She keeps her face neutral, but the tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth gives her away. “Oh! Jell-O creeps me out.”
I blink. “Jell-O?”
“It shouldn’t be so wiggly.” She frowns. “Especially for something you’re supposed eat.”
“That’s fair. Jell-O is… an interesting substance.”
“It weirds me out.” Her shoulders shiver.
A quiet laugh slips out of me. “Okay. Anything else?”
Her eyes light up, as if she remembers something particularly incriminating. “I wear mismatched socks.”
I pause. “What?”
“I do.” She grins, unapologetic. “I like fun, colorful socks, but I hate pairing them after laundry. So I just dump them all in a drawer and grab whatever two I find.”
My gaze instinctively drops beneath the picnic table. “Who does that? That’s… wow.”
She laughs softly. “It’s efficient. Why would I waste time matching socks? It’s annoying.”
My eyebrows pull together. “What do you do if you have different brands? Don’t they fit different?”
“They do. That’s why I only buy one brand.” She shrugs, clearly having considered every scenario. “If that brand ever goes out of business, I’m doomed and will have to replace my entire sock inventory.”
I stare at her, equal parts impressed and horrified. “Wow.”
She smiles, clearly pleased with herself. “Life’s too short not to wear fun socks.”
Something about the way she says it—simple, and unapologetic—makes me smile in a way that has nothing to do with fun socks. “Yeah.” The word comes out softer than I intend. “I suppose that’s true.”
When we finish eating, I gather our plates and head for the trash. A small voice cuts through the chatter before I make it two steps.
“Uncle Miles! Come jump with us in the bounce house!”
I rest a hand on my stomach. “I have a strict no-bouncing-after-eating rule.”
“A rule?” Nora tilts her head, amused.
“One I implemented after an unfortunate bounce house incident as a child.”
“I won’t ask any follow-up questions.” She flashes me a grin, then turns to Cassidy. “Since you’re the birthday girl, I’ll go with you.” She pulls the tiara off her head and sets it on the table.
“Yay!” Cassidy grabs her hand and tugs her upright, dragging her across the grass toward the bounce house. Their laughter trails behind them as they disappear inside.
Before I get a second to collect my thoughts, my family barrels down on me. Melanie slides onto the bench across from me, fork in hand. “Nora’s such a catch,” she says, tapping the tines against her plate for emphasis. “I genuinely don’t understand how you snagged her, but if you let her go, I will personally disown you.”
Mallory drops beside me with zero subtlety. “Oh! And I overheard Mom and Dad talking,” she adds, grinning, “They hope to see her again. And the kids adore her. You did so good, Miles.”
My stomach drops. Oh no. Never let her go. See more of her. This wasn’t part of the plan. This was supposed to be one and done. Not one and more.
“I’m so happy you brought her,” Mallory continues, looping an arm around my shoulders. “You better invite her to more family events. But mostly, it’s just nice seeing you with someone.” She squeezes me. “I was starting to think you’d stay ‘Single Uncle Miles’ until all the kids graduated.”
“Uh. Yeah.” I rub my palms over my thighs. “I’m glad everyone likes her. I should probably go, uh… check on Nora. Just to make sure she’s okay.” I slide out from the picnic table, remove the tiara, and place it on top of the other before making my escape toward the bounce house. As I approach the castle, a pack of kids tumbles out in a blur of shrieks and laughter.
The vinyl curtain lifts and Nora’s head pops out, her blonde braid slightly mussed. “Miles! Has it been thirty minutes already?”
“Well, no, but I need?—”
