Free Cat and Company by Tracy Cooper-Posey Page B

thing. He should have remembered that.
    Connell leaned forward. “You could rent a room in a village somewhere for the night. Stay away altogether. Don’t put yourself through it.”
    “That would be the sensible thing to do,” Bedivere agreed. His heart had leapt at the news and now his gut was fizzing with a low-grade pleasure. Anticipation.
    To see her again. Just to look at her….
    Did he dare? Could he afford to risk it?

Chapter Eight
    Charlton Space City, New Cathay (Ji Xiu Prime), Ji Xiu System, Perseus Arm. FY 10.187
    Devlin insisted she attend the dinner. “I’m not an idiot, Catherine. The only reason I was invited was to get you to visit them.”
    “I don’t think that’s entirely true.”
    “Perhaps not,” Devlin said, with a small smile of his own. “For once, my fame is taking second place and I like that, so don’t let me down. They’ll lynch me if you don’t go, too, so put on a pretty dress—print one if you have to, the Hana has energy to spare—and let me enjoy just one night not being the focus of the room.”
    The problem was, Catherine couldn’t dispute his reasoning. She had been the center of attention more than once in her life and she knew how claustrophobic it became after a while. Devlin was a successful man, the sole reason the Varkan had legal rights as sentient people, which had earned him the devotion of the Varkan and the approval of humans for his peace-keeping diplomacy. He still worked tirelessly on behalf of Varkans everywhere so his fame and his popularity had soared every decade since.
    She understood completely the pleasure of being able to blend into the background and relax, just for a while.
    Reluctantly, she dug out a presentable pair of pants that were not the usual spacer’s leather and discovered a pair of forgotten evening shoes at the bottom of the tiny closet in her stateroom. She printed a silk shirt to go with them, as Devlin had virtually ordered her to dress up. Besides, looking as good as she could would honor her hosts. Connell, at least, would notice and maybe even applaud.
    The whole time she was getting ready, she speculated. Would Bedivere be there, too? How would he look? Would he have changed?
    Finally, she turned on the mirror display and asked for a three-sixty, minutely critiquing her appearance. She realized the hard band of tension was back, squeezing her chest. Her stomach was tight, too.
    Was she really going to do this? It was madness. Why put herself through it? It was better to disappoint Devlin.
    With ironic timing, the door alerted her that Devlin was outside the stateroom, waiting. Catherine sighed. He was early. Five more minutes and she could have been back in her boots, off the ship and heading toward Celestial to see if that little spacer’s bar in the center of the village was still running.
    Right now, a triple shot of anything sounded very good.
    She let the door open and Devlin came in, his gaze sweeping over her from head to foot. His eyes grew warmer and his expression appreciative. “Ready?”
    “No,” she said truthfully. “I’ve just run out of procrastination ideas.”
    “They’re your friends,” he reminded her. “I’m the excuse. You’ll be fine.”
    “After a shot or three,” she said shortly. “There’s a lot of history standing between me and them.”
    “I thought you might say that,” Devlin said gravely. He brought his hand out from behind his back. There was a silver cup in his hand. “Single malt, planet-produced and eighty years old. One shot, neat. I thought it would be better received than flowers.”
    “Oh, you beautiful man,” Catherine whispered and reached for the cup.
    “Bear in mind I offer this only for courage,” he said, giving it to her. “You shouldn’t take it as encouragement to go on one of your infamous benders. I’d rather not have to carry you home tonight.”
    “As if you’ve ever actually carried me home.” She knocked back the shot and sighed as it burned its