Page 79 of Summer Affair
“Then that gives him two more years of thinking his dad hung the moon.”
Eddie grumbled his disapproval but wisely didn’t say another word on the subject. Which was a little disappointing because Jillian found herself wanting to have a little argument about Dirk. Wanted to hear Eddie’s standard-issue commentary on what a shitty dad Dirk was because she’d begun to wonder which was worse: having a shitty dad who was a constant source of disappointment or having no dad at all.
Jillian had grown up with the latter, so she’d settled on the first, but she was tired of settling. So why should Sammy have to? Not that she’d ever tell Dirk he couldn’t see his son, but she was done making things easy on him.
“I like what you’re thinking,” Eddie said. “It looks good on you.”
“I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘like’ but it’s definitely a look I might want to try on more often.”
“That’s my girl,” Eddie said, his tone full of pride. He gifted Jillian a sweet smile, which was as rare as him agreeing to do something as domestic as making fruit kebabs.
They stood like that, in the kitchen, making snacks for Sammy’s team in comfortable silence. Uncle Eddie came from an era when men didn’t receive or give praise, so when he said, “You’re good with Sammy. You’ve got your mom and grandma in you,” Jillian felt her eyes well up.
“I used to think Mom and Grandma were magical,” she admitted. “I used to believe that they really spoke to fairies.”
Eddie looked away and suddenly she understood. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized it before, since her uncle was always tinkering in his workshop. “You built fairyland.”
He shrugged an embarrassed shoulder. “It was your grandma’s idea. I just hammered a few nails into some wood.”
“You did more than that.” Overcome with an emotion she hadn’t felt since she was little—the kind of emotion that came when one believed in magic—Jillian’s eyes filled. “You made losing Mom bearable. Made me believe that it was okay to be happy even when I was fighting being sad.”
Jillian set down the skewer and put her arms around her uncle’s waist like she used to when she was little. And just like back then, he gave her an awkward pat to the back. He let her hold on for a minute longer, then cleared his throat. And when she pulled away, his eyes glistened in the morning sun.
“Every time I’d see you smile while playing with those houses, I’d want to make another.”
“Then I must have smiled a lot. I had the biggest fairyland in the state. It was even bigger and prettier than the ones at Talbot’s Toyland.”
“That’s ’cuz Makowski’s cousin owned Toyland. He couldn’t tell a hammer from his as—”
“Thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek, and he got flustered and went quiet.
Jillian decided that she’d made him uncomfortable enough for one day and went back to the kebab assembly line. She took watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple, all of which had been cut into perfect squares, slid them onto the skewer, then handed it off to Eddie, who added the grape and blueberry. The end result resembled a fruit missile.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time next door,” Eddie said, and Jillian rolled her eyes—in direct line of sight of her uncle.
“Is this where you tell me he’s going to break my heart?”
“This is where I tell you he isn’t the worst guy you’ve dated.”
“You like him,” she teased. “You actually like a man I’m dating.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as ‘like,’ but he did give me some advice that helped me land a date with a forward-thinking woman.”
Jillian bit back a grin. “Does Clay know that this forward-thinking woman is his mom?”
Eddie blanched. “Hell no. Have you seen the size of him? Not that I can’t handle myself. Did I tell you I was in the Golden Gloves when I was in the air force?”
Only every chance he got, which was a lot since he loved to watch professional boxing. “You even showed me the photo.”
“I was a handsome fellow too. A real lady charmer.”
“So I hear.”
“That’s how I charmed me a date with that Margo.” Jillian eyed her uncle, who immediately changed his tune. “Not a date so much as she assured me I’d be her exclusive ride share. Not that imbecile Makowski.”
Jillian didn’t know how Clay would feel about Eddie being his mom’s sole ride provider, but she thought it was cute. And the distraction would come in handy since it would keep Margo’s busybody nose out of Jillian and Clay’s relationship. Not that she’d ever ask Clay to keep anything from his mom, but it would be nice for them to figure out what happens after he leaves for Seattle without the entire Easton peanut gallery voicing their opinions.
She hadn’t even told her friends all of what had transpired. She’d meant it when she said she needed to take things slow. And for Sammy’s sake, they needed to be sure this was serious before he knew that his idol was more than the fun guy next door, who hung out in tree forts and threw the ball like a pro.
