Ava’s POV
The sun spilled in softly through the windows, golden and sleepy, warming the small living room with the quiet comfort of a weekend morning. I tugged Max’s tiny hoodie over his head and watched as he wriggled in protest, laughing.
“Too tight?” I asked, adjusting the hood and tickling under his chin.
“No,” he giggled. “But it smells like eggs.”
“That’s because someone wiped his hands on it yesterday after breakfast,” I said, narrowing my eyes playfully. “Someone who said he hates eggs but licked the whole plate clean.”
Max’s smile widened, showing the gap where his front tooth used to be. It had been a week and some days since Eloise’s surgery. Things were quiet… almost deceptively peaceful. Eloise still hadn’t told Max the truth—he thought she was on some kind of vacation, a
