“That’s very thoughtful,” he said after a second. “Thinking about your mom’s happiness like that.”
Eva shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I mean, it’s all the same, right? If one of us isn’t happy, the whole family is sad for them. It’s not like some crazy altruistic thing.”
If one of us isn’t happy, the whole family is sad for them.
The words struck Nate much more deeply than he could’ve expected.
The whole family.
Meaning Stella, Lynn, Ken, and Eva.
And now Nate.
Nate was part of this family now.
It wasn’t just being Stella’s mate, and Eva’s...not-dad. It was more than that.
“Sorry,” Eva said. “I didn’t meant to assume that you’d be, like, paying for everything for my mom or anything like that. That’s not what she’s like, anyway. She’s had a lot of boyfriends, and sometimes we lived at their place, but she always worked too, she didn’t just...lie around and do nothing.”
Eva looked anxious. “Don’t worry,” Nate assured her. “I never thought that. It’s obvious your mom’s a hard worker.”
“Good,” Eva said, relieved. She checked her phone. “Speaking of work, I gotta get there soon.”
Nate nodded and caught Pauline’s eye, paying the check quickly.
On their way out, a boy about Eva’s age came in. He looked agitated. “Hey, Eva!” he said, and then cast a fearful look at Nate.
That look was a little suspicious. Nate backed off, out of normal hearing range. But his shifter ears picked up most of what the kid was saying to Eva in a low voice.
“...going to kick me out if I don’t...not sure what we’re gonna...the little kids can’t...”
That was all, though. Eva gave the kid a hug, and then Pauline the waitress came over. “Hey, Drew,” she said. “Let’s get you some breakfast, okay?”
She led him away, while Eva watched with wide, worried eyes.
“Everything okay?” Nate asked gently.
She jumped. “Fine!” she said, too quickly. “That’s just my friend from school. Come on, I gotta get to work.”
Something more was going on there, but Nate left it alone for now. It looked like Pauline had a clue, at least.
He drove Eva to work, dropped her off, and came back to the house, automatically scanning the perimeter for any sign of Todd. Nothing was evident, so he went inside.
“Hey.” Stella was waiting for him with a smile and a kiss, and as he inhaled her scent, Nate wondered dazedly what it would be like to have this kind of welcome every time he came home.
“Hey,” he said, kissing her back. Once. Twice—then he made himself break away. “So Eva says I should be asking you about your drawings.”
Stella’s mouth dropped open. “Why, that little—she thinks she’s sneaky.”
“She’s right,” Nate said with a grin. “I’m just not interested in sneaking with her, so I’m coming right out and asking. Can I see one?”
“One...of my drawings?”
Nate nodded. “Are they private?”
“Well...no...” Stella seemed to be having a hard time deciding whether no was really the right answer.
Although he was absolutely dying to see what sort of art Stella could make, Nate made himself say, “Really, if you’d rather not show me—”