"Whipping up some homemade meatballs?"

Melissa paused, and then replied softly, "Yeah."

His demeanor toward her suddenly softened, and she was fine with him getting along with Matthew, but she preferred if they could meet somewhere else. She didn't want Marcus to come directly to her house in the future.

The warmth of the house enveloped them.

Marcus removed his coat and assisted Matthew in taking off his padded jacket. He then settled against the sofa, attending to his work on his laptop, while Matthew sat beside him, engrossed in playing with building blocks.