The little boy looked up at her and gave her a tiny wave.
She held out her fist. “Fist bump?”
Smiling, he tapped his small fist against hers with solemn concentration.
She laughed softly. “Good job.”
She glanced at Akash. He didn’t even look up. He was focused on packing sand into a bucket, his jaw set, his movements precise.
Kiana handed Shauna a yellow spade, and then her little eyes moved between Akash and her.
“Akash?” Kiana called out.
“Hm?”
“Say hi to Aunty Shauna.”
Shauna’s eyes widened. In front of her, Akash stilled. Then he slowly turned his head toward Shauna.
Something unreadable flickered across his expression. Then his mouth curved faintly.
“Hi, Shauna. Good morning.” There was a slight pause before he added, “Sorry. I forgot my manners.”
Shauna met his gaze. “Good morning, Akash.”
Kiana grinned, then clapped her hands together. “Come on, faster. First we make the sandcastle, and then we play in the water.”
“And who’s going to eat breakfast?” Akash asked. “I promised your mom I’d feed you two monkeys breakfast and then wake her up.”
“No breakfast. Not hungry,” Kiana said. “Please, can we play in the water? Please?”
She flashed him a devastatingly cute grin and batted her eyelashes with exaggerated innocence. Shauna chuckled softly. This little girl knew exactly how to deploy her charm.
Akash gave her a mock glare. “I’m not going to fall for those cute eyes.”
“Pleeease,” Kiana tilted her head sweetly. “You’re the best.”
“Flattery will not get you anywhere,” Akash said, though he was already smiling.
Kiana looped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Please, Akash.”
He rolled his eyes in surrender. “Okay. For a few minutes only.”
She gave him a wicked little grin of victory, excitedly giving instructions on how many towers she wanted and how high the walls needed to be, while Kush enthusiastically destroyed and rebuilt the same wall.
Shauna worked beside Akash in tandem, the silence between them
broken by the children’s laughter and happy voices. Soon, a small structure rose between them. She reached for a bucket filled with wet sand at the same time Akash did. Their hands collided, and her fingers slid against his. A sharp awareness shot through her skin.
She stilled. So did he.
Her eyes lifted instinctively to his. He was staring at their hands too, as if he’d felt that same jolt. His gaze snapped to hers, his expression flattening before he pulled his hand away.
Her pulse quickened. God, why did this man’s touch always feel different from everyone else’s?
“Kiana, Kush… look,” Akash said, dusting sand off his hands. “We’ve built it.”
The kids squealed, circling the sandcastle proudly as if it were a monument. Akash pulled out his phone and crouched lower. “Stand there. Don’t move.” He snapped a quick picture as the two kids posed adorably.
