Noah looked over her shoulder, hoping Nora’s mom and dad weren’t far away. At least he knew she was supposed to be at Cassie’s house and wasn’t lost. “Yes, I heard you singing. Where are your parents?”
Nora’s smile disappeared. “My mommy died when I was a baby. Megan looks after me now. She’s my aunt and William is my daddy.” She took a step closer and looked through the open French doors. “Where are your mommy and daddy?”
“They’ve died, too.”
“Really? Who looks after you?”
Noah swallowed. He’d asked himself the same question too many times to count. “My grandma and granddad looked after me when I was younger, but now I look after myself.”
“Oh. Do you like looking after yourself?”
He rubbed his jaw, unsure of what to say. “It’s okay. I have a brother called Jack. He spends a lot of time with me.”
Nora grinned and skipped across to his chair. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Her big, blue eyes stared up at him, almost bursting with the information she wanted to share. Noah hadn’t spent much time around children. Most of his friends had delayed having families, and Jack had enough trouble keeping a girlfriend happy, let alone thinking about becoming a dad.
“If Megan wouldn’t mind you telling me your secret, then that’s all right.”
Nora leaned against the arm of his chair. “I’m going to be a big sister,” she whispered. “But don’t tell anyone. Megan says it’s a surprise.”
Noah’s eyebrows rose. Megan would be even more surprised if she knew what Nora had told him. “That’s wonderful. I promise not to tell anyone.”
She held her little finger in the air. “Pinky promise?”
He almost smiled until he saw Nora’s worried frown. With a solemn nod, he touched his little finger to hers. “Pinky promise.”
The two words unleashed another dimpled grin from his pint-sized visitor.
“Why did you come to see me, Nora?”
“Cassie wanted to invite you for cake, but she said she had to tidy her studio first. Then Megan and Sam and Brooke started helping. So I thought I’d come and see you. Are you Cassie’s boyfriend?”
Just when Noah thought he’d aced the conversation, Nora managed to leave him speechless. “Um…no. I’m giving Cassie money to stay in this cottage.”
“Why?”
Telling a six or seven-year-old that he wanted Cassie to come back to Manhattan would open a can of worms. So he stuck to the second reason he was here—the one that had as much chance of happening as the first. “I’m on vacation. My brother thought it would make me happy.”
“Have you been fishing?”
Noah shook his head.
“William’s friend has a boat. If you went fishing with him, you could bring a fish home for Cassie. Then you would be her boyfriend and you wouldn’t have to look after yourself all the time.”
Noah had no idea how they’d gone from fishing to boyfriends. And even less of an idea about what to say to Nora. But he did know one thing. It was time to take his new buddy back to her aunt.
“Come on, Nora. I’ll take you to Cassie’s house.”
“To have cake?”
“I hope so.”
Nora wrapped her hand around his. “Do you know that our names sound the same?”
Noah smiled. “I had noticed.”
“We could be friends. But you’re a lot taller than me.”
