Page 21

Then Olive cleared her throat. “Do you want to check out the hamster hotel? The official tour won’t start for another half hour, but I figured it would be better to see the finished room without all those people around.”

I nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I agreed to come tonight. I must admit I’ve never seen a hamster hotel before.”

She drew in a breath of air. “Neither have I, believe me. It’s not what I imagined would happen to my old room when I moved out.”

I followed her to a rainbow-colored door. She glanced at me. “You’re probably thinking my parents were the best to give their daughter a rainbow door, right?”

“Of course. My sister would’ve gone crazy for something like this.”

She smiled, running a hand over the woodwork. “Me too, except this door has always been a dull brown. I did beg them to add some more color to it when I was little, but I guess my pleas weren’t as convincing as those of a couple of hamsters.”

I smiled. “Hamstersareknown for having exceptional persuasion skills. They’d outsmart a little girl any time.”

“Oh, really? You don’t happen to know if one of them is hosting a course on the topic, do you? I mean, you’re a vet after all. You probably have the inside scoop on everything hamster.”

I tapped my chin with my finger. “Nothing comes to mind, but I’ll keep you updated. Sorry, I’m acting silly,” I added.

She locked eyes with me. “I like silly. I love silly, even. The world’s too serious for my taste.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” I said, not wanting to break eye contact with her.

She put her hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open so we could both step inside the hamster hotel. The room smelled like fresh paint and wood shavings, with themed hamster cages lined up against three of the walls. A dresser and an open shelf unit were pushed against the fourth wall, containing supplies and food.

“Welcome to my old bedroom, now hamster hotel. With a garden view,” Olive added.

I chuckled. “Do hamsters care about garden views?”

She shrugged. “My parents seem to think so.”

I walked around the room, checking out every cage. There was a barn theme, an underwater theme, and a forest one. “I’m impressed. Your parents put a lot of thought into this.”

“You should tell them. I’m sure my mother would be delighted to hear that, especially coming from you.”

“Because I’m a vet?”

She took one of her pompoms in her hand and rolled it around. “And because Mom thinks you’re the perfect son-in-law.”

My eyebrows shot up. “She said that?”

Olive put her face in her hands and moaned. “Ugh, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Now you’re going to think I told her about you, but I didn’t, I swear. And I also don’t want to marry you or anything. Not that you’re bad marriage material.”

“Olive,” I said, stepping closer. I gently pulled her hands away from her face. “Stop overthinking everything you say. My mother tries to set me up with everyone she meets as well. She even talked about me bringing a girl home this Christmas. That’s what mothers do.”

She pulled a face. “Tell me about it. Ever since Stefano, she thinks I’ll end up old and alone.”

“Who’s Stefano?”

“Some guy I used to date. He left me to go work with rescue chickens.”

“There were no chickens to rescue right here?”

She bit her lip. “The ones in Brazil were more important to him. That, or he couldn’t think of any other way to end our relationship.”

I swallowed. I knew all too well what it was like to get dumped like that. “I’m one hundred percent certain you won’t end up old and alone.”

She tapped a finger on her lips. “Hmm. So you’re psychic as well, are you?”

“Maybe I am. I could be carrying a crystal ball or two in my trouser pockets for all you know.”