Take Your Time (Boston Love #4)(50)

“It’s my job to feed Dumbledore every day. But only two pellets. One in the morning and anovver before bed.” Speech impediment aside, Potter sounds more serious than I’ve ever heard her. “Cause, one time, Harry dumped the whole bottle of fishy food in his bowl and Mommy got real mad.”

Luca chuckles. “I’ll bet.”

“Mommy says we can’t ever get a dog—”

“‘Cause she’s lergic!” Harry interjects.

Luca smiles, but doesn’t correct his mispronunciation.

“Very lergic,” Potter confirms gravely. “But Daddy told me we’re gonna get one anyway and name it Remus.” Potter pushes her bubblegum pink glasses higher up the bridge of her nose. “For Christmas or somefing. Daddy says we haf to keep it a secret from Mommy till ven.”

“Your Daddy sounds like a brave man.” Luca’s tone is wry.

I swallow a laugh.

“I fink he’s va bravest Daddy alive,” Potter tells him earnestly.

“His muscles aren’t as big as yours, though,” Harry murmurs, eyeing Luca’s biceps again, then examining his own toothpick-like arms with disdain. “And I don’t have any at all.”

“Tell you what — muscles don’t make you brave.” Luca leans forward and taps Harry lightly on the left side of his chest, right over his heart. “Bravery lives in here. Big or small, boy or girl, young or old. Doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. It’s your inside that counts.”

My own insides clench precariously, hearing that.

Harry and Potter stare at Luca like he’s just handed them their Hogwarts admission letters six years early. He doesn’t seem to notice their awe — or maybe he’s just used to it after all the attention he gets on a regular basis. He leans back on his hands and stretches his long legs out in front of him. The puppy promptly scrambles onto his lap, a clumsy ball of fluff.

It’s an adorable sight.

I thought I’d seen the epitome of cuteness earlier, witnessing Luca with the puppy. But this? Luca bonding with the puppy and my two favorite tiny humans?

Honestly, it’s a miracle I manage to remain standing.

I must make some kind of mewling sound — Christ, hold it together woman! — because the twins glance in my direction and leap to their feet.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Potter yells, barreling toward me. She hits me like a freight train, slamming into my stomach with enough force to knock the wind from my lungs.

“Ooof!” I gasp. “Easy, Pot, you’ll crack a rib.”

Another small body bumps into my side, far gentler than his counterpart. Harry. I wrap an arm around each of them and squeeze, staring at the tops of their glossy blonde heads as warmth radiates through me.

“Hey, Har, how’s it hanging?”

He peers up at me. “You’re late.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

His little face is stern. “You were supposed to come over at four.”

“And you got a dog wifout telling us! What, did you fink we wouldn’t find out?!”

“No, Pot, I didn’t—”

“Who’s he?” Harry cuts me off, pointing at Luca.

“He’s—”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Potter asks.

“No, he’s—”

“Mommy says you have lots of boyfriends,” Harry offers, squinting. “Do you?”

Oh, so Mrs. Macomber thinks I’m a slut.

Perfect!

“Actually, guys—”

Potter peers around me to her twin. “Daddy finks Mommy is being judgmental when she says vat.” She looks up at me. “What’s judgmental?”

“Oh, um, it’s when you say something nice and totally not uncalled for,” I grumble.

I hear a chuckle from Luca’s direction and glare at him, wishing my cheeks weren’t suddenly turning red. He’s back on his feet, watching the three of us with an unreadable look in his eyes. As if the sight of two kids hanging on me like little blonde monkeys is hard to reconcile with his existing perceptions.

“Is he staying to babysit?” Harry asks.

“Oh, no, he’s—”

“I fink he should stay,” Potter says decidedly, pulling away from me and stalking straight up to Luca, who towers so far over her head it’s almost laughable. She can barely meet his eyes even with her neck craned all the way back. “I bet he’d push us way higher on the swings van you can, Lila.”

“Totally,” Harry murmurs, trailing after his sister.

Luca grins down at them. “Ever had an underdog?”

The twins squeal excitedly.

Shit.

“Guys, we’d have to check with your mom—”

“She won’t care!” they chorus together.

“We’ll see about that.” I swallow. “And even if she agrees, I’m sure Luca has other plans already—”

“I don’t actually.”

I glance at him dubiously. “You want to come to the park with us to play on the swings, then eat macaroni and cheese for dinner? Seriously?”

“Can’t think of a better way to spend my night.” His eyes glimmer. “Well, actually, I can think of a few things I’d rather be doing.” They dart down to my lips and linger there for a heated instant. “But mac and cheese rates a close second.”