“Matvey…?” April whispers, low enough that only I can hear. She’s asking me with her eyes: Are you sure this is okay?
“I—I’d love to,” Charlie splutters. “That is, if it isn’t too much trouble…”
“Nonsense,” I cut in. “Family’s always welcome. Though…” The siblings follow my line of sight to the disaster on the stove. “I hope no one minds if we order in.”
Two heads start shaking in sync. “Not at all,” April blurts out.
“Definitely,” Charlie agrees. “By all means.”
Again, I bite back the urge to smile. “Pizza it is, then.”
When Charlie pads away to rummage through my stack of takeout menus, April inches closer to me. “Thank you,” she mouths.
I give her an impassive look. “Oh, you’ll pay me back.”
She blinks. “For the pizzas? Sure—”
I catch her chin in my fingers. When I speak next,
