“What?” she breathed, feeling something tight and painful twist inside her. A date? Jasper? With Veronica?
Lynn shot her a sly look, lips curling into a small smirk. It felt almost conspiratorial—like gossip shared between friends.
“So if you don’t want her stealing him from you,” Lynn added quietly,“don’t freeze up. Do something.”
Nina couldn’t hide her shock.
The way Lynn said it—casually, almost encouragingly—sounded like permission.
As if Nina had the right to fight for him.
As if Lynn wouldn’t mind having her close.
Lynn noticed her stunned expression, let out a brief, quiet laugh, and tugged at her jacket like she didn’t quite know what to do with her hands.
“What?” she said with a small shrug.“Honestly, better you than her.”
Veronica walked ahead, cheerfully talking about the shelter. Nina and Lynn followed, trying to keep up.
“This is our section with adult dogs,” Veronica explained, stopping by the first row of kennels.“Many of them came to us in terrible condition, but thanks to Jasper, we were able to treat them—and even find homes for a lot of them. He’s doneso much for us. Honestly, without him, we never would’ve managed.”
Lynn snorted behind Nina, and Nina barely managed to suppress a smile. She immediately understood, Lynn had noticed it too. The way Veronica practically worshipped Jasper. Nina simply nodded, pretending to be genuinely impressed.
“This handsome guy here,” Veronica continued, stepping closer to a kennel where a large mixed-breed dog with intelligent brown eyes peeked through the bars,“Jasper helped get him back on his feet after a spinal injury. Now he runs again.”
Nina cast a quick glance at Lynn. Lynn rolled her eyes with dramatic exhaustion. Nina bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“And these little ones,” Veronica bent over a kennel with three puppies who eagerly stretched toward her hand, squealing with excitement,“are here thanks to Jasper too. He found them last winter, nearly frozen, and brought them in himself.”
Lynn rolled her eyes again and snorted. Veronica didn’t notice, continuing her monologue about Jasper’s great deeds and how close they supposedly were.
“…And when my sister ended up in the hospital, he was the one who treated her.”
Jasper, Jasper, Jasper. It felt like if Veronica could, she would have already put up a statue of him in the middle of the shelter. Lynn grew visibly more irritated, fists clenched, and Nina sensed that she was just as tired of this performance as she was. They exchanged another quick look, and Nina finally lost it, she rolled her eyes and covered her mouth slightly to hide her reaction.
“You look so alike,” Veronica suddenly said, turning to Nina with unexpected interest.“Are you related to Jasper and Lynn?”
The question caught Nina off guard. She sucked in air too sharply and coughed, trying to recover from the sudden wave of nerves. Veronica watched her expectantly. Lynn narrowed her eyes, a sly smile creeping onto her face.
“Yes,” Nina managed, cheeks heating.“Something like that.”
Veronica visibly relaxed. Nina noticed her shoulders drop, her gaze soften, and she let out a small breath—as if she’d just eliminated a potential rival.
“Oh, of course,” Veronica nodded, smiling broadly.“I thought so right away. Probably a cousin, right?”
Nina opened her mouth to answer, but Lynn beat her to it.
She lifted her chin, eyes glinting mischievously, and said with unmistakable sarcasm:
“Nina’s my mom. We were recently reunited.”
Silence fell.
Veronica froze. Her eyes widened dramatically, and the smile slid off her face as if someone had pulled an invisible string. She blinked several times, clearly struggling to process what she’d just heard.
“Your… mother?” she repeated, her voice sounding like she’d just been punched in the stomach.“But… Jasper and you… She’s way too young to be your mother…”
Lynn smirked, shot Nina a quick glance, then looked back at Veronica, clearly enjoying herself.
