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“Wow.” I take my time to chew and savor, just like I would eating caviar at a restaurant. “That’s good.”
Reagan claps. “You like it?”
“I love it.”
Caroline starts jumping on the sofa while Reagan continues clapping. “We’re good cookers!”
Laughing, I grab another one just to make them happy. But the smile I most want to see is Emma’s. I’ve never seen her look quite so in her element. It’s almost a shame that I keep her so busy at the office when, clearly, this is where she’s meant to be.
“Girls!” Emma calls. “Let’s go put our flowers in some water. Josh, will you keep Ruslan company?”
Josh nods sheepishly while Emma herds the girls into the kitchen. He walks over to the sofa and sits down opposite me. Gingerly, he reaches for the gaming device the girls have abandoned.
There’s just something about this boy. Maybe it’s the sad brown eyes that make him seem so much older. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s more observant than talkative. Maybe it’s how, despite his size, he feels the need to protect Emma and the girls.
I can relate to him. And even with full-blown adults, that’s not something I feel often.
I gesture with my eyes to the canapé dish. “I like the plate.”
He shuffles his feet uncomfortably. “My mom made it in a pottery class when I was three. She had me dip my hands in paint to decorate it.” His voice dips low when he mentions his mother. “She died when I was five.”
My chest constricts. “I lost my mother a long time ago, too.”
He stops shuffling his feet. “Really?”
“Really. I was much older than you, though.”
“So you must remember a lot about her.”
If it were anyone else, I’d have cut this conversation off at the pass. But the usual melancholy in the boy’s eyes has receded somewhat. He actually looks engaged. Interested.
Dammit. I can’t not indulge him.
“I remember a lot, yes.”
Josh frowns. “That’s the problem. I don’t.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” I hear myself saying. “The more you remember, the more you’ll miss her.”
His expression ripples and his bottom lip pushes out. “I’m okay with missing her if it means I can remember more of her.”
Well, shit.This kid just might be braver than I am.
Giggles erupt all of a sudden and, a second later, Reagan and Caroline slide into the living room with matching grins.
“Bum-bum-BUM! Dinner is served!” Caroline announces.
“Heyyy!” Reagan places her hands on her hips and turns to her older sister. “That wasmyline.”
“Was not.”
“Was too!”
“Was not.”
“Wastoo!”
“Girls! Stop fighting and show Ruslan into the kitchen.”
