“Something?” He looked at his watch. “It’s a school night.”
“I’m not six anymore, Ryan. I don’t need to be in bed at seven o’clock.”
He briefly looked over to Doris, who gave him the slightest nod.
“Okay, but just for a short time. I’m sure Doris doesn’t want to spend all evening with us—”
“But I do!” Her voice cut him off and her statement was so firm, so matter-of-fact that it almost made him jump. His stomach lurched, and suddenly his heart was beating just a little bit faster. “What do you want to do?” he asked Emmy.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, something fun.”
“Fun?” He looked around.
“What about there?” Doris pointed to the big game arcade.
“Cool.” Emmy started walking towards it.
He exchanged a quick look with Doris. “Cool,” he said and walked after her. He hadn’t seen Emmy this happy and relaxed in ages; clearly Doris had the same effect on her as she did on him. Even though he’d been trying really hard to resist it.
They walked into the loud, flashing games arcade and it felt like all of his senses were being assaulted at once. To one side, there was a bowling alley, and to the other side, arcade games were lined up like slot machines, waiting to steal children’s money. Across from them was a climbing wall, an indoor ski slope that children were hurtling down in big inflatable tires, and next to that was a . . . a . . .
“Did you know that Doris doesn’t know how to ride a bike?” he said, looking over at the indoor cycle track.
“What?” Emmy swung around and looked at her.
“No, don’t!” Doris put her hands up over her face. “Don’t you dare think about it!”
“Why not? It’s the perfect opportunity.” He smiled at her playfully.
“Ryan taught me to ride a bike when I was young, he’s a really good teacher,” Emmy said excitedly.
Doris shook her head and backed away from them both. “No! Not going to happen. I’ve already almost killed myself once today by falling off a ladder, I’m not in the mood to do that again.”
“You won’t.” Emmy stepped closer to her. “We’ll teach you.”
Doris stared at Emmy for a while and then looked over at him again. “Fine, but I swear, if I fall, that’s it.”
He smiled, and then without thinking too much about it, walked up to her and slipped his arm through hers and Emmy’s. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be there to catch you if you fall.”
CHAPTERFIFTY-NINE
Poppy
“I want those,” I said, pointing to the little girl’s pink bike.
Emmy laughed. “You can’t have fairy wheels!”
“Who says?” I asked a little desperately. “Why not?”
I looked over at Ryan. He seemed to be enjoying this way too much as he wheeled the bike over to me. Emmy was already on a bike, strapping the helmet to her head, ready to ride.
“Can I at least have a helmet?” I asked.
“Here,” Ryan said, popping a helmet on my head and fastening the strap below my chin with great care. His fingers came into contact with my skin. For a moment, I let my eyes blink a little longer, just to block out all the sights so I could concentrate on the warm feel of his fingertips as they brushed across me. I opened my eyes. He was staring at me.
“Done,” he said softly, almost breathily.
I nodded stupidly, unable to look away. I felt like I was slipping into the lagoon of his eyes. And I was sure that if I looked into them for a second longer, I might find myself drowning. I looked away quickly.
