Page 83 of Puppy Christmas

“That’s not a negotiation, either. That’s for Santa to decide.”

“But Mom—”

Helen turned to Lila with a laugh. “Run. Save yourself. Once these two start in on the ‘But Mom’ brigade, you’ve already lost half the battle. Besides, I owe you another one now.” She winked. “Patrick and I are going out next week.”

A wide smile broke across Lila’s face. She couldn’t have been more pleased if Patrick had asked her out herself. Actually, shewasmore pleased than when Patrick had asked her out herself. “Helen, that’s fantastic.”

A rosy blush highlighted Helen’s freckles. “It’s all thanks to you. A man like that would have never looked twice at me under any other circumstances. Well, he didn’t. He admitted to not really noticing me at the school. I’d be sunk into a depression if he hadn’t apologized so nicely and promised to make it up to me.”

It was on the tip of Lila’s tongue to tell her that Patrick was likely not to notice any number of things about a woman he was dating—up to and including how she looked when Jeeves didn’t follow orders the first time around, exactly how she stood when trying not to let her emotions show, and how her lips twitched whenever she was trying not to laugh.

But that wasn’t fair to either Patrick or Helen. Patrick had never seen her the way Ford did. She doubted anyone had.

“Is he still here?” Lila tilted her head toward the door.

“Yeah. He said something about wanting to talk to you.” Helen hefted the pile of coats in her arms. “Would you think me awful if I sneak out the back with the boys? I hate to run the poor man off before we’ve even had a chance to go on one date. These two would scare a polar bear out of its den. It’s better to ease him into them.”

“Aw, they’re not so bad. I like them. They’re sweet.”

“Gross,” proclaimed Byron, overhearing this last part.

“Double gross,” agreed Neil, but he remembered to thank Lila for letting them play with the dogs.

After seeing them out and ensuring the puppies were comfortably put away, Lila traipsed back into the house. Patrick was making himself useful by double-checking all the areas where she’d hung the lights and garland, reassuring himself that she hadn’t hammered in a nail crooked or left a piece of wire exposed.

And by useful, she meant annoying.

“I’ve been putting holiday decorations up in this house for five years, Patrick,” she said and leaned against the wall. “I promise it’ll remain standing until Christmas.”

He paid her little heed. “Over two hundred house fires are caused by holiday decorations every year in the United States alone. It’s important not to overload the outlets.”

“Don’t be such a fun sponge.”

He paused in the act of testing a twinkle light. “A what?”

“A fun sponge. The void of happiness. A black hole of delight.”

“Uh, did you and Helen get into the wine already?”

Lila laughed, feeling lighter than she had in years. She wouldn’t say that she was ready to tricycle off the back deck or anything yet, but she might, should the situation call for it, tricycle anywhere else the wind took her.

“I’m not drunk, Patrick,” she said. “Just happy.”

Patrick broke into a sudden smile. She could have sworn she caught a glimpse of her reflection in his molars, but she let it slide. That dazzling brightness was Helen’s problem now—or it could be, if he’d let it.

“I’m glad, Lil,” he said with genuine warmth. “It couldn’t have happened to two better people. I hope you know I mean that. A shame, though, about Seattle. I’ve done the long-distance thing before, and it’s tough.”

She was about to accusehimof getting into the wine when he laughed and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Then again, Ford did say it was still up in the air. I can guess why. You’re not an easy woman to leave. It took me two months to screw up the courage to do it.”

There were several different layers to unpack in that statement. The one that got her bristles up the highest—that he had toscrew up the courageto have an open and honest conversation with her about their relationship—was quickly set aside as the rest settled in.

Seattle. Long distance.Leaving.

“Do you think he’ll end up taking the job?” Patrick added, oblivious to the way his last words were still clanging about inside her head. “There are great doctors there, of course, but I’d miss Emily. It’s crazy how attached you can get to patients you’ve known almost their whole lives. Pediatrics can be tough that way—in a lot of ways, when I come to think of it. Helen’s kids seem nice, don’t they?”

Lila could only be grateful for the anxious way he voiced that question. He was so caught up in his own affairs that he hadn’t noticed how still she’d gone.

“I don’t have nearly as much of a say in Ford’s future as you think,” she managed after only a brief struggle. “What he and I have is just for fun. Naturally, he has to put Emily’s needs first.”