Then:
Toby:SERIOUSLY THOUGH. ARE WE GETTING MATCHING UNCLE SHIRTS
I shake my head. Sadie notices again. “That smile means trouble.”
“I’m surrounded by idiots.”
“Ah. Hockey.”
“Exactly.”
She laughs softly. The sound settles warmly somewhere beneath my ribs.
We stop briefly at Sweet Seasons so Sadie can grab dessert trays for the Briar Cove Children’s Charity Auction happening that evening at the community center.
Apparently, my fake relationship now includes volunteering.
Honestly? Could be worse.
The event itself turns into absolute chaos almost immediately.
Tiny children high on sugar run between tables.
Tourists bid aggressively on gift baskets.
Mrs. Bellamy somehow wins three silent auction items and acts shocked every single time.
Jillie attaches herself to me within fifteen minutes. Not clingy. Not needy. Comfortable. Like she’s stopped questioning whether I’ll actually stay when I say I will.
That realization lands heavily, because temporary things are not supposed to feel this steady.
At one point during the event, Sadie disappears into the kitchen to help organize dessert tables. Jillie sits beside me coloring on the back of an auction flyer.
“Do hockey people do charity stuff a lot?” she asks.
“Sometimes.”
“Do you like it?”
I look around the crowded community center… at Briar Cove parents laughing near the raffle table, at Sadie through the kitchen window, sleeves rolled up while she argues with Mrs. Bellamy about frosting placement, at Jillie coloring tiny hockey sticks in blue marker beside me.
“Yeah,” I admit quietly.
“I think you smile more here.”
The words hit me unexpectedly hard. Because six-year-olds should not be emotionally perceptive enough to notice that.
“What makes you say that?”
She shrugs. “You smile with your eyes here.”
Good grief. I look away briefly before she notices the effect that had on me. Kids shouldn’t be this wise.
By nine-thirty, the event finally begins winding down. Jillie crashes hard. One minute she’s explaining why snowmen deserve names, the next, she’s curled against my chest half asleep while Sadie stacks empty trays nearby.
I shift her carefully in my arms. She makes a soft sleepy sound and burrows closer automatically.
Every instinct inside me goes strangely still. I’ve held nieces and nephews before.
