“I can’t.”
He headed for the kitchen. “Why not?”
“Because I’m movin’ to California.”
“They don’t let you have dogs in California?” he asked as he pulled the loaf of bread from the cabinet. “That’s just another reason you should stay here.”
Clearly, she was onto him because Niyah cocked her head and lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow. The expression was one she’d given him many times in his life. And though she was a year younger, she acted like she was the big sister.
To avoid that look, Nico glanced down at the puppy, watching as he sniffed around the chairs at the small table in the breakfast nook. He really was cute. Almost too cute. Like one of those stuffed animals his sister used to keep on her bed when they were kids.
Niyah cleared her throat. “You’re in love with him already.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “No. And I won’t be because I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before—” He pointed toward the dog, drawing his sister’s attention.
“No, no!” Niyah squealed, scurrying toward the puppy. “Not in the house.”
Nico laughed.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she picked him up in that sun-god-sacrifice hold again and carried him toward the back door. “I’ll clean it up. Just a minute.”
“I’ve got it,” he assured her, grabbing some paper towels to clean up the little puddle on the floor.
He took care of the pee, tossing the paper towels in the trash, then grabbed a bottle of all-purpose cleaner to wipe it again. He was still bent over when the puppy came bounding into the house, ears flopping, tongue hanging out. If Nico didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn that was a smile.
Before he could stand upright, the puppy practically launched himself at him, wiggling to get his attention.
Nico knew that as soon as he petted him, he would be doomed. He refrained as long as he could, refusing to give in.
Don’t do it. Don’t you dare do it.
“Come on,” Niyah said. “You can do it.”
He laughed, setting the cleaner and the towel on the table so he could give the dog some attention.
Sure enough, all it took was one puppy lick to the face, and he was in love. It was inevitable, he figured, and his sister knew that. Nico had wanted a dog when they were kids, but their mother was too busy raising them as a single mom with two jobs to handle anything more. And while he had assured her he would be responsible for the dog, she was smarter than him. She knew he was all talk.
Once he was old enough to get one of his own, life had conveniently gotten in the way. First college, followed by a job that he loved. Life moved seamlessly by for about three years, then one day, Stevie came to him with a business proposal. She wanted to do something with the inheritance she’d received from her grandfather, and for whatever reason, she thought opening a landscaping business was the best thing to do with it.
After weeks of trying to talk her out of it, Nico realized she couldn’t be swayed. She’d punctuated the argument with an emphatic, “I’m gonna do it with or without you. You pick.”
She was a master manipulator, among other things.
Luckily, Stevie only used her powers for good. Or so she claimed. Together, they’d created a company they could be proud of, building it from the ground up and keeping it afloat for the past eight years. A company that took up so much of his time he had too little to dedicate to anyone or anything else.
A horn honked out front.
“That’s Adam,” she said with a sad smile. “We have to get on the road.”
Nico rubbed the dog’s head again before getting to his feet. “I hate that y’all are movin’ so far away.”
“Well, the good news is, there’s always FaceTime. And it’s not like we won’t come back to visit. Or you, Stevie, and that little guy”—she pointed at the puppy—“can come visit whenever you want.”
He knew that, but it wasn’t the same. He’d been close to his sister all his life, but they’d formed a deeper bond after their mother passed away five years ago. He was going to have a vast void without Niyah around for him to talk to and harass whenever he saw fit. Nico couldn’t even imagine what Stevie was going through—Niyah and Stevie were thick as thieves—but as always, the woman radiated happiness at her best friend’s good fortune. That was what Stevie did.
Nico held out his arms as his sister walked toward him. She was crying, something she swore she wouldn’t do when she came to say goodbye.
“I want pictures,” she told him when she pulled away, wiping her eyes. “Lots and lots of pictures.”
