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She looked happy. Happy with me.

I touched my forehead to hers. “I’m glad you came.”

“You invited me.”

“That doesn’t mean you had to come.”

“I wanted to.”

That mattered more than she knew.

The song ended before I could kiss her. A smaller hand tugged my shirt, and I looked down to see Caldwell wearing a paper birthday hat despite having no birthday that month.

He pointed at Sloane, then toward the dance floor.

She released me immediately. “Are you asking me to dance?”

He nodded.

“I would be honored.”

Caldwell held out both hands. Sloane took them and allowed him to lead her several feet away. He didn’t dance in any conventional sense. He shifted his weight, tapped one foot, and moved his shoulders in careful time with the music.

Sloane matched him without exaggerating or turning it into a performance.

Then he tried a small spin. She followed. The smile that spread on his lips changed his whole face.

I watched them, something deep inside me tightening.

Caldwell trusted selectively.

He loved many people, but trust required patience. Sloane had never rushed him. She didn’t fill his silence or pretend to understand before he showed her. He’d chosen her early. Now he sought her out in rooms full of family.

Julie came to stand beside me. “They’re sweet together.”

“They are.”

“He talks about her a lot,” she said.

I glanced at her. “Talks?”

Julie shrugged. “He uses the tablet more after she visits.”

“What does he say?”

“Mostly that she’s funny.”

Sloane bent low while Caldwell turned under her arm.

“He’s right,” I said.

Julie leaned against me. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”

The statement no longer made me uncomfortable. “I am.”

“I’m glad.” She squeezed my arm and walked to the food tables.

The next song began. Trevor claimed Sloane immediately. Patty joined them. Within seconds, all three were moving badly on purpose. Sloane bent her knees and threw both arms overhead. Trevor copied her, then attempted something involving his hips that should never have occurred near elderly relatives.