They ate dinner, everyone sitting at the long table he’d bought for just this reason. Chloe and Beck were by his brothers while Xander’s mom was near Beck’s parents. And Chloe, who, looked out for her brothers, had been friendly toward Sasha, but she was clearly wary, her gaze following Xander’s moves any time he touched or talked to her.

The saving grace of the day was Aurora. She’d been so excited to meet Sasha and kept her busy most of the day. Now, over dinner, the baby was sleeping in a Pack ’n Play inside, and Aurora had a monitor on the table. She sat across from Sasha, and Xander had finally settled into a chair beside her, coming in mid-conversation.

“So tell me more about the charity you run,” Aurora said. “I read about it in People Magazine. They do a monthly feature on people giving back.”

He glanced to his right to see Sasha blush. “Once I made it big, I set up a foundation that gives to communities in need. We furnish computers to schools and clothes for kids whose parents can’t afford it when their children outgrow what they have.”

Aurora nodded. “That’s what I read. So maybe you can help me… sometime in the future. I’ve been trying to decide what to do with… well, my life. I graduated high school but not college, and I don’t want to take the time away from Leah to go back to school. I feel like I have so much more life experience than anyone I’d meet there.”

Most of the family had grown silent as she spoke, everyone obviously interested in Aurora’s plans. Xander hadn’t known she’d been thinking about her future. Was she worried? They’d made sure she had a trust fund set up just like all the Kingston kids had from their grandparents.

“I can understand why you’d feel that way,” Sasha said, breaking into his thoughts. “I didn’t go to college, either. But I was working and trying to make it as an actress.”

Aurora used her fork to push salad around her plate. “I know how lucky I am to suddenly have money and options. But I also know what it’s like to age out of foster care and have nothing. Literally. I had no place to live, no way to make enough money to pay rent. I’d been working at a diner part-time, and I was lucky they had a back room and the owner let me sleep there. I was able to get work at Dare Nation after that and things turned around for me, but a lot of former foster kids aren’t able to recover from being homeless.”