Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I’d say she likes the meatloaf,” I said with a laugh.
“That’s the one thing about Winnie, she hasn’t ever been a picky eater.”
We both looked at Winnie, who was attempting to put the mashed potatoes on her spoon, not the fork. She had a peculiar habit of using the same utensil for more than one different food item.
I laughed and said, “Winnie, should we pick out a name for the kitten?”
“Yes!”
Liam looked up in thought. “What about Snowball?”
Winnie giggled. “Yes!”
“What about Elsa?” I suggested.
“From Frozen?” Liam asked with a scrunched-up nose.
“What’s wrong with Elsa?”
He shrugged. “Nothing, but it’s not original or cute.”
My brows shot up. “Cute?”
“Yeah, like Snowflake.”
I laughed. “I thought it was Snowball.”
“Yeah, that one too. Or Snowflake.
“Yes!” Winnie cried out.
“Pearl?” I suggested.
Winnie shoved mashed potatoes into her mouth at the same time as she said, “Yes!”
“Marshmallow?” Liam said.
“Ohhh, yummy,” Winnie said with a smile.
With a chuckle, I said, “Winnie, we have to pick one. Just one.”
Pushing a few pieces of meatloaf into her mouth, Winnie smiled and said, “Rora.”
“We can’t name her Rora, sweet pea,” Liam said with a smile in my direction.
The rest of the dinner was spent talking about the bookshop and The Muddled Moose while we put the names on the back burner for a bit. Winnie and I played with the kitten while Liam insisted on cleaning up.
“Looks like the kitten is out cold,” Liam said, jerking his head to where the kitten was on top of the sofa and sleeping like a baby. “Should we go for a walk?”
“Yes!” Winnie said, jumping up and running for her shoes.
The walk was short, but only because Winnie started to fall asleep in her stroller.
“You should probably get her home and to bed,” I said when I peeked around to see her head bobbing all over the place.
“Yeah, she didn’t get a nap in today. Do you mind staying? After Winnie goes to sleep, I’d like to talk to you.”
My heart started racing, and I felt the panic beginning to take hold.
“Aurora, take a breath.”
“I am breathing.”
Smiling, he said, “You’re panicking. I can see it on your face. Take a deep breath.”
I tried to act as if nothing was bothering me and laughed off his concern, but I ended up choking instead.
“Rora okay?” Winnie asked as she attempted to look around the stroller at me, clearly wide awake now.
“You okay?” Liam asked, bending down some to look into my eyes.
All I could do was nod. When I finally got myself under control, we started back for his house. Once inside, I quickly volunteered to help get Winnie ready for bed.
I had planned to drag it out for as long as I could, so when Winnie picked her third book for me to read, I agreed. What I wasn’t planning on was falling asleep while reading the third book. And what I really wasn’t planning on was what happened after Liam woke me up.
Liam
I’d gone up thirty minutes ago, and Winnie had begged for one more book. I knew Aurora was giving in to her because she was stalling. This quiet dance we were playing needed to stop and I got that she was nervous. I was nervous as well.
But now it was so quiet I was beginning to wonder if Aurora had snuck out of the house.
Heading upstairs, I tried repeating what I was going to say to her. It was going to be upfront and direct because we’ve danced around this for longer than I cared to admit.
I turned the corner and stopped at Winnie’s door. My heart slammed against my chest when I saw Winnie lying across Aurora’s lap. Both of them were sound asleep, and lying at the bottom of the bed was the kitten. Aurora’s head was leaning back against Winnie’s headboard, one hand holding the book still and the other on Winnie’s back, where I knew she had been rubbing it. It was Winnie’s favorite thing and usually helped her fall asleep quickly. The sight before me was something I hadn’t been prepared for. I knew I had feelings for Aurora, that wasn’t new to me, but seeing her with Winnie like this made my chest ache with a want I had never experienced before in my entire life. A need to make Aurora mine for once and for all swept over me and latched on. I wasn’t letting her leave this house until we had told each other exactly how we felt.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “This woman is going to kill me.”
Seeing Aurora like that with my daughter made me instantly want to take her into my arms and kiss her. She not only loved my daughter, but she also cared about her happiness and safety, and that was the most endearing thing I had ever seen.
I walked into the room and gently touched Aurora on the shoulder to wake her. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me. I swore that smile lit up the entire room.