“Well, you did wonderfully,” Nina said, ruffling his hair. “Good job, buddy. How about we visit the aquarium this afternoon as a special treat?”
“Really?” Jack’s blue eyes widened, and he began to dance with joy. “Yay!”
“Go upstairs and get your sweater and your backpack,” Nina said. Jack raced off upstairs, and she turned to Theo.
“Thanks again for taking the lead. I guess you have to get back to work, right?”
“Right,” Theo said. Some small part of him wanted to say no, that he could take the afternoon off and go to the aquarium with them. But he hadn’t been invited, and he reallydidhave a lot to do.
Still, he couldn’t help imagining Jack’s eyes lighting up at the sea turtle exhibit or Nina’s soft smile as she watched her son. It was tempting to pretend to be a family for just a little longer. After all, he’d had fun with them over the weekend, at least when his house wasn’t being made unrecognizable.
“Well, have a nice day.” Nina waved and headed up the stairs after her son without looking back. Theo grabbed his coat and went outside, ready to return to the office for the evening. He didn’t want to look back, either, but he did. As he got into the car, he glanced back one last time at the house that had become as much theirs as it was his.
Theo just wished he were more excited at the prospect of his board meeting and the documentation he needed to look over.
By the time Theo got to work, though, he’d managed to put Nina and Jack out of his mind. He was having fun with them, surprisingly, but this was only temporary, and they were only here to help him land Charles Ackley. He needed to remember that.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with meetings and spreadsheets and expense reports, and no thoughts of turtles or shining blue eyes at all.
CHAPTER 8
NINA
Nina and Jack were just sitting down to dinner — pasta with pesto, one of Jack’s favorites — when Nina heard the door open. She was surprised, as it seemed early for Theo to be home, but she smiled when he appeared in the doorway. He could be arrogant and frustrating, but he’d been great today.
“Can I join you?”
“Of course.” Nina got up and set another place at the table. “The food isn’t very fancy, but it tastes good.”
“I bet. How was the aquarium?” Theo sat across from Jack and took the plate from Nina. “Thanks.”
“It was so cool!” Jack launched into an enthusiastic description of each of the animals he’d seen, from the tiny seahorses to the curious sea lions. All this was accompanied by lots of gestures and excited bouncing. Nina smiled as she listened to him, and when he was finished, she reminded him gently not to forget his dinner.
“How was your afternoon?” Nina asked Theo as Jack went back to eating his pasta.
“Not as exciting as getting to touch a stingray,” Theo said with a wink for Jack. “But it was good. Productive.”
“Have you heard anything from the school?” Nina asked.
“Not yet. But that’s okay; I wouldn’t expect to hear back this soon. I’m sure they’ll call in good time.”
Just then, Theo’s phone began to ring. They exchanged wide-eyed glances, but when Theo answered, he shook his head. “Work,” he mouthed. He paused, listening to someone speaking on the other end.
“Yes, that’s why we picked that contractor.” He paused. “No, listen — just because you’ve had one issue with the servers doesn’t mean we need to re-evaluate everything.” He turned to Nina. “Just a second.” Then he stood and left.
“He’s really busy,” Jack said into his plate.
“He is,” Nina agreed.
“He must have a really important job.”
“That’s true. But remember, work isn’t the only important thing in life, okay?”
“Okay,” Jack looked up at Nina. “Is hereallya supervillain?”
Nina laughed. “No. I promise he isn’t. He has a different job.”
A few minutes later, Theo returned and sat again.
