“Uncle Zac?” Holly was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. “Why were you kissing Aunty Alix if you’re not going to marry her?”

Good. It was his turn to be subjected to Holly’s questioning.

Zac rubbed his hand across his jaw, struggling to regain control. “I was kissing Aunty Alix—who, by the way, was kissing me back—because I like kissing her.”

Oh for—

“I like kissing her, too.” To prove her point, Holly wrapped herself around Alix and planted wet kisses on her cold cheek. “She has kissy cheeks.”

“Wow. That’s, um—” Alix screwed up her face “—nice.”

“She has a kissy mouth, too,” Zac murmured, and she threw him a look that should have shriveled him on the spot.

He simply smiled, and so did Robyn.

“I think it’s great that you two are together, even if young Holly here is trying to speed you into a permanent commitment.”

Alix gave up. It was all too complicated. If she explained that they weren’t together, how did she explain the kiss?

Holly reached out to stroke Suka. “Will she bite me?”

“She won’t bite.”

“Biting is naughty.” Holly pushed her gloved hands into Suka’s fur. “I used to bite when I was little, but then I stopped.”

“I remember that phase.” Alix was relieved Holly’s focus had shifted from kissing to biting. “It was painful. I remember I woke up one morning to find your jaws lodged in my shoulder. I was glad when you stopped.”

Robyn reached out to rub Suka’s fur. “You’ve known Christy a long time?”

“Since I was five. We sat next to each other in school.”

“Best friends.” Robyn glanced at Holly. “You obviously have a close relationship if she trusts you with her most precious possession.”

Alix wasn’t sure what her relationship with Christy was anymore. All she knew was that it wasn’t what it had been. She didn’t know if this was the end of their friendship. Nor did she know how to broach the subject. She and Christy hadn’t had a deep, personal conversation in a long time. Why was she only now realizing that? Had she not thought to look, or had she not wanted to look?

Sensing that Robyn was waiting for a response, she tried to smile. “Yes,” she said. “We’re close.”

“You’re lucky to have each other.”

Alix wasn’t sure Christy would agree, but fortunately Robyn had moved on to Zac.

“And you’ve known Seb forever?”

“We met in college.” Zac stretched out his legs. “How did you end up in Sweden, Robyn?”

Alix wondered if he’d changed the subject in order to avoid answering questions about the relationship the four of them shared.

“I worked in hotels and restaurants for a while, gradually traveling north. Worked a summer season in Kiruna and then met Erik and decided to stay on for the winter. And that was it. I fell in love.”

“With Erik?” Alix was curious. So far Robyn wasn’t fitting the image of a wild rebel.