Page 62 of Snow

Amira’s eyes immediately darted toward the sound.

“Who’s that?” she asked, completely forgetting about fairy clearances.

Ah, shit! He knew he was going to regret this, but he knew Amira wouldn’t let it go. Snow turned the phone just enough for Amira to see Nova. “Nova, say hi to Amira. That’s Bear’s daughter.”

Nova leaned more into the frame, her face softening. “Hi, Amira.”

Amira stared at her for a long second as if she was studying Nova. She then smiled. “Hi. You’re pretty.”

Nova laughed. “Thank you. So are you.”

In typical Amira fashion didn’t waste any time. “Are you my Uncle Snow’s lady friend?”

Jocelyn’s laugh rang out from behind the phone. “Amira!”

“What?” Amira said, completely unbothered.

Snow pinched the bridge of his nose. He caught Nova’s eye and saw her fighting a smile.

Nova leaned closer to the phone. “Well, that depends. What is a lady friend?”

“A lady friend is when one of my uncles has dinner with a lady, and then they get married,” Amira stated.

Nova opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Snow quickly grabbed the phone back, grinning. “Alright, squirt, we gotta go. Tell your mom I said bye.”

“Bye, Nova!” Amira hollered, loud enough to rattle the speaker.

“Bye, Amira,” Nova laughed.

Jocelyn was still laughing when she leaned back into frame. “Bye, Snow. We’ll see you when you get home. And maybe a plus-one.”

“Bye, Joce.”

The screen went dark, and Snow set the phone down on the table.

Nova was watching him, her chin resting on her knees, and he could see the amusement working at the corners of her mouth. He cleared his throat, but no words came out.

Finally, Nova tilted her head. “First, that little girl is adorable. Second, dinner and then marriage? That’s a pretty efficient timeline.”

Snow groaned, dropping his head back against the chair. “Can we please change the subject?”

Her smile turned positively wicked. “No way.”

“I think we should probably clean up,” he countered, pointing toward her empty ice cream cup on the table.

“Easy,” she replied, picked up the cup, and tossed it into the nearby trash can. “There, all done,” she said, smiling.

His eyebrows shot up. “What?”

She gestured around the galley. “While you were talking to your friend, I washed the dishes, wiped everything down, and put it all away.”

Snow looked around. Sure enough, there wasn’t a single trace left that they had cooked and eaten dinner.

He frowned, suddenly feeling guilty. She had cooked and cleaned. “So, I guess I was completely useless tonight.”

She laughed. “I didn’t say that.”