Seb was glad they were standing in the back of the crowd because this was ridiculous, and probably would have been mortifying if anyone was looking.

Via gave him one last little shove that had enough of her soft hip involved to have Seb clearing his throat, and then she was jogging out to shortstop, screwing her hat on her head.

THEY WON THE game and went for pizza. Sebastian felt like he could lift a bus as he tied up Crabby to a bike rack outside the pizzeria. He pulled a rawhide from his back pocket and had the pup’s tail thumping a mile a minute.

When he ducked back inside, it was to see Matty in Via’s arms. She’d picked him up to choose which type of pizza he wanted from the glass case and apparently it was very serious business because they were speaking to each other very solemnly.

Honestly, Matty wasn’t all that much smaller than Via. He was a big kid and she was a small lady, but her strong arms held him with no trouble. Matty easily hitched his legs around her waist and his arm over her shoulders.

Seb walked toward them, like he was in a dream. But a supercharged high-def one. He felt like he was outlined in bright color, high speed and flinging through the air. He felt like there should be a beam of light coming out of his chest right now, spotlighting his son in Via’s arms. Because there were so many reasons to slow down where she was concerned. But then...this. His gigantic son in her tiny arms. Come on. If there’d been bowling pins in his way as he crossed the restaurant toward them, he would have scattered them to the winds.

“You smell good,” Matty was telling Via as Seb stepped up to them. He was lifting up her crystal necklace, clear pink today, and inspecting it as he spoke.

“Considering I just played a full game of softball, I’d say that would be very surprising.”

Seb made eye contact with Via. He pointedly leaned forward and sniffed her. “Nope, he’s right. You smell very, very good.”

“I smell sweaty,” she corrected, her cheeks flushing.

“No, you smell like muffins. And a little sweaty,” Matty corrected.

“Plus, girl sweat smells good,” Seb chimed in.

Via blushed even further, but to Seb’s ultimate delight, she leaned forward into his space and sniffed. “Apparently, so does boy sweat.”

“Are you guys flirting?” Matty asked out of the blue, still gently tracking the crystal on her necklace from one end of the chain to the next.

Seb’s heart stuttered to a screeching halt. He thought about the fairly blatant tightrope that he and Via had started walking. Matty had just twanged the hell out of it. And now he and Via were going to fall off of that tightrope, one side or the other. He just hoped they ended up on the same side.

“Subtlety is a luxury only the childless enjoy,” he said to Via, making her crack a smile even through the shocked nerves that had bloomed over her face.