Page 23 of Chronicles of a Rockin' Mess

He hands Lincoln the bear. He turns and sees a little girl with what looks like a grandparent.

“Here, why don’t you play my last two?” he says to her.

She’s clearly too young to know who he is, but nonetheless, she smiles up at him like he’s a golden god.

“Thanks, mister!” she squeals. He leans down and whispers something in her ear.

She nods. He says something to the grandmother, and she nods too.

He picks up the little girl, and she tosses the ring. It misses. She frowns. Lincoln whispers again in her ear and makes a motion with his hand. She nods and sticks out her tongue in concentration. She can’t be more than six years old and my ovaries are ready to explode from the adorableness of Lincoln and her.

She tosses the ring, and it lands on the bottle. She squeals in delight and hugs Lincoln. The boy hands her a giant bear, and she thanks Lincoln before running with her bear toward her grandfather, yelling for him to see what she won.

“You just made that little girl’s life,” I say with a laugh.

He shrugs.

“Oh, and let’s not forget about the kid,” I add with a smirk and nod of my head.

I sit down on a bench, placing my loot on the ground. “Why are you here?” I ask him.

He shrugs.

“Lincoln!” I growl.

“I don’t like when you and Coop get into trouble,” he growls back.

I glare at him. “We seldom ‘get into trouble,’” I say.

He gives me a pointed look, and I blush. So maybe we get into trouble, but it’s usually harmless and fun. It’s not like Lincoln’s had to bail me out of jail…well…there was that one run-in with police in Rome, but that was more of a huge mistake.

I roll my eyes and walk toward where I’m meeting Coop and Mason. I know Lincoln is following me because I can sense his presence behind me. He doesn’t speak as we wander between groups of people. Even with his hat and sunglasses, he gets the occasional stare as we pass someone who recognizes him.

I know when Mason and Coop spot us because their eyes light up when they see me, and then their eyes widen when they see Lincoln.

“Uh, hey,” Coop says as we approach. “I didn’t know you’d be joining us.”

“I had a last-minute change of plans,” Lincoln says.

“Oh?” Mason responds, his eyebrows rising as he looks between us. I roll my eyes again.

“So?” I ask them.

“I got it all but the giant stuffed animal,” Mason says.

“Same,” Coop follows.

“I didn’t get a selfie with an LA person,” I say. All of a sudden, my phone is lifted out of my hand, and before I know it, Lincoln’s arm reaches around me and takes a photo of us.

“There,” he says. “You win.”

Mason groans and Coop laughs. “Well, shit, that’s one way to win,” Coop says.

“What do you win?” Lincoln asks.

I grin. “The pleasure of knowing I won,” I say to him sweetly.

He rolls his eyes now, while Mason and Coop laugh.

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