Sebastian's POV
Dinner was almost peaceful. Almost.
Until Sky crashed into the dining room in pink socks, one braid unraveling, and the other still half-tied with a ribbon. Her hair was dragging behind her like the train of a queen's gown—if the queen happened to trip over it every three steps.
She flopped into the chair next to mine like gravity owed her money.
"Okay, okay, okay, Daddy—don't freak out," she blurted, hands up like a bomb was about to go off. "I might have fallen again. But also—Day caught me."
I set down my fork slowly. "Again?"
Kai, across the table, was smirking into his iced tea like a traitor.
"Yes!" she said, cheeks pink. "But I didn't mean to! The hallway was slippery and my brain was sleepy and the janitor's cart came out of nowhere—"
"Kai?" I asked without looking at him.
"Already pulled the camera footage, boss," he said casually.
Sky groaned. "Ugh! Y'all are so dramatic."
"Is this the same Day you told me about last week?" I asked mildly.
She nodded furiously. "Yes! Tall, athletic, scary-smart, kinda murdery vibes but also—very polite. I'm like 94% sure he has cheekbones that could cut glass."
I said nothing.
Sky leaned closer, mouth full of rice. "Don't give me that look, Dad. He's not a criminal."
"Yet," I muttered.
"Sebastian," she whined. "Can you not threaten to disappear the only dude who's ever kept me from face-planting into a trash can?"
Kai added dryly, "Technically, that was me in second grade."
"Yeah, but you dropped me afterward," she deadpanned.
I fought a smile.
She was still talking. "Anyway, he didn't even laugh when I tripped. He just caught me—like, full on arms-around-my-waist, twirly moment, like in those movies."
"Twirly?" I echoed.
She nodded. "Like, spinny. You know, the way people fall in love."
I raised a brow. "So you're in love now?"
"NO," she snapped, face red. "I mean—maybe. But also no. Definitely maybe not."
She stuffed more food in her mouth, clearly flustered. Then narrowed her eyes.
"You're gonna scare him off, aren't you?"
"No," I said with a warm smile. "I would never."
Kai coughed once. "He means yes."
Sky groaned. "You two are literally the worst."
Then she brightened again, in a way only she could.
"Anyway—can you braid my hair later and put flowers in it, Kai? I wanna look nice tomorrow."
"Why?" he asked, instantly suspicious.
She grinned. "Because I feel like being pretty. Not everything's about boys, Kai!"
I was going to need a background check on every flower petal too.