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"Thank you for that," I said. "Thank you for everything."
My friend smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "Of course," she said. "It's been amazing having you at the inn. I feel like I gained a friend."
"You did," I assured her.
"And you're staying in town?"
"I might need to go home for a little bit, just to tie up loose ends and talk to my mother in person," I told her. "But after that, yeah. I think I am."
Annabelle grinned and stood up to go mingle just as Maddie scooted closer to my knee, glancing up at me and then staring down at her shoes, suddenly shy.
"Hey you," I said, leaning forward to greet the little girl.
Maddie looked up at me then with a careful smile, chocolate covering her upper lip from one side to the other like a well-groomed mustache. "Hi Ape-will."
"Did you have fun singing?" I asked.
Maddie nodded, and then gave me another searching look. There was something she wanted to say, but hadn't found the courage to get out, I realized. As the tiny girl stood, one hand on my knee, her fingers absently exploring my denim-clad leg, Taylor stood and came to her side.
"Hi Taylor," I said.
Taylor glanced at her uncle, who was deep in conversation with her father, and her face relaxed a little bit as she leaned in to speak. "We are glad you're staying," she said quietly. "Uncle Callan needs you."
My heart warmed even further, threatening to melt altogether. "I'm glad to be staying," I said.
"But we wondered something," Taylor said, and Maddie's big eyes found her sister's face, expectant. "We wondered if now that you and Uncle Callan are going to be together, are you going to get married?"
I glanced at Callan. "Maybe someday," I said quietly. "I hope so."
"So you might have little kids of your own," Taylor said, nodding sagely.
"Well, I mean, not anytime soon," I said.
"Well," Taylor said slowly. "Do you think that until you have your own kids, that maybe you'll still want to see me and Maddie sometimes?"
That was it. My heart turned to complete mush. "Of course I will," I told them, putting down my mug and gathering both girls in my arms and pulling them onto my lap. "I will want to see you all the time," I continued. "Any time you want to see me!"
Maddie didn't say anything, but her little fingers wove into my thick sweater and after giving me one more long searching look with those huge blue eyes, she pressed her blond head into my shoulder. Taylor did the same thing on the other side, and moments later, my arms were full of warm, sleeping little girls.
"You've got friends for life," Cormac commented, nodding at his daughters. "Need me to rescue you?"
I smiled down at the sleeping girls, and then around at the friends gathered with me inside the cafe. From across the room, Helen Manchester gave her a little salute from her seat between Ryan McDonnell and Juliet Manchester. Lottie Tanner leaned against the counter of her shop, a tall girl with soft brown curls at her side—her daughter, Paige, I thought. I’d seen photos at Lottie's house. The cafe was filled with people and noise and so much love, I wished I could stay there, just like that, forever.
"I think I'm good," I told Cormac, hugging my twin burdens just a little tighter. My mind went back to Christmastime the year before, when I’d been busily ignoring everything related to Christmas, and spent the actual day with my mother at the movies, trying to pretend I didn't care. This was so much better. This was what this time of year should be. I thought of my mother and of Lynn, and wished they could be here. But there would be time to see them—and I thought I might convince my mother to come live here too. I could see my mom hanging out with Lottie and Helen, maybe finding a happier life for herself in this funny little town.
As I turned my gaze back to Callan's, meeting his eyes over Taylor's head, I felt a tear tracking down my cheek.
"Are you okay?" Callan asked, concerned.
I nodded, wishing I had more arms so I could pull him into me too. "I'm so much more than okay," I told him. "I didn't know it was possible to be so happy."
"You have a whole future filled with happy," Callan told her, wiping the tear away. "I promise."
I felt the promise of his words skitter through me like glitter sprinkling down from the ridiculous bow on the basket Annabelle had given me when I first arrived. And this time, I hoped the glitter would stick to everything because I never, ever wanted to be rid of it.
"I love you," I told Callan.
He kissed me softly, leaning over the sleeping girl in my arms. "I love you too," he said.
