I made her eat. Blood sugar first, always. She sat at the island, eyes big, and I fixed her oatmeal, then checked the number myself, not even pretending it was up to her. I expected her to flinch, maybe even push back, but she just let me. Sucked the tip of her thumb, spaced out, then blinked back to herself when I handed her the bowl. She finished and disappeared to brush her teeth. I watched her go, already missing her. Christ, I was pathetic.
The drive only took twenty minutes. I parked in the alley behind the bakery and walked her up, hand steady at her lowerback. Fiona’s aunt’s place was called The Sweetest Bite. The sign was in yellow, hand-painted, and the window was full of cupcakes and little pink cookies. The inside was even cuter. Lace curtains. Glass cake stands. Chalkboard menu with swirly writing. If a Little ever built a bakery, this would be it, and I knew as soon as the team and their Littles started supporting it, it would be a gold mine.
Fiona was there, purple hair in a messy bun, leaning over the counter to talk to her aunt, who looked like the original badass grandma. Full sleeve tattoo of birds, nose ring, smile that could split the sun. She clocked us instantly.
“This Lottie?” The woman’s voice could have sanded wood, but she grinned and gave a little wave.
Lottie blushed so hard I thought she’d ignite. “Um…hi,” she managed, and I swear I could see her shrinking. Not in a bad way. In a safe way. Like she’d finally found her size.
Fiona came out from behind the counter, phone in her hand, and hip-checked Lottie like they were already friends. “You made it! I told Auntie Vera you’d be perfect.”
Lottie’s cheeks got pinker if that was even possible. Mr. Snuggles was pressed to her chest like a life preserver, but she let Fiona drag her to the back, giggling a little.
I followed, hands jammed in my pockets, but there was nothing for me to do. Vera had the paperwork ready—the weird kind, where you could sign with a bunny sticker if you wanted. “Just a couple hours today for training, honey,” Vera said, patting Lottie’s shoulder. “Nothing scary. Fiona will show you everything, and if you need to sit, you just grab some fruit and do it. No fainting on my watch.”
“Thank you,” Lottie whispered, and she looked at me, blue eyes so wide I could barely look away.
“You want me to stay?” I offered, voice low, but she shook her head, so I kissed her gently and left for Salvation, hating everysecond I got farther away but knowing she needed it. Needed to know I had faith in her.
Gideon and Maddox were both there. I closed the office door and accepted the coffee Maddox passed me. I slumped in my chair and let out a long, shaky breath. Maddox clocked it instantly. “That good, huh?” The video monitor flickered to show Eric’s face.
I scrubbed my hand over my jaw. “You have no idea.”
Gideon took a sip of his coffee, eyes on me. “You didn’t want to leave her?”
Nope. Fuck, I didn’t. But she was with Fiona. I needed to let her do it. I needed to let her try. Even if it made my skin itch.
“I have news,” Eric said, voice coming over the speaker. “Marco’s got a record now, thanks to last night. Assaulted one of the new hires in the stockroom after closing. She called the cops. I got the hospital paperwork. It’s bad.”
My stomach twisted. “Will she be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. Shaken up, but she’ll be fine. She has family. He’s under arrest. Whole thing is on one of the cameras we installed that he didn’t know about.”
Maddox let out a low whistle. “That’s one problem dealt with.”
Eric sounded grim. “I’ll send the files and an anonymous tip so the cops get the rest of it. No chance he’s coming after Lottie again. He’ll be busy keeping himself out of jail which isn't going to work with the rest of the stuff I'm sending.”
It didn’t feel like a win, but it was. At least that was one piece of darkness out of her life.
"I have a friend studying the will," Eric said. "I hope I'll have news soon." Eric clicked off and I breathed a sigh of relief about Marco.
Gideon cracked a smile. “You gonna tell her when you get home?”
I grunted. “Yeah. I’ll tell her. She doesn’t need to worry about him anymore.”
Maddox sipped his coffee. “She settling in okay?”
I thought of the way she’d looked this morning, cheeks pink, messy hair, clinging to Mr. Snuggles like she’d never let go. The way she’d let me check her sugar, no resistance at all. “She’s figuring it out,” I said. “She’s not used to being helped. It’s like she thinks I’ll change my mind if she makes a mistake.”
Gideon nodded. “Abby was the same. First time she didn’t say thank you when I made her lunch, she nearly cried. Like she thought I’d take it back.”
It was the same with Lottie. Every time I did something for her, she looked at me like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“What about the uncle? Did you tell her yet?” Gideon prompted.
I hated it. I hated not having answers for her. She’d trusted me, even if she didn’t know it yet, to fix the parts of her life that were too broken to handle, and all I could do was wait for a fucking paper trail.
“No. I haven’t told her.” My voice came out flat. “Not until Eric gets something solid. Last thing I want is to rip that wound open for her if it goes nowhere.”
