I feel blessed. This is one of the best moments of my life.
I drive them home with my heart bursting. When I park, I turn around. Kael climbs onto the back seat and wraps his arms around my neck, hugging me with the seatback between us.
“Thank you, Dad,” he says, then lets go.
“Thank you, Nero,” Nina says too, opening the car door so Kael can get out first. He stops with one foot already outside.
“Now can I ask my uncles whentheirpayday is so we can eat pie too? I have three!” he celebrates, eyes shining.
“No!” Nina answers quickly.
“Why not?” Kael asks, genuinely confused.
“Because you can’t ask everyone for pie, Kael.”
“But they’re not everyone. They’re uncles,” he argues.
I bite my lips, hiding my smile.
“I’ll explain at home, Kael,” Nina says, cutting me out of the rest of the discussion.
They leave the car. I drive around the block and park on another street, then walk back quietly so neither myLittle Fae, her mother, nor Kael discover that I’m their new neighbor.
I do it grinning ear to ear, feeling like the luckiest man alive.
CHAPTER 62
NERO ZANTHOS
Nero:Can you come outside for a moment, please?
Nina:The door’s open. We’re upstairs. You can come in.
Nero:I’ll wait outside. Please come alone.
I hear Nina’s footsteps coming down the stairs, echoing outside, and I wait, nerves buzzing. She opens the door, startled.
“What happened?” Her eyes are wide. “Did someone get hurt?” she asks, alarmed, looking around as if the answer might be written in the air.
“What do you mean, Nina?” The confusion in my voice is obvious. “Who got hurt?”
“That’s what I’m asking,” she snaps. “You’re the one who came to get me.”
“But I never said anyone was hurt. I just said I needed to talk to you,” I clarify.
She blinks, her expression flipping from worried to irritated in a second.
“Then why didn’t you just come in?” She slaps her palm against her thigh. I understand our conversation even less now.
“I didn’t warn you I was coming. I didn’t want to be inconvenient.”
“Your existence is inconvenient, Nero. You scared me. Damn it.” She presses a hand to her chest, closes her eyes, and takes a few deep breaths.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”
“What do you want?” The urgency with which she tries to get rid of me makes me step back. Nina doesn’t usually welcome me with open arms—but she also doesn’t usually push me away this hard. At least, not since that first day.
“I bought this.” I pull three tickets from my pocket and hand them to her. Nina takes them, frowning.
