Page 29 of Owen

“Fuck. You’ll make me hard again.”

“Hold that thought until tomorrow. Night, Owen.”

“Night, Hotshot.”

Wow, what a great night.

Lesson two?

What the hell was I saying?

Aw, hell, screw it. Let class begin.

7

OWEN

Chubby cheeks and a gummy smile look back at me as I throw Poppy into the air, making her babble nonsense words and shriek with delight as the high motion makes her stomach drop, tickling her insides.

Landing with a splash in my arms, she kicks her little legs in the water again with excitement. “One more time,” I say.

Straightening my arms, I push her little body away from me. “Ready?” I throw her a giant smile, matching her giddy excitement.

We’ve been playing in the pool for the last hour and she’s like a jumping jellybean in the water. She loves it.

Marigold, Jade’s mother, sits under the parasol on one of the white patio chairs, placing a tray on the table with two glasses of freshly squeezed lemonade on it and a bowl of food and a drink for Poppy.

“You’re so good with her, Owen.” She gives Poppy a wave.

“She’s easily pleased, Marigold.” I repeat the same motion, and a high-pitched squeal leaves Poppy’s lungs as I throw her alittle higher this time. Her smiles and laughter are contagious, causing me to laugh, too.

“Please call me Mari.” She looks at me with kind eyes. “And thank you for making lunch today and for looking after Poppy for me.”

“How are you feeling now?” Mari took a dizzy turn by the pool this morning, so I sent her to lie down and prepared lunch for us all while she rested.

“Better. I think it’s the heat. I’m not used to it.” She flicks her folded paper fan open and wafts her face with it.

I agree with her with a nod of my head. She’s a lovely woman and everything I wish my mother was—kind, caring, funny, compassionate, and supportive. She’s so proud of Jade, talking her up to me all day when we’ve been chatting. My mother would never dream of looking after her own grandchildren. Heck, she didn’t even bringusup, choosing to hire a governess for such unspeakable tasks instead.

That woman has the ability to love as much as a rock does.

I look up at the bright, sun-blessed sky and pull my sunglasses resting on my crown down to protect my eyes. “I think we should get you into the shade, Poppy.”

She now looks like Casper the Friendly Ghost, from the waterproof sunblock I smothered her in earlier, as instructed by Mari. I received a lengthy lecture, instructing me how to apply Poppy’s sun cream, warning me about a red-head’s skin being more susceptible to the sun’s harmful rays, followed by another lecture warning me on the dangers of the pool and how to keep Poppy safe, hence the pink inflatable armbands with printed strawberries and matching swim vest she’s wearing. I doubled up on the safety front. I want to prove to Jade and Mari that they can trust me with their precious cargo. Poppy is precious. Allgrabby hands and bumbling chatter. With the most beautiful copper curls, smiles, and blue eyes, just like her momma.

I haven’t heard her cry yet. She’s such a happy child, which is just as well as Mari hasn’t been well since her funny turn earlier. Her rosy-glow cheeks still haven’t returned.

“I’m so thankful you were here, Owen.” Mari takes a long sip of her lemonade.

“Happy to help, and it’s not as if I have anywhere else to be.”

With Poppy in my tight grip, I climb up the steps at the end of the pool to make my way over to Jade’s mom.

“You’ll be fine tomorrow, I’m sure. I think you’re right about the heat. Give it a few days, and we’ll all be acclimatized.” Thankfully, the clouds move in, momentarily hiding the sun.

Mari expertly wrangles Poppy into her highchair I brought over from their villa and scatters chopped up apple, strawberry, and banana onto the feeding tray in front of her. Immediately, Poppy grabs the fruit pieces, sucking them into her mouth, taking tiny bites with her only two front bottom teeth.

Mari and I situate ourselves around the table, sitting in comfortable silence.

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