Micah smiled. “Luckily, my friend’s mom was a nurse, and she had a spare EpiPen that she injected me with before I could go into full anaphylactic shock.”

“You never told me about that,” Damon said, looking somehow stiffer than when he’d sat down.

Micah shrugged, biting into one of the buttery rolls on his plate. “I was ten and reckless.”

“And what about now?” Marco asked. He’d taken the chair directly across from Micah and his stare was piercing. “Have you managed to curb your… impulsivity now that you’re older?”

If only he knew.

Micah thought over his answer carefully before opening his mouth. “I’d like to think I’m a mindful person, but I’m not adverse to taking risks if the rewards are comparable.”

“An excellent way to approach business and life,” Jason praised, “the two of which are often intertwined.”

Marco merely hummed, his eyes – blue like the rest of his family’s – never leaving Micah’s.

Desperate to divert the attention from himself, Micah turned to his right. “Sophie,” he blurted, “Damon told me you go to Columbia. That’s a really prestigious school.”

Sophie blinked, taken off guard for a moment by the sudden change of subject, but she nodded anyway, playing along. “Yeah, it’s great. They have a great fine arts program. When I started, I thought I wanted to major in something creative like photography or interior design, but lately I’ve actually been looking into teaching.”

“Teaching? Really?” Joelle asked.

Apparently, this was a new development.

“How… quaint,” Caprice offered.

“Teaching is one of the most noble pursuits there is,” Micah said, not quite able to keep the defensiveness out of his voice. (His mom had been a teacher.) “That’s great, Sophie,” he assured.

Sophie smiled. “Thanks, Micah. What about you?” She froze. “I-I mean I know you didn’t go to college, or anything-”

“Jason,” Damon cut in before she could embarrass either of them further, “how was Canada? I didn’t have time to check in earlier, but I trust the trip went as expected?”

“Everything ran smoothly,” Jason answered promptly. “Business took less time than either of us anticipated.” He looked to his wife. “Caprice and I even had time to visit Notre-Dame Basilica. It’s architecture is breathtaking.”

“It’s not nearly as beautiful as the original in Paris,” Caprice disagreed, “and a complete tourist trap. Hardly worth the hassle of enduring the cold to get there.”

“Must we discuss work at the dinner table?” Joelle cut in before Caprice could find something (or someone) else to disparage. “Micah doesn’t need to hear the details of a boring business trip any more than I do, and I, for one, would much rather learn about Micah and his exploits.” She turned to him. “Go on, sweetie, entertain us with stories of your travels.”

Micah blinked. “Oh, um, I’ve never actually been out of the country.”