Sophie stared at him. “Done properly?”
“Custom.”
“Like actually custom?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my God.” She clutched the blanket dramatically to her chest. “This is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me and I had major surgery yesterday.”
“An impressive ranking,” Pietro said dryly.
“You’re winning by a mile.”
He stood then, smoothing one hand over the front of his coat. “I’ll let you both recover from my overwhelming charm. Think about the cane.” He turned to me and winked. “I’ll wait in the car.”
Sophie grinned. “Oh you’re going to regret that. I’ll get the coolest cane ever and stop being so nice or I’ll force you into best friend role.”
“I’ll do my best to prevent it.”
“You won’t.”
“Probably not.”
He looked at me then, and the warmth in his eyes made my chest pull tight in the best possible way.
“Take your time, sweetheart,” he whispered, brushing his lips on my forehead.
Then he left us, but the room felt fuller rather than emptier.
The second the door shut behind him, Sophie turned to me with a look so pointed it almost made me laugh.
“I like him.”
I smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed. “I bet you do. He’s offering you presents.”
She rolled her eyes with all the impatience of a girl burdened by a sister who clearly understood nothing.
“That’s not why.”
“No?”
Sophie shook her head. “I like him because he makes you smile.”
She kept going before I could say anything.
“And because he looks at you like you’re his whole world, which is honestly a little intense but also kind of beautiful.”
I let out a breath that was almost a laugh.
“Soph—”
“No, listen.” She shifted carefully against the pillows, serious now. Gearing up to talk, she seemed older than fourteen. “I like him because he doesn’t make you smaller. He makes you more you.”
That went straight through me.
“And I like him,” she said more softly, “because you’re stronger around him. Like you remember yourself when he’s there.”
I looked down at my hands because suddenly looking anywhere else felt impossible.
