Page 102 of Now or Never

Chelsea nodded. She looked across the lawn at the film set where she found Jasper and Vincent together, filming a scene. She hadn’t been back to work since the surgery, refusing to leave Ben’s side. She’d called Jasper the day after the surgery to let him know what had happened and that she’d be taking time off to be with their son, and wasn’t surprised at all when he showed almost no concern. In fact, all he said was, “When will you be back?”

“Mama!”

Chelsea looked away from Jasper and put her attention on Ben. She knew she’d have to go over there soon, but she was feeling uneasy about quitting.

“Yes?”

“Are you recording?”

Chelsea picked her DSLR camera that was around her neck up and pointed it at him. “Yup. You ready?”

“I’m gonna do it,” he said, swinging a leg over the bike.

He’d said that a million times, but maybe this would be the one. “I have a good feeling about this time, Ben.”

She’d also said that a million times now.

Chelsea hit Record and yelled, “Action!”

He got the pedals lined up, put one foot on, and furrowed his little brow in concentration. He pedalled down, then lifted hisother foot, and placed it on the pedal as the bike began tipping dramatically to one side.

She stepped forward to steady him, but he pulled back and balanced himself out . . . and kept pedalling.

“Oh my God,” she said, nearly dropping the camera.

“Holy shit!” Jae yelled from the porch. “He’s doing it!”

Chelsea held the camera steady, following behind him. He was actually doing it. She focused on Ben’s legs going around and around as he created more and more distance between them.

“You’re doing it, Benny!” she yelled, jumping up and down and jogging toward him. “You’re biking!”

He went through a few more rotations, moving about twenty feet in total before falling. But when she got to him, he was ecstatic. He was jumping up and down, punching the air, and chanting, “Oh yeah,” over and over.

“Did you get it?”

She kissed his cheek, pulling him in tight. “I got the whole thing, buddy. You did so great! You should be so proud of yourself.”

When she pulled back and looked at his round eyes and flushed cheeks, the pride swelled in her chest.

“I’m proud of me,” he said, beaming a smile. “I’m never riding a scooter again!”

With that, he let go of her, picked up his bike, and got on again.

Chelsea stood staring for a while as Jae ran past her to Ben and hugged him.

Never riding a scooter again?

Me neither.

She pulled the camera off her neck and handed it to Jae. Jae took it with her brows raised. She opened her mouth to say something, but Chelsea had already turned away and started marching down the path and across the lawn toward Jasper.

She kept walking until she stood behind him, yet she couldn’t find words to say.

His back was to her as he focused on the scene he was shooting, until she interrupted him with an impatient tap on his shoulder and a loud throat clear.

He turned around, pulling a set of headphones off. “Chelsea. Wow. Are youfinallycoming back to work?”

Chelsea’s eyes went wide, then she smiled. Oh, this was going to be fun.

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