MISTLETOE,MOONLIGHT AND MY SECRET
she said, jabbing a finger at me, "owe her something enormous. Jewelry. A vacation somewhere with zero relatives. I'm thinking beach."
"Noted."
"I'm not joking, Julian."
"I know. Taking it under advisement."
That, finally, dragged a real laugh out of Maya, small and startled, and something eased in my chest at the sound of it, warm enough to almost make me forget the last four minutes entirely.
For a second the shop felt like what it was supposed to be, cinnamon in the air, snow piling soft against the windows, three people who'd survived something together standing in the middle of it.