A sigh escaped her as she kicked off her boots, stripped off her socks, and sank into the recliner. A blister had formed on her heel where the new leather had rubbed against her foot all day.

Perfect. Just perfect. From the moment she’d arrived in this city, nothing had gone right.

She put her aching feet up on the ottoman and set the bowl on her lap. But when she went to dig into the muesli, she realized she’d forgotten to grab a spoon.

Groaning, she heaved herself up, put the bowl onto the coffee table, and limped into the kitchen.

When she returned with the spoon, a cool gust from the still-open French doors hit her. She shivered and went to close them. As she stepped past the recliner, movement caught her eye.

She whirled around, the spoon raised as if she could chase off the intruder with it.

Instead of the burglar she had expected, a white-and-brown tabby cat stood on her recliner, its front paws on the coffee table, lapping up the milk from her muesli.

“What the hell? Where did you come from?”

At the sound of her voice, the cat turned its head and looked at her. A brown stripe across its nose made it look admittedly cute, but Susanne wouldn’t let that sway her. She stabbed her finger in the direction of the open French doors. “Out!”

The cat meowed and went back to enjoying her milk.

“Wow. You’ve got some nerve, kitty.” It was well-nourished and its fur gleamed with health, so Susanne knew it wasn’t a starving stray. Since she couldn’t eat the muesli anymore, she decided to let the cat finish its stolen meal. “Just this once. Don’t think this is going to turn into a bed-and-breakfast for the next three months.”

When the cat had lapped up the rest of the milk, it withdrew its front paws from the coffee table, curled up on the recliner, and started to clean its whiskers.

“Oh no, you don’t.” She reached for the cat to pick it up and carry it outside.

The cat let out a hiss and curled into an even tighter ball so she couldn’t get a hold of it.

Not that she would have tried again. With the kind of luck she was having today, she’d probably get the hell scratched out of her.

“This is ridiculous.” She was standing in the middle of her nearly empty living room, her bare feet getting cold, and her stomach was still growling because a cat had eaten her dinner. “Okay, I’m giving you an option here. Are you listening?”

The cat’s ears flicked in her direction, so she took that as a yes.