“Are you sure your leg is supposed to bend that way?” Holly asked Nora skeptically.

Nora laughed, releasing her ankle from the yoga pose and righting herself. She, Holly and Margaux were at Margaux and Hunter’s downtown loft. The airy, open space had a lot of white furniture… and Nora had a feeling it would be getting reupholstered once the baby came.

The ladies had pushed back the sofa so they could fit all three of their yoga mats side by side on the cork floor that had deep brown streaks, almost like zebra stripes, down the planks. Nora had promised Margaux she’d show her a few modified poses for pregnancy—she’d gotten really into yoga in college and it was one of her biweekly rituals. She hadn’t had time to hunt for a good studio yet; otherwise she’d be signing Margaux up for prenatal yoga classes.

Note to self, find some studios, get Margaux a gift certificate, she thought as Holly giggled, trying to imitate Nora, and then, wobbling, fell over with a thump.

“I am so not suited for this,” she declared, leaning against Margaux, who was on the floor in lotus pose. “Give me boxing gloves and a punching bag any day.”

“I will for sure be leaving all the baby’s self-defense instruction to you,” Margaux said. “Nora can teach him or her yoga.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nora said.

“I feel like there should be a cute name for the baby,” Holly said.

“Like what?” Margaux asked.

“Like Little Bean or Blueberry or something,” Holly said. “Or… you could tell us which names you and Hunter have picked out.”

“Absolutely not!” Margaux said, and Nora laughed as Holly pouted. As soon as Holly had found out about the baby, she’d wanted to talk names, something Margaux was firmly refusing to share.

“Everyone has an opinion on names,” she said. “I’m not letting anyone influence me! You’ll find out when the baby is born.”

Holly sighed dramatically, flopping over on her pink flowered yoga mat. Her ennui lasted a whole thirty seconds before she propped her head up and turned her attention to Nora. “So, I think it’s about time you spill about Mr. Stone.”

“Yes!” Margaux said eagerly. “How was your date with Luke?”

Nora smiled, feeling uncharacteristically shy for a moment. “It was really nice,” she said carefully.

Holly and Margaux exchanged knowing looks. “He took her to Nello’s,” Holly told Margaux, who let out an impressed murmur—she was not the kind of woman who whistled. “And he wants to see her again.”

Nora frowned. “How did you know that?” she asked. “I didn’t tell you.”

“Well, you kind of did, right now,” Holly said with a wide grin when Nora stuck her tongue out at her. “And don’t think I didn’t see that package that arrived the morning after your date.”

Nora’s cheeks heated.

“He didn’t send flowers?” Margaux asked.

Nora shook her head.

No. He had sent her a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Not a first edition, thank God, because who knew how much those were worth, but one from the early 1900s. It was in amazing condition, with John Tenniel’s classic pen-and-ink illustrations of Alice and her friends on their adventures. The cover was a dark green embossed in gold, and the pages gave off that old book smell that made her think of cozy mornings at home with her mom, sitting by the fire, reading together.

It was much better than roses or chocolate or jewelry or any of the typical presents men gave to women. It wasn’t like she didn’t love those things, too… but the book? It was different. It had been… she didn’t quite know how to describe how it had made her feel, holding that book in her hands. Once again, she had that odd sensation of being not just known, but appreciated.

Had it really been so long since she felt that way? She hated that she’d somehow fallen into this trap of making herself smaller so that Gregory could take up more space. Now that she was free, she felt like a caged bird who was stretching her wings for the first time in years, unsure how to use them after so long.

And then Luke came along and smiled at her and listened to her ramble about photography and lockets and her grandmother and Alice in Wonderland… and he didn’t dismiss her little tangents; he seemed to enjoy them.

It wasn’t that she lacked focus, as Gregory used to scold her.

No, it was because she was creative and saw connections in things and was interested in learning all sorts of weird little facts. She liked knowing quotes and random trivia, and that flash in her chest when he’d gotten her Alice in Wonderland reference had been more than attraction.

It was connection.

“Earth to Nora.” Holly waved a hand in front of Nora’s face, and when she snapped out of it, both of her friends were giggling.

“Wow,” Holly said. “You have got it bad for this guy. After just one date, too.”

“I do not!” Nora protested automatically and she sounded so unconvincing to her own ears that she couldn’t stop the embarrassed smile spreading across her face.

“Darling, you were daydreaming just now,” Margaux said, her blue eyes gleaming. “There was a whole moony expression situation going on. It was adorable.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “He just gave me a very thoughtful gift.”

“Tell!” Holly said. “What was it?”

“A book,” Nora said, and Holly’s face fell.

“A book?” she asked, looking confused. “I was at least hoping for diamonds. I mean, the guy is loaded.”

“Holly,” Margaux admonished, tutting at her.

“It was a beautiful old copy of Alice in Wonderland,” Nora said. “We had talked about it when he was walking me to my car.”

“Okay, that is pretty impressive,” Holly admitted. “I mean, I would’ve preferred something shiny, but I know how you like your dusty old tomes.”

“It’s a very sweet gesture,” Margaux said. “Very thoughtful. I would expect nothing else from Luke. I remember last year, Hunter was out of town on business and I came down with a terrible cold. Luke came by with his famous chicken noodle soup for me just because Hunter had mentioned in passing that I was sick and he was out of town.”

“He cooks, too?!” Holly said. She turned to Nora with a teasing smile. “It’s time to marry him! Stat!”

The women dissolved into giggles, and Nora leaned into Holly’s shoulder, feeling more grateful than ever that she had stretched her wings and found some freedom.