“Hut!” He lifts his arms.
“Hey, Theo.” I scoop him up without thinking, settling him against my chest. He immediately lays his head on my shoulder, his stare never leaving Carina.
She gently smiles, like she knows better than to rush him.
“Hi,” she says quietly, “you look very busy.”
Theo doesn’t smile back; he just watches her with wide, suspicious eyes. A new human in his midst that he hasn’t decided if he can trust yet.
“Oh, man,” Charlie murmurs. “He’s doing the Look of Judgment.”
“Yup,” Jake says. “That’s how he looked at the nanny for a while, too.”
Carina’s mouth twitches, and she lifts her hand in a small wave, keeping it a safe distance from him. “Hi, Theo,” she says. “I’m Carina.”
Theo tightens his grip on the bunny’s ear and turns his face into my throat.
“That bunny’s seen some things,” she adds thoughtfully. “You okay there, bud?”
I feel it in my chest, the way she’s talking to him as a person and not a performance. His head shifts again on my shoulder, just enough that one curious eye peeks at her from the safety of my collarbone.
Her gaze lingers—not on Theo, but on me. On the way he fits there, and the way my hand automatically cups his back.
Something unspoken passes between us. A spark of knowing, of possibility. A quiet, startling sense of what we have that I am absolutely not ready to explain to anyone in this room.
“Hi!”
We all look down as Meadow appears at Carina’s elbow, a juice box in hand and glittery barrettes askew in her curls. She places a hand on her hip, in full assessment mode.
“That’s Theo,” she announces, unnecessarily. “He doesn’t like strangers.”
Carina glances at her, smile warming a fraction. “Good to know.”
“Are you Uncle Hutchy’s girlfriend?”
The room stills and I try to remain calm against the pounding in my chest. Theo chooses that exact moment to shift again, his fingers curling into the collar of my shirt, anchoring himself there.
Carina shakes her head with a smile, as though she’s answering a perfectly reasonable question.
“I’m Carina,” she says instead. “I’m his… Carina.”
The crew all exchange a look, and Meadow squints.
“Like his wife?”
I stop breathing entirely. Charlie chokes on her coffee, and Jake makes a sound that might be a prayer.
Carina’s lips twitch, fighting a smile. “No,” she says carefully. “But I like him.”
She hums, seemingly satisfied, and then leans in with a conspiratorially low voice. “He’s grumpy, but he can twirl you really high in the sky. And he lets Theo watch TV when Mama says no.”
Carina’s eyes flick to me then, something warm and amused blooming as she laughs softly. “Good intel.”
“Oh!” Meadow’s eyes light up. “You laugh like aniceperson.”
“Uhh.” Carina blinks. “Thank you?”
Meadow nods, then turns and gestures vaguely out the doors toward the back yard. “So the weddings are usually out there.”
