The Misadventures of Anna Cabbot

Open Doors

Not sure how much walking would be involved, Anna had opted for her black and white high tops. She'd been wondering who she was going to find Jamie at the station, and shouldn't have worried — she nearly hit him with the glass door to the sidewalk.

"Oh, Jesus," she muttered, reaching for his arm. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Completely fine. No worries." He grinned, and she let him pull her into a hug.

They separated, and he looked at her from head to toe, a slow, appreciative once-over that made color flood her cheeks. His mouth worked soundlessly for a couple seconds until he finally said, "Do you have a closet full of nothing but cute clothes or what?"

She laughed, and looped her pinky around his while they waited to cross the street. "You've seen me during the week."

"And you've seen me slop my coffee on my pants."

"Point taken." She smiled wryly.

Jamie edged closer to her, humming softly as they waited at another crosswalk.

"Where are we going?" she asked, having to take two steps to his one through the intersection. He slowed his stride accordingly.

"I was hoping I could make you dinner. At my place."

Anna stared.

"If you'd rather not, that's totally fine, I won't be offended," he added quickly.

"No. No, that's...I wasn't expecting this, but that's okay." Anna took a deliberate deep breath, gratified to see him take one, too. "Dinner in sounds great."

Jamie smiled, a little unsure at first and then wider when he must have realized she was serious.

He had a loft in a converted industrial building. It was on the left side of the central staircase and when they walked through the door the kitchen lay to the right — a galley style, fairly large, with a breakfast bar to divide the space. Centered on an area rug between the bar and the living room was a counter-height table and chairs. Windows overlooking the street out front lined the left far wall. The loft itself, where she assumed his bedroom was, was above her left shoulder and wrapped all the way around to the windows.

It was a nice space, and suited him.

Anna set her purse on the floor under a side table neatly stacked with mail and stepped further in on the hardwood floors. "I'm a little jealous of the amount of brick you've got."

"That is the main reason I moved in. That and the built-ins upstairs." He shut the door behind them. "Are you, uh, allergic to anything? Any pets?"

She shook her head.

"That's good." Jamie went over to the living room and crouched down out of sight. She heard the sound of nails on hardwood and then a fluffy black, white, and rust-colored puppy came around the edge of the couch. It considered her, ears perked, and bounded over to investigate.

"Well, hello, cutie." She allowed the Bernese mountain puppy to sniff her fingers.

"His name is Baxter," Jamie said. "He's my brother's dog, but Lesley is out of town until next week so he's staying with me. Mercutio," he added, pointing upward, "is not thrilled."

She looked — there was a large, clearly disgruntled orange tabby balanced on the railing.

"Yikes," she muttered. She side-eyed Jamie. "Mercutio?"

He flushed.

"You giant nerd," Anna said, eyes lighting up.

"Giant Shakespeare nerd might be more accurate. I call him Merry for short." He glanced at the cat. "He's been good with Baxter to a point. There were water bowl squabbles yesterday." He wiped his palms on his thighs. "Roast chicken, butter lemon green beans, and tossed salad okay?"