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I shrugged. “You’ll be in my house and I’ll be around. It’s not putting me out at all. We’re in this together, Nora.”
She gave me a guarded smile—the smile of someone not entirely convinced wewerein this together. And I supposed she was right. As much as I wanted to be in this with her, right now, this relationship had more to do with convenience. For one of us, anyway.
“So, when do we announce our engagement?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from Nora and fixing them on the calendar.
“To my family? Next Sunday, at family dinner. Bunny and Millie will be there.” She didn’t look entirely convinced, twisting the corner of her napkin again.
“You think that’s a good idea? Telling them all together?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I think so. Cal and Len will know I’m lying if it’s just us, and Millie and Bunny will be so excited, my brothers won’t have a chance to ask questions.”
“Smart. Okay, next Sunday it is.”
With the decision made, Nora loosened up as we ate, peppering me with questions about the trips on the calendar, who’d be there and what they were like. She’d nail being my soft-spoken but engaging wife, and I’d try not to let it bother me that our relationship was a farce.
Because being married to Nora gave me time.
* * *
By the time we drove back onto Main Street, all the businesses had closed for the night and the streets sat empty. I pulled into an open parking spot.
“I’ll walk you to your door,” I said, interrupting Nora’s attempt to wave goodbye and flee.
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to. Besides, it’ll just take a second.”
Nora clutched the flowers and the folder in her left hand, standing on the sidewalk and waiting for me to round the car.
“You’re going to have to get used to being seen with me,” I joked.
“Well, in that case, we probably should have timed coming back to town earlier, so we would run into someone.”
“Next time.”
“Nora? Is that you?” A high-pitched whimper followed the question.
I turned around to find an older lady hustling down the street, led by a small whippet standing on two legs in an attempt to reach Nora first.
“Hey, Tammy.” Nora waved.
“Who’s that with you? Did you go on a date?” Tammy shuffled down the street.
Nora’s chest bloomed red and she ducked her head. “This is Andy Stewart.”
The whimpering dog reached us first. It launched itself into Nora’s knees, licking her outstretched fingers and wrapping the leash around her knees.
Nora laughed as she leaned down to pet the dog. “Andy, meet Tammy and Mags.”
Tammy eyed me warily. “Pleasure. So, what are you all doing up so late?”
I’d largely stayed isolated from the small town gossip of Franklin Notch. Despite growing up in the town, my parents sent me to Pierce for school, and my mom fled back to Connecticut any chance she got; once my father passed, she was gone for good.
With my business keeping me busy in Pierce and beyond, I kept the local politics at a distance, but marrying Nora would undoubtedly change that. My family name might be a historical footnote, but Nora’s family was woven deep into the fabric of the community.
“Dinner,” Nora choked out the word, the splotch of red on her chest rising up her neck.
I wrapped an arm around Nora’s waist. “Just walking her to her door.”
