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The little girl held her palm towards Mama’s nose. Mama sniffed her briefly, then her tail wagged madly, and she licked Eloise’s cheek.
“She licked me,” Eloise said with a giggle.
“She likes you,” I said.
“What’s her name?” Eloise asked.
“She doesn’t have one right now. At the moment, she’s known as Mama.”
“Aww, Mama.” Eloise cupped the dog’s cheeks and when Mama laid over on her back to show her belly, Eloise sank down to the ground and scratched her tummy.
My heart swelled. It was the most precious moment I’d witnessed in a long time. Damn this dog and her determination to break me down. She was the sweetest dog ever. I even heard Claire mutter a short, “Aw.” It looked like Mama had passed the child safe test with flying colours.
“Seems like Mama is as good a name as any,” Ryan suggested.
I nodded. “I guess so.”
Ryan studied me. “How’s Brooklyn treating you, Aria?”
“Not too bad. I love my job, my apartment, and my roommates. It’s everything I could ask for,” I responded.
“But?”
I looked at him for a long moment. Could he tell I was still upset over missing Logan? Was it honestly that obvious? I shrugged. “No buts.”
“You know, if you ever need anything, you only need to ask,” Claire said.
“Yeah, I know.” I stupidly avoided their gazes, which only deepened their suspicions, which caused me to almost lose my shit. No matter how much distraction I knew Mama would provide me, it wouldn’t suppress the fact that I missed Logan as though I’d lost a limb.
Ryan squeezed my shoulder and Claire squatted next to me as I fought to keep it together.
“Aria, why are you sad?”
Eloise’s innocent question didn’t help me to keep my cool. The tears broke free of their dam.
“Ryan?” Claire indicated their daughter.
He nodded his understanding, then tugged their little girl to her feet. “Come on, Eloise. Let’s see how high you can go on the jungle gym.”
“I’ll bet I can reach the top!” Eloise cried.
Once they were out of earshot, Claire said, “Okay, Aria, let’s talk. I know we’ve never been close, and I take full responsibility for that. But I’m happy to listen to you if you need to open up, and you know I’m great at keeping people’s confidence.”
I told her about my vacation, meeting Logan, and everything that had happened.
“You must be beside yourself with worry.”
“I keep trying to snap myself out of it, to distract myself with work and fostering,” I indicated Mama, “but the feeling of missing him and worrying about him just won’t go away.”
“It won’t, if you love him. Hopefully, your work colleague will find something to give you peace of mind. Until then, you need to hold on, okay?” Claire brushed my hair out of my face. “I’m going to insist you don’t be a stranger, and come around to our place for dinner more often, or lunch on a weekend. With Kida in Alabama and Willa in Seattle, you’re the only family I have left here that isn’t Mum and Dad. As much as I love them, it’s not the same. I’d like to keep up with you.”
I drew in a shaky breath. “You’re welcome to come to my place as well.”
“I hope you find out about Logan soon.”
I wasn’t used to this affectionate side of Claire. She’d always been the cool, aloof cousin. Maybe motherhood had softened her. Whatever it was, I was truly grateful to have her nearby. “Thank you.”
* * *
