I shrugged, not wanting to talk about it in front of everyone. The concern darkened her eyes, but she didn’t push the issue. Instead, she shifted her attention to Nova. “I bet you’re hungry. What would you like to eat, myshka?”

“I’m not me-sha,” Nova told her with a giggle. “I’m Nova.”

“Myshka isn’t a name,” I tried to explain as I looked at her over my shoulder. “It’s like when your mom or dad call you sweetheart or honey or baby. In Russian, it means mouse.”

Her face scrunched up as if she was processing that, and then she nodded. “Oh, okay.”

Mom’s mouth twitched with amusement before she lifted her hand, urging me to sit down. I carried Nova over to the side of the table where there were more empty seats and helped her off my back before picking her up and placing her in one of the chairs.

Before I took the one beside her, I felt everyone’s eyes on me, and I glanced around. When my eyes landed on Nova’s mom, I gulped and quickly jumped up next to the little angel.

“Papa is bringing home pizza in a few hours. We haven’t had dinner yet since we had such a late lunch.” Mom informed me as she stood beside my chair. “How about a sandwich for now?”

I looked at Nova, who was already nodding. “Yes, please. If Ryan likes it, I will like it too.”

A soft laugh came from the direction where Felicity was sitting. “She really isn’t picky, Anya. Whatever is fine. As you saw earlier, Garret is the one we have to fight with to eat what we put in front of him.”

“I’m sure if we sent Garret to St. Petersburg for a few weeks, he’d be just fine with whatever was placed in front of him when he returned,” Mom muttered, a sly grin on her face.

“That may be something we take you up on one day.” Still laughing, Felicity got to her feet. “Let me help you.”

The two of them walked toward the kitchen, leaving me alone with Nova and Zia Scarlett.

“Do you like to swim, Nova?” Zia asked as the door swung closed behind our moms. “The other kids are out in the pool right now.”

“I don’t know,” Nova answered, frowning as if she were thinking hard about the question.

“You haven’t been swimming before?” I asked.

“No.” She shook her head so much that her pigtails swung back and forth. “Is it fun?”

“We have a pool in the backyard. Papa and Zio Ciro had it installed last summer. We had another one, but it was too small for all of us. This one is way bigger. It’s heated so we can swim year-round if we want, and there are lights in the pool for when we swim at night.” I turned so I was facing her fully. “I’ll teach you how to swim.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Ryan,” Zia murmured with a small smile. “You are being a great host already. Thank you for helping to make our guests feel welcome.”