At that moment Valentina laughed again, and for a moment, the tension that hovered earlier in the air began to soften.
Then, with surprising maturity for his age, Luca straightened up and greeted Raymond properly. He placed his small hands together and gave a respectful little bow.
"It's really nice to meet you, sir," he said earnestly. "For real. And… thank you."
Raymond's brows lifted slightly. "Thank you for what?" he asked, his tone even.
Luca nodded quickly. "Yeah. For taking care of my sister. And for making her smile like that again. I don't know what you did, but…" he turned to glance at Valentina, his eyes glowing "I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."
He looked back at Raymond, straight-faced now.
Raymond managed to curve a small smile, though it never reached his eyes.
His gaze lingered on the boy before him so cheerful, so innocent-looking, so eager to please and yet, to Raymond, he was a storm wrapped in a child's skin.
