The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 2172

Seeing the contact request go through, a radiant smile bloomed on Juniper's face.

Just as she opened her mouth to chat, she noticed Leonard glaring at her with a completely deadpan expression. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Boss, I ordered a latte. Why are you just standing there staring at us instead of making it? Are you trying to eavesdrop on girl talk?"

Stella glanced at him. "Leonard, go ahead and handle the counter. I'll just chat with Miss Croft for a bit."

With Stella giving the order, Leonard finally backed off and walked away.

A few minutes later, a waiter brought over the coffee.

Once they were alone again, Juniper leaned in. "Ms. Cameron, my shop is right around the corner. Do you want to come by and check it out? Consider it a quality inspection for your future orders."

"There's a flower shop around here?" Stella asked, surprised.

"I just opened it recently," Juniper grinned. "Mostly so I'd have an excuse to come pet the cats."

"You really love cats, don't you?" Stella noted.

Juniper was a natural storyteller. A simple anecdote about a pet felt profoundly captivating, pulling Stella entirely into the narrative.

When the story abruptly stopped, Stella immediately asked, "What happened after it got sick? Did she get rid of it?"

Juniper let out a soft sigh. "Pretty much. The cat was just too feral, too difficult to tame. So, once she nursed it back to health, she dumped it back on the streets. But how is a cat that's known the comfort of a home supposed to survive in the wild? While it was wandering around, someone else found it and wanted to take it in. But by then, the cat was so traumatized by its first owner that it refused to accept a new life. Or maybe... it was just waiting for its original owner to come back and find it."

"Did the original owner ever go looking for it?" Stella asked softly.

Juniper shook her head. "No. She never looked back. Because she got a new cat. The new one was perfectly trained, incredibly affectionate, and never caused any trouble. It never demanded her attention when she was busy."