“Doggie,” she said in such a high pitch, Mitch and Halina winced in unison. “Ooooh, he’s so ceuuuute.”
Mitch stuck a finger in his ear. “Kat, honey. Hold that squeal down.”
But Kat was on her knees, her arms around Dex’s neck, and Dex was licking her face, making her giggle.
Mitch glanced at Halina nervously, but she smiled. “She’s fine. He loves kids.”
His smile returned as he looked down at the boy who had one hand fisted in the back of Mitch’s jacket, the other in the front of his shirt. Even with a sudden frown marring his perfection, the kid had a flawless cherub’s face that moved something deep inside Halina.
“This is Mateo.” Mitch reached up and tousled his long golden curls. “Hasn’t Keira given you a haircut yet?”
The boy’s deep, rich brown eyes darted up to Mitch’s face, then back at the dog.
“What’s wrong, little man?” Mitch pushed to his feet and wandered toward Dex. “Do you want to pet the puppy?”
Mateo recoiled, turning his face against Mitch’s shoulder. “ No. ”
Discomfort flared inside Halina. She looked at Mitch for guidance, but he had narrowed his eyes on Mateo, trying to coax him out of the sudden antisocial plunge.
“Maybe I should take Dex to the car,” Halina said softly.
“Nooooo.” The pleading whine came from Kat. “Please don’t.”
Mitch still watched Mateo with a curious expression. “I think he’s just got to warm up to Dex.” To Mateo he said, “How about a present?”
The boy turned his head enough to meet Mitch’s eyes. Mitch pulled a thick box of crayons from his jacket pocket and held them in front of Mateo. The boy’s brown eyes softened and the sweetest smile turned his mouth as his hand curled around the box.
“Thank you,” he murmured, pulling the box into his chest and sandwiching them between his body and Mitch’s as he leaned back into him. “Three of my others are broke.”
Mitch rubbed his back. “Three of your others are broken.”
“Yeah.” Mateo completely missed the correction.
Mitch chuckled and glanced at Kat. “Doesn’t look like my other gift is going to get much attention now. Think that one can wait.”
Halina took a breath to release the tension in her stomach and smiled, watching Kat try to press her nose to Dex’s without getting licked. Halina tried like hell to keep her mind averted from this insanely sweet scenario—her, Mitch, two beautiful kids, a loving dog, a serene home, safety, happiness . . . but . . . those old dreams kept pressing in on her reality.
“He no like snow.” Mateo’s voice was soft. Timid. And when Halina looked at the boy again, he was already staring at her. He met and held her gaze with clear, intelligent eyes. Something eerie slid over the back of Halina’s neck. “He no want to go outside.”
The instinct to reassure Mateo came first, but Halina’s mouth had gone so dry, it was hard to open. And that strange sensation headed down her spine.
“Mitch, what . . . ?” She lifted her gaze from the boy to Mitch’s face just as someone walked in behind him.
“What’s going on in here?” Alyssa stepped out from behind her brother with a smile that washed everything in the foyer with light. She carried a bundle wrapped in blankets in one arm. Brady. Just shy of two weeks old according to Mitch.
Halina smiled easily, instantly. Her instincts pushed her forward to hug Lys, but fear held her back and awkwardness filled her belly. “Hi, Lys. I’m sorry to come here like this. I tried to tell him—”
“Let me guess—he didn’t listen.” Alyssa came straight to her, leaned in, and wrapped one arm around her shoulders in an awkward hug around the fussing baby. “You’re always welcome.”
Relief released her insides like a Slinky falling downstairs. Her emotions tumbled out and cluttered her chest. Familiar emotions—but not safe. They were the beautiful kind. The sweet, gentle, loving kind. The kind Halina felt toward a true, longtime friend. The kind that brought unwanted flashes of the future.
She immediately brought down an emotional wall between them and eased back from the hug. She wasn’t even sure how she created the barriers anymore. It had become so automatic over the years. Keeping people out was reflexive. When she became too friendly with someone—a coworker, a member of her rowing club, even her trainer—she found ways to pull back from the attachment.
Halina searched for Brady in the blankets, but he wiggled and squirmed, drawing the baby blue fleece around himself in a wad of frustration.
More people filtered into the foyer behind Alyssa and pulled at Halina’s attention. Four men and one woman, all wearing complex, curious expressions. Some darker than others. Halina’s emotions bounced until she was all knotted up again.
“Oh.” Alyssa glanced past Halina and her smile put sparkles in her beautiful eyes. Eyes identical to her brother’s. “That’s why Kat was squealing with rapture.”
“This is Dex.” Halina turned toward Kat and Dex. “Is he okay? I can take him out—”
“Are you kidding?” Alyssa said. “With this little guy wailing all day, Kat could use something a little extra special.”
Halina smiled. At least Alyssa hadn’t held a grudge.
“Dude,” Mitch said to a tall, dark-haired man with the deepest, most vibrant blue eyes she’d ever seen. “Hate to tell you this right after you found out Mateo’s empathic, too, but I think he’s talking to animals now.”
Halina frowned, unsure if this was another one of Mitch’s jokes or something she was completely missing. Then that funky sensation she’d had played back in her mind and she didn’t know what to think.
Everyone looked at the dog, then at Mateo, then at Mitch, as if choreographed.
Mitch burst out laughing. “Oh, God, you should see your faces.” He kissed Mateo’s cheek and handed him off to the man, who must have been Cash, Mateo’s father. “But he doesn’t seem too thrilled about the dog even though he can talk to him.”
Mitch pivoted toward Alyssa, rubbing his hands together like a miser. She was jostling the fussy, squirming ball lost in blankets. “Where’s my Brady?”
Alyssa smiled, extending her arms, offering the baby. “He’s all yours. Has been inconsolable all day.” Mitch reached for the bundle as Brady’s tiny fists found an exit and pounded the air, punctuating his cries. Alyssa pulled him back at the last second and gave Mitch a warning look. “No swearing.”
His grin widened. “Never.”
As Mitch cradled the infant, something shifted in his expression. Something fundamental, rich, and warm. Halina couldn’t define it, couldn’t explain it. Could only melt inside as she watched him soften and open in ways she could never have imagined witnessing.
He swayed with the baby and shushed him. “What’s wrong, buddy?” he asked, his voice unbearably soothing. “Is there too much action around here? You should be used to that by now.”
Holding Brady in one arm, Mitch nudged the blanket off his face. “Let’s get a look at you, kid.”
Mitch’s audible indrawn breath made Halina step closer. Without taking his gaze from Brady’s face, Mitch tipped the baby in his arms so Halina could see him. And it was obvious why the baby had taken his breath. He was stunning. He was perfection. He had Alyssa’s creamy skin and dark hair. But, the other features, clearly from the Fosters’ mixed ancestry, also reminded Halina that Alyssa and Mitch were twins. The sprinkle of dark hair, full lips, and shape of his eyes may have been contributed by Alyssa, but they were clearly Mitch’s as well. Only the color of the baby’s eyes was different—bright blue.