Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“Cool!” Olivia squealed.
“Wow. I hope you thanked him for offering that.”
“I did. I thanked him a bunch of times. You can ask Nate.” Oliver collapsed onto his knees and caught his breath. “Oh, Popsicles.” He licked his lips.
“Do you want to get changed?” I asked.
“No. I’m dry.” He pulled the wrapper off a lemon-flavored one and bit the end.
Nathan returned to the blanket with a set of noise-canceling headphones for Marley. He must’ve gotten them out of the truck, because I didn’t remember seeing them in the diaper bag. He’d also changed out of his swim trunks and was wearing his T-shirt again and a pair of gray basketball shorts. His hat was back on. I grinned when he slid the aviators into place. Olivia giggled at him and held up her thumbs.
“The sun isn’t really out anymore,” I whispered when Nathan sank down onto the blanket beside me. “Can you even see through those things?”
“I can see you,” he said, voice serious.
I pressed back onto my heels. Despite the chill of the Popsicle, my chest and stomach warmed, delicious heat spreading through me.
God, is there a better feeling than this?
I smiled, knowing he could see it, and passed Nathan his Popsicle.
The kids spun around, and the five of us chatted until Davis announced a two-minute warning until showtime. Then he took off running down the beach.
Oliver and Olivia jumped to their feet and chanted their excitement, along with a few other kids around us. Marley crawled between Nathan’s legs and scrambled into his lap. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes, her little body slumped sideways against him.
“Your mommy loved fireworks,” Nathan told her before sliding the headphones over her ears. He kissed her head.
I smiled warmly at them and asked, “Has she seen them before?”
“No. And the last ones I saw were before she was born.”
I reached out and rubbed Marley’s leg, just below where Nathan held her. “I bet she’s going to love them. My kids did at this age.”
“Yeah?” His hand slid lower and bumped mine. Then his thumb rubbed over my knuckles.
My breath caught. I slowly lifted my head and stared at Nathan, at those sunglasses with the ridiculous tint I couldn’t see through. But it wouldn’t have mattered.
Tint or no tint, I knew he was looking right at me.
His thumb moved slowly, back and forth, back and forth, then grazed between my knuckles and circled in a pattern.
I forced myself to breathe. God, my heart was pounding. This touch was nothing, nothing in the grand scheme of touches or compared to the embrace we’d shared the other night, but his thumb…my skin…it was unparalleled. I couldn’t remember ever feeling anything like this before.
How was that possible?
Just when I thought I felt a little push, a force to turn my hand and bring us palm to palm, the sky lit up and a loud boom shook the earth.
I wrenched my hand back when Marley’s legs kicked out in surprise. She tipped her head up, eyes round as her fists clenched and her arms locked and trembled.
Sensing her fear, Nathan shifted her on his thigh and leaned forward, peering into her face.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. She likes it!” I held Marley’s fist and wiggled it open so she could grip my finger. Another firework bloomed overhead. “Look, baby!” I pointed at the sky, and Marley grinned and giggled, falling back against Nathan. Her squeals poured into the night. Nathan wrapped his arms around her.
The twins cheered and chanted for more, eventually joining us on the blanket and sprawling out on their backs. Marley stayed in Nathan’s lap. They were both smiling so big. I watched them more than the fireworks.
This would be an amazing memory for them. For all of us, I thought. My two would never forget it.
We left shortly after the fireworks ended.
Davis high-fived my kids and wrapped his arms around me, finding it hilarious when Nathan rushed him through the embrace. Marley was asleep on Nathan’s shoulder before we made it to the truck, and she stayed asleep the entire drive home despite the constant conversation bouncing between Oliver and Olivia. Two hours of reliving every second of our evening didn’t seem to bother her. It didn’t seem to bother Nathan either.
He answered every “Remember when we did this, Nate?” and played along like he needed reminders.
I, on the other hand, would’ve killed for an interlude. I was dying to speak to Nathan alone. Or as alone as we could be with three children sitting behind us. So much had happened tonight. What was going on here? I had no idea. The only thing I knew for sure was it was pushing midnight and my children were wound up.
What the hell was in those Popsicles?
When Nathan pulled into the driveway, I couldn’t thwart my disappointment. My body slumped against the seat.