I exhale and scratch the nape of my neck. "Er, well…"

But when I look back at L'Oreal, her face is so hopeful. So goddamn desperate for my approval.

Kyoline looks at me. "She spent the entire afternoon dressing them up," she says. "It was…a battle of wills."

I chuckle. "And the dogs lost?"

"Clearly," Kyoline clips.

L'Oreal swoops up to Killer, wrapping his great, fluffy neck in her tiny arms. "The doggies are so pretty," she keeps saying, burying her face in his coat. "Just like pretty princesses."

My heart tightens in a way I don't know that I'm ready to cope with. I hadn't expected to get so...