Page 48 of Dante

“Good,” he says, tilting up my chin. “Now, take a good look at the snow blanketing Manhattan in case it melts before Christmas. And now let me show you your Christmas present. The holiday has come early this year.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come here.”

He leads me to one of the sofas, and I gasp to find an enormous red package. It’s almost waist high. “It’s so big, Dante. What could it possibly be?”

“Guess.”

I study the package. It could be a television set, but my room already has a high-tech screen. “You’ve given me so much already, the only possible thing would be jewels. And the box is way too big for that.”

“Well, that depends on how big the jewels are,” Dante says, and we both laugh.

“I give up. I have no idea.”

He urges me toward the box. “Open it and find out.”

I sit down beside the enormous box, my fingers on the ribbon.

Then I hear it. A sound. Muffled and soft.

I freeze. “Dante. What is this?”

He says nothing, but his grin grows. Another sound. An insistent yip.

My heart leaps. “Is it⁠—?”

“Open the box already,” he commands.

I lift the top. Nestled in red tissue paper is a tiny French Bulldog puppy. All black, sleek, and hardly bigger than my hand.

“Oh my God!”

The puppy looks up at me, ears perked.

I swear it flashes me a cute puppy smile before yipping again.

When I scoop it to my chest, it nuzzles against me, warm and soft.

My eyes sting. “Dante,” I say, my voice breaking. “You. remembered.”

“It’s nothing,” he says, looking away. “You said you wanted one.”

But it’s not nothing.

“Oh, Dante,” I say, rising to kiss him, still holding the puppy. “He is adorable.”

“When we were walking in the park the other day, I realized how much having a dog meant to you. It makes sense you’d get lonely when I’m at work.”

“I’m so happy.” I take another look at the tiny black Frenchie with a white spot between his eyes.

“You look so delicious, I’m going to call you Biscotti,” I tell him.

The tiny puppy yips, and I hug him tighter. “Dante, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Just keep him out of my way,” Dante says.

He’s still smiling, but his tone says he really means it.