Worth It

Chapter Fourteen

Katarina

"I don't know how she must've gotten sick. I take good care of her. She's my little baby." I babbled to the veterinarian as he did his check-up on a weak Tinkerbell.

"Cats get sick just like the rest of us, Katarina. It's not because you don't take good care of her. I know you do." He reassured me, and that just had me feeling over-the-top emotional.

Gabriel squeezed my shoulder and brought me to his side. "Is there some medicine or vaccine that you give her?" He asked.

"Amoxicillin." He wrote it down. "It's the best antibiotic. She won't like it, but you'll have to force her to take it. If she's still giving you a hard time with eating, try incorporating a different, more pungent meal, and warming it up might help.

Always have a clean water bowl for her. Even if she's not drinking, try to aid her in that direction. If she's still giving you a hard time, try hand-feeding her. That works in some cases."

He finished writing down the medicine and handed her the note. He handed it to me and went over to pet the top of Tinkerbell's head. She purred and leaned closer to him.

"She'll be better in no time. Come by tomorrow if you are still worried and don't see a difference."

"Thank you, Dr. Moreno."

I held Tinkerbell in my arms and held her close to my chest as we walked out of his office. I spoke with the nurse and secretary and dealt with the payment before we stepped out.

"Thank you for coming. Were you at work?" I asked once we were in the car.

"No, actually, I was on a date." He admitted.

I froze. "Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't know. No one told me."

"It's fine." He drove to the nearest pharmacy. "Don't worry about it." His hand fell to the top of my cat's head. "You saved me from that date, didn't you, Bells?" He pinched her cheeks lightly.

"That bad?" I asked.

He shook his head. "God, the worst. I didn't understand a single word she said the entire time. What's it mean when someone's discovered?"

"In what shape and form?"

"Modeling." He said.

"It means that some agency saw her, discovered her, and made her a model. Wait!" I looked at him with a slack jaw and wide eyes. "You were on a date with an actual fucking model and left her to deal with my sick cat?" I gaped up at him. "You're freaking kidding, Gabriel."

He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I'm not. I met her yesterday. She sent a drink to my table and gave me her number. I told her I'd call her. I did. It didn't work out. End of story." He summarized.

"I feel like the worst friend. Did I cockblock the shit out of you?"

"You didn't. I wasn't going to sleep with her." He affirmed.

"A model? Don't lie. Was she hot?"

"She was okay."

I smacked his arm. "If a model isn't good enough for you, then I don't know who is." I exasperated.

"It's not about the looks, Kat. She...didn't interest me at all. I want that fucking spark, that explosive chemistry, fucking passion. I want to look at that person and already envision my entire life with them."

At the red light, we faced each other, and he sighed. "I want to feel something. You know?"

More than you'll ever know.