Page 104 of Beauty
“Did you have fun?” He drops to his knees and reaches for his little boy.
Ollie grins. “So much.”
Noah smiles up at me, his expression softening.
I can’t help but return the gesture. “We really had a blast.”
“Yup.” Ollie bounces in a circle, his eyes bright and his face flushed with happiness. “We talked about how Ted fails at life, and how Sienna and I both get thethump-thump-thumps when we like someone.”
Noah’s lips lift into a smirk and his eyes dance as he stands.
My cheeks burn, and as he watches me, that damnthump-thump-thumpreturns.
“Oh.” Ollie comes to an abrupt stop. “And I taught her sign language.”
The smirk on Noah’s face morphs into a full-on grin. “Did you now?”
“Yup. She knows butterfly and great job. Which is what you did tonight. You were the best.” He throws his arms around his dad’s legs in the most adorable show of affection.
“Thanks, bud.” He pats his son’s back. “C’mon. I need a shower, then we gotta head back to the hotel and get you into bed.”
I take half a step forward. “You sure you don’t want me to stick around and wait with him?” It would be silly to leave Noah to wrangle the little guy while he’s trying to get cleaned up.
He smiles down at his bright-eyed boy. “Nah, we’ll be good. Thank you again.”
A disappointment I absolutely shouldn’t feel presses down on my shoulders. “Of course.”
I pull out my phone to text the car service Gavin insisted on, but before I can walk away, Ollie calls out to me. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Um…” I want to lie. I want to pretend I won’t spend the day alone, the way I spend most of my days off. But once again, his earnestness has me admitting the truth. “Nothing, actually. I thought I’d sit by the pool. Maybe read.”
“You should come fishing with us.” He tips his head back. “Can she, Dad?”
A slow smile creeps over Noah’s face. “Yeah. If she wants to.”
Well, shit. My heart does that thumping thing again, making it impossible to deny the two of them. “Yeah, I guess I could do that.”
Both of their faces light up. “Great.” Noah’s smile turns a tiny bit wicked. “I’ll text you.”
As I walk away, my mind races. Because, dammit, things are about to get sticky.
THIRTY-FOUR
NOAH
Aiden: Who’s coming to Disney?
Brooks: I’m thinking no.
Daniel: Mav still isn’t feeling great, so we’re a no.
Snow: Could I convince you to go to the pool bar instead?
Brooks: You can convince me, but I’ll be napping at it.
Snow: Boring.
Brooks: One-month-old at home. I’m stockpiling sleep.
