Page 29 of This Heart
All three women looked at me. “You’ve never seen that movie?Nanny McPhee?” Aurora asked.
“Nope, never heard of it.”
Harper and Aurora both gasped.
“I haven’t seen it either,” Cadie added.
Aurora blinked at us, then turned to Harper. “Winnie is way too young to watch it, don’t you agree?”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
Aurora said, facing me, “We should do a movie night! Maybe one night you’re not at The Muddled Moose. A friend movie night!”
“And watch a kids’ movie?” Cadie asked. “Hard pass.”
“Oh, come on,” Aurora stated as she stood back up. “It’s such a cute movie. I think it would be fun. I can plan everything, Liam, so you don’t have to worry about it. Once Winnie goes to bed, we can all watch it. I’ll make sure there is booze there for the guys.”
“I’m down for a movie night,” I said, liking the idea of having people back in the house and not for mourning, but for something fun. Like movie night.
“What would be a good night for you?” Aurora asked, the excitement filling her voice.
“We could do it Sunday night if it works for everyone.”
“I can order some pizzas from Slice, Slice, Baby,” Harper said.
“I’ll bring dessert,” Cadie added.
Aurora looked at her. “I thought you said hard pass on a kids’ movie.”
“I don’t want to miss out on movie night!” Cadie stated. “Besides, Kian would love to hang out with Liam.”
The doorbell rang and I looked at Aurora. “The last interview of the day. I’m still confused why there isn’t a name.”
“Last-minute work in, maybe?” Harper said.
“Winnie, how would you like to go take a bath?” Cadie asked, scooping Winnie up and off my lap.
“Pwease!” Winnie replied. If there was one thing my daughter loved, it was bath time.
I watched as Cadie headed out of the room and upstairs while Harper went to get the door.
“I honestly don’t know what I would do without you all,” I said, turning to look at Aurora.
She winked, then said, “That’s what friends are for.”
I nodded, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions I wasn’t familiar with. Gratitude for the friends I had and something more substantial for the woman sitting across from me. For the briefest moment, I almost wanted to tell Aurora what being near her did to me, but I stopped myself.
Friends only, Liam. Friends only.
I heard Haper’s voice as she made her way to my office with the next person to interview.
“I’m not holding out much hope,” I whispered as Aurora tossed a balled-up piece of paper at me.
“Hush!”
Harper’s voice filled the room. “Thank you so much for coming.”
Since my back was toward the door, I couldn’t see who was coming in. When Aurora’s face lit up, a spark of hope did the same. I stood and faced the door. My spark of hope quickly faded to something else.
