“I fink he’s va bravest Daddy alive,” Potter tells himearnestly.
“His muscles aren’t as big as yours, though,” Harry murmurs, eyeing Luca’s biceps again, then examining his own toothpick-like arms with disdain. “And I don’t haveanyatall.”
“Tell you what — muscles don’t make you brave.” Luca leans forward and taps Harry lightly on the left side of his chest, right over his heart. “Bravery lives in here. Big or small, boy or girl, young or old. Doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. It’s your inside thatcounts.”
My own insides clench precariously,hearingthat.
Harry and Potter stare at Luca like he’s just handed them their Hogwarts admission letters six years early. He doesn’t seem to notice their awe — or maybe he’s just used to it after all the attention he gets on a regular basis. He leans back on his hands and stretches his long legs out in front of him. The puppy promptly scrambles onto his lap, a clumsy ball offluff.
It’s an adorablesight.
I thought I’d seen the epitome of cuteness earlier, witnessing Luca with the puppy. Butthis? Luca bonding with the puppyandmy two favorite tinyhumans?
Honestly, it’s a miracle I manage to remainstanding.
I must make some kind of mewling sound —Christ, hold it together woman!— because the twins glance in my direction and leap totheirfeet.
“THERE YOU ARE!” Potter yells, barreling toward me. She hits me like a freight train, slamming into my stomach with enough force to knock the wind from mylungs.
“Ooof!” I gasp. “Easy, Pot, you’ll crackarib.”
Another small body bumps into my side, far gentler than his counterpart. Harry. I wrap an arm around each of them and squeeze, staring at the tops of their glossy blonde heads as warmth radiatesthroughme.
“Hey, Har, how’s ithanging?”
He peers up at me. “You’relate.”
“I know, I know. I’msorry.”
His little face is stern. “You were supposed to come overatfour.”
“And you got a dog wifout telling us! What, did you fink we wouldn’tfindout?!”
“No, Pot, Ididn’t—”
“Who’she?” Harry cuts me off, pointingatLuca.
“He’s—”
“Is he your boyfriend?”Potterasks.
“No,he’s—”
“Mommy says you have lots of boyfriends,” Harry offers, squinting. “Doyou?”
Oh, so Mrs. Macomber thinks I’maslut.
Perfect!
“Actually,guys—”
Potter peers around me to her twin. “Daddy finks Mommy is beingjudgmentalwhen she says vat.” She looks up at me. “What’sjudgmental?”
“Oh, um, it’s when you say somethingniceandtotally not uncalled for,” Igrumble.
I hear a chuckle from Luca’s direction and glare at him, wishing my cheeks weren’t suddenly turning red. He’s back on his feet, watching the three of us with an unreadable look in his eyes. As if the sight of two kids hanging on me like little blonde monkeys is hard to reconcile with his existingperceptions.
“Is he staying to babysit?”Harryasks.