
“Cat, this is…I didn’t…this is really kind.”
“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true,” Cat said, her tone brisk and businesslike.
“You called my artwork stunning.”
“It is.”
“You called me gorgeous.”
“Every story requires a compelling lead.”
“You made me into a full person, not just some…some weirdo on a billboard that people should come and gawk at.”
Cat sniffed and flipped her hair back. “That’s just good reporting.”
“And I think I smell bearclaws, which I know for a fact you don’t eat.”
“Like I said—”
“And all that sort of makes me wish I hadn’t made such a big deal about not wanting to date anyone right now.”
“It’s just—wait. What?”
Kara shrugged, growing bashful as her gaze dropped to the floor before finally coming back up to hold Cat’s own. “You’re pretty amazing yourself, Cat. And your son might not have painted a massive personal ad for you, but I bet you’d have people lined up for blocks hoping to have a chance with you too.”
“You know, I, uh, don’t hand deliver copies of the paper and breakfast pastries to everyone I interview.”
“That so?” Kara looked up at Cat through those long lashes, smiling softly.
And in that moment Cat knew that even though it was still the crack of dawn, even though her hands were full with a latte and a bag of pastries she’d never eat, even though Kara was in pajamas and she was late for work at a job where she was overworked and underappreciated, that they were going to kiss and make her even later for work and happier than she’d been in quite some time.
Then Kara’s lips were pressing against hers, and she could taste the lingering mintiness of her toothpaste, which she knew probably didn’t mix too well with coffee, but she couldn’t care less.
“I knew it!” Kal yelped, pointing at the two of them.
Kara groaned, burying her head in Cat’s neck, and Cat just tried to stand her ground and not look like she wanted nothing more than to drag Kara back to her studio and enjoy a proper kiss with no audience and hands free to move as they pleased.
“So…I mean, if it worked, you couldn’t possibly keep me grounded, right?”
“Good try.”
“Ka-ra,” Kal whined, and Cat had to stifle a laugh at their nearly identical expressions.
“We’ll talk about a shortened sentence for good behavior later, alright?”
“Fine, fine.” He began turning around only to spin back around to face Cat. “You know that I live here with her, right?”
“I do,” Cat nodded.
“So it’s, like, a package deal. And you’re not gonna go breaking up with her because of me, right?”
Catching sight of Kara looking more than a little upset, Cat was careful with her words when she answered. “I know that. I’ve got a son myself, so I wouldn’t hold that against her. And right now things are early…very, very early…but I’m not going into anything with the intention of hurting Kara, alright? I promise you that.”
“You have a son?”
Cat nodded.
“How old? Does he swim? Does he go to my school?”
“He’s six, and he’s learning to swim now.”
“Oh.” Kal’s excitement dimmed. “He’s, like, a baby.”
Kara snorted. “C’mon, maybe we could hang out at the pool together one day and you could show him how fast you swim. Bet he might even think you’re really cool.”
Kal seemed cheered by the possibility and nodded his head. “Yeah…yeah, okay.” A beat. “Can I have the rest of the waffles if you get the bearclaws?”
“Go for it.”
As soon as he left, Kara turned to Cat, looking apologetic. “Sorry about that. He’s gotten a little protective lately.”
“It was sweet. I like that he cares. Shows how well you’ve done raising him.”
“I mean, the Kents really were the ones in charge when I was—”
“Kara, what I just saw was all you.” Kara ducked her head. “And I was serious. About trying this. If you want to.”
Kara answered with a kiss, pulling back just barely to whisper, “Absolutely.”