“Not really. But he does have a subconscious fear of losing people. I think it comes from his dad having walked out before he was born, though that’s not how I tell the story when I talk to him about it. Still. It’s probably where the superhero thing comes from; he wants to have the power to protect the people he loves so they won’t leave.”
Theo nodded again, but his heart grew heavy in his chest. He understood Jack’s fear of being left alone better than Nina knew. His dad had also left when he was around Jack’s age, and the memory of the man he’d worshipped walking out the door still played in the back of his mind now and then. Though he loved his mom, and she’d been both mother and father to him as best she could, it wasn’t the same.
The worst part was that he was going to leave, too. Bad robots wouldn’t take him away, but once he’d made his deal with Charles Ackley, Nina and Jack would leave. Would Jack think Theo was abandoning him, too?
“You look worried,” Nina said.
Theo snapped back to the present and looked down at her. “I was just thinking about… work. I’d better get a few things done, or I’ll never sleep.”
“Okay.” Nina’s brow furrowed, and Theo got the feeling that she saw through him. Still, she didn’t say anything else as he picked up his coffee and headed back down the hall to his home office.
This fake family was starting to feel very real, and Theo didn’t know how to handle it. For now, he’d bury himself in work and try not to think about Jack falling asleep in his arms or Nina’s warm smile as she talked him through what to do. He’d try not to think about how their conversation in the kitchen had felt natural. He’d try not to think about them at all.
CHAPTER 14
NINA
“Hey, buddy!”
Jack came running up to Nina and hugged her tightly.
“Hi, Mom!”
It was a Friday and a half-day at school for teacher planning. It was too early for Theo to get off work, so Nina was here to pick her son up alone. It was for the best, she reasoned. Over the last few days, Theo had started to feel like an important part of their little family, and it was good for her and Jack to spend some time just the two of them.
It would help them both prepare for the inevitable end of their time with Theo.
“How was school?”
Nina took Jack’s hand, and they started to walk. It was an unseasonably warm and sunny day in late October, the leaves were filled with the beautiful oranges and reds of the season, and Jack’s school wasn’t all that far from Theo’s house, so Ninahad decided to walk. Jack seemed happy about it, too, as he was skipping along beside her.
“Great!” Jack said. “We did an experiment in science with leaves. It was so cool!”
“Tell me all about it,” Nina suggested. For the rest of the walk home, she listened to her son’s happy chatter. She was listening, but she was also thinking about Theo.
Sometime in the last few weeks, their fake little family had started to feel like a real one. Seeing Theo in a paternal role towards Jack had made her feel a new kind of warmth towards him. He wasn’t just arrogant. He wasn’t just a billionaire CEO. He was also kind and thoughtful and surprisingly fun. She liked talking to him and spending time with him. And sometimes, when he looked at her a certain way or when they were laughing together, her heart stirred in her chest in a way she’d been sure was no longer possible.
When they got home, Nina made lunch for Jack and sat with him while he ate. Then they went out into the yard to play. Jack had found a beach ball, so they played catch for a while, though he wasn’t very good at throwing yet. The ball was just as likely to hit the tree or the side of the house as land in Nina’s hands.
“What’s going on here?” Theo’s warm voice cut through the crisp afternoon. Nina turned, surprised to see him, and the ball hit her in the side of the head. It was soft and just bounced off, but she still blinked in surprise.
“Theo? What are you doing home?”
“It was a slow day at work,” Theo told her. “But if you’re busy…”
“No, come play with us!” Jack bounced with excitement. “We’re playing catch.”
“I see that.” Theo came to form the third point of a triangle with the two of them and held out his arms. “Throw it to me.”
Jack tried, but the ball fell short.
“Nice work,” Theo said encouragingly. “Next time, try to look just above my head when you throw, okay?”
Jack tried again and got much closer to Theo this time.
For a while, all three of them played, then Nina took a seat on the stoop and just watched them. Jack made progress at throwingtoa person instead ofatthem under Theo’s patient tutelage. It made her smile. It was nice for Jack to have a male role model, even though it was just for a little while.
Even though it was hard for Nina to believe that she was calling Theo arole model.
