"Is that so?" Ezio glanced at me, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"She's very talented," I said, accepting the coffee cup the servant handed me. "Great musicality and body coordination."
"Like her mother," he said, tone flat, but a gleam of pride in his eyes.
"I think so too." I deliberately gave him a look.
He glanced at me without answering, lowered his head back to the newspaper. But I saw that line at the corner of his mouth curve up a bit more.
Leo finally ran in from the doorway then, Macy at his heels, nearly tripping him.
"Ezio!" He ran up to Ezio breathlessly, looking up, completely serious. "I get to eat chocolate pancakes today! Mom promised!"
"Wow, that's amazing!" Ezio said, reaching out to straighten his crooked collar.
"Of course!" Leo said loudly, then climbed onto the chair next to Ezio, short legs dangling in the air. "Ezio, do you want some too? Chocolate pancakes are so good!"
"I don't."
"So good!" Leo emphasized, eyes round. "Really good! A hundred times better than cereal!"
Ezio looked at me, somewhat helpless.
"Fine," he said. "I'll have some."
Leo smiled with satisfaction, turning to tell Juliet, "See, Ezio likes chocolate pancakes too!"
"He always liked sweet things," Juliet said quietly, but her tone full of pride. "One time at midnight, I even saw him eating ice cream."
"Juliet," Ezio's voice deliberately dropped a degree. "When was this?"
"Last week," Juliet blinked innocently. "That pint in your study fridge—you didn't think I didn't know, did you?"
I couldn't help laughing.
Ezio's ears turned slightly red, but he quickly recovered that deliberately calm expression, picking up the newspaper again.
When breakfast arrived, Leo was already impatient. He forked up a piece of pancake and stuffed it in his mouth, cheeks puffed out, chocolate sauce at the corner of his mouth, saying indistinctly, "So good!"
"Slow down," I handed him a napkin. "Don't choke."
"Leo, you eat so fast," Juliet poked at the pancake on her own plate, commenting. "Like Macy."
Macy heard her name and poked her head out from under the table, looking longingly at the food in Leo's hand.
"Macy wants some too!" Leo said, about to toss a piece down.
"No," Ezio and I said simultaneously.
We looked at each other.
"Dogs can't eat chocolate," I said.
"She'll throw up," Ezio said.
Leo looked at both of us, shrank his neck, and stuffed the pancake back in his mouth. "Okay."
Juliet laughed quietly beside him.
