Biscuit stopped to sniff at a clump of grass, then sat down and stared at her.
She wasn’t entirely sure what this meant. Was he trying to tell her that he preferred her? Or Elijah? Or that he couldn’t choose?
Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to – that decision would be down to Dawn, the centre’s manager, who would be back in less than a week. Which was something Nora was incredibly nervous about.
Biscuit got to his feet, but it was Nora’s turn to stop as a thought occurred to her.Andrea.How was Elijah going to manage if she was off work for any length of time? Abruptly Nora despised herself for thinking that Andrea’s misfortune might give her an advantage in the Biscuit adoption stakes.
‘Nora Bunting,’ she said out loud, ‘you’re turning into a horrid person.’ Which kind of spoilt the rest of what should have been a very pleasant walk with her furry friend.
Her mood hadn’t improved by the time she put Biscuit back in his kennel, and as she sank to her knees to give him one last cuddle, she felt quite depressed. Even the prospect of being able to have the occasional yummy cookie or brownie didn’t cheer her up.
But then Jakob told her something thatshouldhave cheered her, but in fact had the opposite effect: it made her feel worse.
‘Nora, I’ve got good news,’ he said. ‘Elijah has withdrawn his application for Biscuit.’
‘After what you’ve just told me, how can you say Elijah doesn’t have the hots for you?’ Kendra demanded when Nora popped into the salon later to check that the afternoon had gone smoothly. She’d also wanted to share her news.
‘He doesn’t,’ Nora insisted. ‘He knows I’m the better option, because without Andrea he’s a bit stuck, and Christina thinks she’s going to be off for a while so he’s going to have to spend more time in the shop, which wouldn’t be fair on Biscuit.’
‘So why do you look so miserable?’
‘I feel sorry for him, I suppose.’
‘That’s not all you feel,’ Kendra suggested, and as Nora glowered at her, she pressed on, ‘How long have we known each other? A bloody long time, that’s how long,’ she said, before Nora could respond. ‘And I’ve never seen you this het up over a bloke.’
‘I’m not het up over a bloke.’ Shewas, but she wasn’t going to admit it. ‘I’m het up over adog.’
‘Even though you’ve no longer got any reason to be?’
‘What can I say? It takes me a while to adjust.’
‘Pah!’ Kendra scoffed. ‘Your middle name is spontaneity.’
‘Not anymore.’
‘It’s really knocked you for six, hasn’t it, this diabetes?’
Nora shrugged, trying to be nonchalant but not fooling anyone, least of all herself.
And there was another thing she couldn’t fool herself about, and that was her acute disappointment that with Elijah throwing in the towel, she had no reason to see him again.
‘This is nice.’ Elijah’s gaze swept around the restaurant, then returned to his son.
Cameron was studying the menu. ‘Hmm?’
‘I said, this is nice. The two of us, out for dinner.’
‘Yeah, it is. What are you having?’
Elijah hadn’t looked at his menu yet. ‘Not sure.’
‘Steak for me, I think, with loads of chips. Protein for muscle, carbs for energy. I’ll have a side of garlic bread, as well. I’m carb-loading for tomorrow.’
‘What’s happening tomorrow?’
Cameron stared at him disbelievingly. ‘The last training session before the British RunMad Fifty Miler.’
‘That’sthisSaturday?’
