Page 160 of Unravel Me

“C’mon, Connor. I’ll keep you safe, okay? Your mom gave me butterfly kisses, so I’m super brave right now.”

“Yeah! Bwave!”

“Be careful, you two,” Rosie says, sliding her hand into mine as we glide slowly behind them, watching their quick, teensy steps in their skates. “Not too fast, okay?”

Warm, mossy eyes come to mine, and she grins that goofy, magnificent grin. “Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh? Uh-oh what?”

“Uh-oh, I think I just fell in love.”

* * *

One of the things I love about Rosie is that she doesn’t just fall. She’s a head-over-heels, all-in, whole-world type of lover. If I hadn’t already been sure of it, I certainly would be now. Because in the week following the family skate, Rosie hasn’t stopped talking about a certain brown-haired girl who stole her heart.

“Are the kids allowed to go out with families?” she asks as we stroll through the mall, on the hunt for a gown for her to wear to my Christmas gala next week. It’s the first of its kind, an extension of sorts to the tree lighting ceremony my charity, The Family Project, holds every year. Except this one is a fancy dinner and dance, involves alcohol, and costs a fuckton more money. But it’s a night out for us, and I can’t wait to see Rosie in her dress, and then peel it off her later.

“You’re thinking of Lily again.”

“Maybe she’d like to go for a hike with us and the dogs. Something casual, a change of scenery.”

That’s the first suggestion. The next five hundred roll in, in quick succession, and I don’t think she even pauses to breathe.

“Oh! I know! We can go to the suspension bridge again and see all the Christmas lights! She’ll love that!”

“We could take her out for a pancake breakfast and hot chocolate.”

“Or dessert. Everyone loves dessert!”

“Oh, hey, there’s that new Disney movie coming out. Maybe we can take her in the new year.”

“What about the train at Stanley Park?”

“Do you think she likes buses as much as Connor?”

“I know she loves doing her loom bracelets. What else does she like? Does she like to paint or color?”

I follow her through a store, watching as she gushes over gorgeous dresses and then talks herself out of them, telling herself it won’t work on her body. Each one she puts back, I hang over my arm, and she just keeps keeping on with ideas for Lily.

“Can I ask you something?” She spins around, frowning when she sees my armful of gowns. “Adam, what are you doing with all those?”

“Is that what you wanted to ask me?”

“No, I—Those won’t suit me. I’m too…I have too much…”

“There’s nothing about you that’s too much, Rosie. Everything about you is just right. You love these dresses, so you’re going to try them on, and if you hate them, that’s that. But give them a chance.”

“Bossy,” she mumbles, sorting through another rack. She pulls out a satin crimson dress with thin straps and a thigh-high slit, her eyes lighting. “Excuse me, could I bother you to check if you have this in a twelve?” she asks one of the sales attendants.

“Absolutely.” She takes the dresses from me. “And I’ll get a fitting room started for you.”

Rosie brushes her bangs aside. I helped her touch up her hair yesterday, and the normal coppery pink is more vibrant, a stunning shade against the golden freckles on her nose and cheekbones. “What would you think about having Lily join us for Christmas? She could come over in the morning and we could put some presents under the tree for her. I know they do that stuff at the home, but…I don’t know.” She drops her gaze, mindlessly runs her fingers along a shimmery dress. “I want her to feel special. I hated Christmas without a family. It felt so lonely, even though I was surrounded by so many people.”

“Yes.”

“Yes? Yes, you’ll think about it, or—”

“Yes, let’s have her over for Christmas. I’ll check with her social worker to make sure it’s allowed and if it’s something she’d be up for.”

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