Zoe glanced up from the utterly baffling and infuriatingly detailed monthly expense report, and immediately her tetchy mood vanished. There stood Maria, and in her arms she held a squirming, singing little bundle. Zoe got to her feet, already smiling and extending her arms.
“Hey, little flower,” she said. “How’s your day been?”
Maria handed Keira over, and right away, the baby clung to her mother like a monkey. Zoe smoothed some unruly blonde curls back, kissed Keira’s forehead. The baby clutched Zoe’s shirt, and grinned gummily even as she rubbed her eyes, thrilled to have someone else to coo at.
“How was she today?” Zoe asked Maria. “Is the teething better?”
“A bit.” Maria set the loaded diaper bag on the chair next to Zoe’s desk. “But she was so busy practicing pulling herself up on
