“Hi, Auntie Rio,” came a low, flat, deeply unenthusiastic voice behind me.
I spun around. “Chloe! Sweety! There you are.” I walked toward her. “I heard about the paper. If you’re done, we can do something fun to forget it.”
I hugged her, but she didn’t hug me back—just stood there and let me hold her for a moment.
I remembered Simon’s embarrassed look when he’d first told me what they’d decided to name her.“It’s Nicole’s favorite,”he’d said, almost apologetically. At first, I hadn’t understood why—until it hit me. He’d been nervous about choosing a name that started with a sound I struggled with.
“Remember Owen?” I said, pulling back and standing next to her so we both faced him.
“Yeah, sure,” she said quietly, cheeks flushing as she gave him a small, awkward wave.
“Hi, Chloe.” Owen smiled. “You’re almost as tall as your aunt now.”
I looked at her proudly. She was only half a head shorter than me. But the compliment made her cheeks go even redder.
Owen, bless him, either totally aware or completely oblivious to his effect even on twelve-year-old females, walked right up and held a fist for her to bump.
“Don’t be shy, Chlo,” I encouraged.
“When you tell someone to not be shy, theybeshy,” Owen said, flashing her a sympathetic smile.
Chloe huffed a tiny laugh and fist-bumped him.
Damn, this man could unfreeze an iceberg.
“This is for you.” He handed her the bag.
She peeked inside, and I could tell she appreciated that the gift-giving method had been adjusted for her age, not her sister’s.
“Thank you.” She half-pulled out a box of a mini digital notebook.
“Your mom says you doodle on your notebooks, so ...” Owen shrugged, but I could see hope written all over his face, like he needed her to like it. Maybe even to likehimfor getting it right.
The same happened when he gave Walter a cashmere sweater and a LED alarm clock-radio with Westbridge colors and logo. Like he was waiting for a verdict. As if getting it wrong meant something more than just a bad gift—like it meanthewasn’t enough.
A pang in my chest made me want to reach out and smooth a comforting hand over his arm. But Chloe’s reaction did the work.
“I love it. I’ll learn how to use it. Thank you.” A genuine smile lit up Chloe’s face. She then pulled out a larger Westbridge FC jersey.
“Can I go try it on?” She raised glinting eyes to Owen.
“Sure. Make sure you look under the club’s symbol,” he said.
Chloe turned and left.
I barely moved an inch before a loud, “Oh, my God!” rang from upstairs.
I turned to Owen with a laugh. “What did youdo?”
“Just got her a few of her favorites’ autographs.” He seemed mighty pleased with himself.
“I can’t top that. I’m dethroned now as her favorite,” I said though I was pleased for him, too.
“I doubt it.” He winked.
“I’ll go see how she’s doing.”And get some distance.“Keep an eye on Emma?”
Hiswhat do you thinkhead tilt was all the answer I needed.
