Of fucking course.
She’s holding a sandwich in one hand and a to-go cup in the other, boots dusted with snow, cheeks pink from the cold.
Her eyes widen. “Wow. That’s… a lot of motion for one person.”
I drag Rufus back to my side, breath clouding around me. “Sorry. He, uh—got excited.”
She looks at the dog like she’s been blessed by chaos. “Who’s this handsome boy?”
Rufus whines, tail wagging so hard it smacks my shin.
I barely get the words out before she waves her sandwich. “Was it the smell? It was totally the smell.”
Mortification hits me like a shovel to the face.
“Norah, this is my niece, Maisie. And this troublemaker is Rufus.”
She brightens instantly. “Hi, Maisie.”
Maisie just stares—full starstruck silence—before blurting, “You’re really pretty.”
Norah’s eyes go soft, bright, almost glowing. Something kicks in my chest at the sight.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she says.
Then, because Rufus’s puppy eyes could end empires, she breaks off half her sandwich and gives it to him.
“Norah,” I protest, “you didn’t have to feed?—”
“It’s fine.” She laughs. “I don’t mind sharing.”
The sound does something dangerous to my chest. Trying to steady myself, I ask, “You been to the hall today?”
The shift in her face is immediate, like a curtain lowering. Not anger. Not quite sadness. Something knotted.
“No,” she says softly. “I’ve been at the flower shop. Had a… busy morning.”
No idea what that means, but it puts a tightness in my throat I don’t understand.
Maisie leans closer to Norah, inhaling like a little bloodhound. “You smell like Christmas.”
Norah laughs. “Probably because I just had cinnamon cookies. Want one? If your uncle says it’s okay.”
“Yes,” Maisie says before I can respond.
I nod. “Yeah. Sure.”
Rufus noses forward again, hopeful.
Norah looks down at him. “You too, huh?”
He whines loudly. She grins.
“Come on,” she says. “Cookies are at the shop.”
“I’ll help with the bags.”
Norah smiles and hands them to me. I take hold of the leash and then watch as Maisie takes a few steps forward and presses her small hand into Norah’s.
