I sighed, pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes.“For fuck’s sake.”
When I opened the door, I forgot how to speak.Lily stood there, auburn curls clinging to her cheeks in soft spirals.She looked out of breath, like she’d run up the steps.
My heart launched into a rhythm that had nothing to do with training, and everything to do with the woman standing in my hallway looking at me with those eyes that had haunted every waking moment this season.
In Austria, I’d finally told her how I felt.She’d just stared back at me, wide-eyed, not saying anything.Which was fine—I didn’t need her to say anything.I just needed her toknow.
Before I could say something, a panting caught my attention, and I looked down.
There, next to Lily, was Archie.The same Lab who’d spent half of Valkyrie’s charity event draped across my lap.The same dog who’d leaned into my hand like he’d known me for years.The same dog whose easy warmth had cracked something open in me I’d been trying desperately to keep sealed.
He recognized me instantly.His tail began sweeping the floor in increasingly enthusiastic arcs, and his whole body wiggled with such unfiltered delight.
She brought him here.She remembered.
The thought hit before I could stop it—before I could protect myself from the hope that came with it.
I stared at her, dumbfounded, acutely aware that I was still holding the door like an idiot, that I probably looked as shocked as I felt, that I had no idea what expression was on my face.“What the hell is this?”
“A dog,” Lily said, with a brightness that bordered on dangerous.
“I’m aware it’s a dog,” I retorted.“But why is hehere?”
“Because,” she said, as if this were obvious, “you’re his foster parent now.”
I must’ve blinked, because she held up a plastic packet covered in Paddock Paws logos, as though visual evidence might help.
“Don’t worry—it’s a foster situation.For now,” she said breezily.“Paperwork’s all sorted.Congratulations.”
My brain was struggling to process everything in front of me.She was here, with a foster a dog she’d arranged on my behalf, acting like I hadn’t laid my heart bare while she said nothing.
“You—” I looked from her to the paperwork to Archie, who’d decided the conversation wasn’t interesting enough and begun sniffing my doorway with focused enthusiasm.“This is crazy, even for you.”
“Meh.”She shrugged.Her curls bounced as she waltzed into my hallway, leaving me standing at the door, still holding a leash I didn’t remember taking from her.
“Lily, you have to take this dog back!”
A smile curved her mouth, slow, warm, and infuriatingly gentle, in a way that made my chest tighten.
“Why?”She tilted her head, meeting my eye with that steady, knowing look that always felt like she could see straight through every defense I’d carefully constructed.“Well, you won’t go to therapy, will you?So this is… therapy-adjacent.The next best thing.”She reached down to scratch behind Archie’s ear, her fingers moving with ease through his fur.“As much as a therapy dog can be anyway.”
I shifted my weight, suddenly hyperaware of how close she was; how small my hallway felt with both of us in it.
“I’m actually going to therapy now, thank you.”The words came out more defensive than I intended, but I needed something to break this tension, to stop thinking about how she’d looked at me in Austria when I’d walked away from the bar, to stop wondering what it meant that she was here now.
Lily’s head popped up, her eyes going wide.An incredibly pleased grin spread across her face, genuine and unguarded in a way that made my heart do something complicated.
“Henri, that’s—” She stopped herself, like she was trying to find the right words and was coming up short.“That’s really good.I’m proud of you.”
I began to tap against my thigh—a nervous gesture I immediately regretted, because it probably made me look as off-balance as I felt.“After Austria,” I said, focusing on the dog, because that was safer than focusing on her.“After everything with the press conference and Ollie’s interview, I realized I was barely keeping it together.That everyone could tell I was struggling even when I thought I was hiding it well.”
There was a tender silence between us, with neither of us saying anything.
Finally, I turned back to find Archie, but he simply trotted past my leg and jumped onto my sofa in the living room.
I gestured toward the couch, which Lily was now perched on next to Archie.Her shoes were kicked off by the edge of the seat, and she looked so relaxed, like shebelongedon my couch.
I remained standing, watching her settle into my space like she’d done it a thousand times before, in previous years when hanging out had felt effortless.Rain-dampened curls fell across her shoulder as she leaned forward to stroke Archie’s head, and my chest twisted at the sight.
