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Of course she didn’t, but it still hurt more than she could have imagined. Even if it was selfish of her, in her heart of hearts she had never really wanted him to be with Maggie. Ana had wanted Rory for herself.

She walked past the college fields, the streetlamps lighting her way, and crossed the train platform to get into the village. The clock tower was lit up in holiday colors, and there were pine boughs strung with twinkle lights hung around the Gabriel’s Drugstore sign. This was the town she had always loved, and it looked like an illustration from one of the storybooks at the library, with snow frosting the rooftops and holiday finery brightening every shop.

Nothing has changed, she reminded herself, as she headed for Pura Vida. I wasn’t with Rory a year ago or even a week ago. Rory being with Maggie doesn’t change anything for me.

She was just going to have to let go of her silly daydreams that he was going to sweep her off her feet somehow. But she had plenty to keep her busy these days.

The shop was closed, so she headed around to the door leading up to the apartment, forcing herself to slow down and shift into the peaceful mode she tried to cultivate around Theo, who’d had more than enough unpleasantness and upset in his young life.

The scent of her mother’s homemade stew drifted down to greet her, and by the time she got up the stairs, she was feeling calmer and more centered.

She opened the front door and smiled at the sight of Theo racing his little red truck along a road he had made out of blocks.

“Aunt Ana,” Theo cried, dropping his truck and barreling over to hug her hard.

“Hi, Theo,” Ana said, hugging him back and tousling his hair. “I missed you.”

“I’m glad you’re home,” he said, pulling back to look up at her with solemn eyes.

“Me too,” she told him, meaning it. “What is your grandmother cooking?”

“Carrots,” Theo said immediately.

“Yes,” her mom called to her from the kitchen. “Theo helped me with the carrots for our stew, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Theo said proudly.

“Mm, my favorite,” Ana hummed appreciatively. “What can I do?”

“Not a thing,” her mom replied, turning back to her cooking.

Ana was always impressed with her mother’s tact. She was probably dying to ask Ana what happened to have her home so quickly. But she applied herself to the task at hand, clearly trusting Ana to tell her what she chose to tell her in her own time.

“It went well,” she told her mom. “They won the costume contest.”

Theo scampered back out to his truck, more interested in playing than in the adult conversation.

“That’s wonderful,” her mom said. “Your design for those costumes was beautiful.”

“You and I both did a good job,” Ana agreed proudly. “They looked amazing. And Rachael even announced that we made them.”

Because Rory told her.

“Very nice,” her mom said, nodding as she added some seasoning to the stew.

“Everyone cheered,” Ana said. “And then they yelled for them to kiss.”

“Oh my,” her mom said. “I wouldn’t want to be put on the spot like that in front of everyone.”

“Me neither,” Ana decided. “Anyway, I headed home since I was getting hungry and the food there was mostly sweets.”

“Mm-hm,” her mom said, nodding.

“I didn’t stick around to watch them kiss,” Ana said. “If that’s what you were wondering.”

“Not at all,” her mom said. “I was wondering if we should make empanadas for dessert.”

“Yes,” Theo said, darting over to them. “Yes, empanadas.”