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He lets out a deep sigh. "I'm scared of fucking it up. I don't know if you noticed, but I can be a little much at times."

"No, you're not," I say softly and take a deep breath. "You are you, and you're perfect the way you are. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

"It's getting easier to believe." He nods, and I tighten my hold.

"Now, how about we warm up this bad boy?" I take the mulled wine out of his hands. "Watch a bad Christmas movie and play a drinking game while pretending there's alcohol in this."

"You're speaking my language."

I get on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. "I'm proud of you, Kieran. You did an incredibly scary thing today."

"Thank you." He rests his forehead against mine. "Probably wouldn't have done it without you."

"Kieran?"

"Yeah, Brooke?"

"Shut up and take the credit. This was all you."

"Okay."

I run my fingers through his hair and take a step back. "Now give me a minute to heat this up."

Chapter 28

Brooke

I stare at my laptop and the open social media profiles for the shelter on it.

This is overwhelming.

Kylie asked me to check out other shelters' social media and get an idea of how I want to approach ours, but there are so many kinds of content, I don't even know which path to research.

Doing fun activities with our animals so people can get to know their personalities? Possible. I guess I could get leashes for Luna and Bean and see if they would go on a walk with me, but I'd say the chances of us making it further than the sidewalk in front of the shelter are slim.

Film their everyday lives? They sleep through ninety percent of it.

Tragic backstories? Now, that's where Luna and Bean might be able to catch some attention. But what if it catches the attention of the wrong people?

I don't like this. In fact, I hate it. The bell over my front door rings, and two women walk in.

"Welcome." My heart sinks when I see the pet carrier in the taller one's hands. Her long golden hair cascades over her beige winter coat, reaching barely over the thigh high winter boots she’s sporting.

"Hi." The smaller one breaks into a smile that lights up her round, friendly face. "You must be Brooke."

"I am." I round the counter and extend my hand to them. "And you are?"

"Lauren," the smaller one declares, patting some snow off her bright red winter coat.

And as soon as I hear her name, I know who the taller one is. "Then you must be Nic."

"So you have heard about us." Lauren nods, satisfied. "Shame on Kieran for only keeping secrets on one side." Which is something they can talk out with him; I’m not touching the topic with a ten-foot-pole

"What can I do for you two?" My eyes keep returning to the carrier.

"Do you have capacity for two cats?" Nic's smile slides off her face. "We found them on a walk along the lakeshore. They are very vocal."

"Yes, I have some space. Come on. Let's take a look at you two." I motion for Nic to put the carrier on the counter and peek inside. Obviously, they’ll get a proper vet check later, but I have to see what we’re dealing with.