Page 25 of You Know You Wanna

“You’re going to have pizza?” she asked him, doubt suddenly filling those big, innocent eyes. “Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat pizza.”

He shrugged. “It’s one of my favorite foods. Besides, we’re on vacation. We should indulge. It’s expected.”

“You’re also burning tons of calories out here,” I said before she took his words to heart too much. I’d never understood why parents felt the need to drive that kind of thing home so much, but then again, my siblings and I had always been super active.

I’d inherited my curves from my mother and no matter how much I worked out, they never disappeared. Which was a great thing. I’d come to love my naturally fuller figure, but the last thing Lulu needed on top of everything else was to question her choice of pizza for dinner just because her father had said the word indulge.

“Pizza is one of my staple foods,” I said honestly. “I firmly believe that it should be its own food group and that everyone should have it at least once a week. What’s the point of life without cheesy doughy goodness in it?”

“A girl after my own heart,” Remington agreed, surprising me with his choice of words, but I tried not to make too much of it. He grinned when Dalton, our waiter, came by. “I’ll have a large pepperoni with extra cheese and extra pepperoni.”

I laughed, but I liked his style. “I’ll have the Grecian, please.”

Lulu smiled. “I’ll try a Grecian too. Thank you.”

Dalton nodded at her. “You won’t regret it. Bacon, feta, olives, and spinach. What’s not to love?”

“There’s spinach on it?” She frowned at me as he left. “Jeez. You could’ve warned me.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s baby spinach from a garden I help tend and it’s delicious. Trust me.”

She didn’t seem convinced until our food arrived and she had her first small, tentative bite, but as she swallowed, she grinned at me. “You were so right. This is amazing.”

Wolfing down more than half her pizza, Remington surprised me by eating with at least as much gusto. He really did seem to enjoy it. Overall, in fact, we all seemed to be enjoying dinner—the food and the company. It was nice.

Lulu had barely wiped her hands on a napkin when Mason from Kids Camp came up to our table with some of the other older kids in tow. “There’s a bonfire at the camp tonight. Do you want to come with us?”

She glanced at Remington, and he checked Mason out for a moment before he dipped his chin in a nod. “Sure, but only to Kids Camp and back to the suite. No other stops.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, but she seemed happy enough as she took off with her new friends.

With our meals finished and now suddenly alone, Remington and I sipped our drinks, falling back into awkward silence like this afternoon before he suddenly spoke up. “Thanks for agreeing to eat with us tonight. Having you around seems to have broken her out of her shell a bit, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“You’re so very welcome,” I said, smiling as I watched the kids disappear out of the restaurant. “I’m glad she’s making friends here too. And you don’t have to worry about Mason. He’s been coming here with his family since he was a baby. It takes him and his brother a couple weeks to settle back in every year, but they’re pretty great kids. Very down to earth once they remember that they don’t have to pretend to be bored and uninterested when they’re here.”

“His brother?” Remington groaned. “There’s another one of them? I don’t care how great they are. I’m not sure I’m ready for her to bring home a boyfriend.”

“It’s going to happen sooner or later,” I said lightly. “For now though, I don’t think you need to be ready for it to happen during this trip. Next year will be a different story, but she hasn’t been particularly interested in any of the boys, from what I’ve seen.”

“I’ll drink to that.” He picked up his glass and took a huge gulp.

I laughed. “I didn’t take you as the dad who’s been cleaning his shotgun since he found out it was a girl.”

“That’s because I don’t need a shotgun. I have these.” He lifted his hands, flexing his fingers as he brought his palms closer together like he was demonstrating wringing somebody’s neck.

As my laughter finally started subsiding, someone bumped into my chair and my glass tipped with the jarring shock of it, dumping at least half my drink into my lap. The man apologized profusely and rushed away. Remington grabbed a linen napkin from the table, scowling in the direction of the other guest’s retreating back as he tried to help me clean up.

I grabbed a napkin of my own, dabbing at the icy liquid pooling between my thighs, but in the process of trying to control the damage, our hands brushed and I realized exactly where he was dabbing—between my upper thighs and dangerously close to other parts of me.

As our fingers touched and my gaze snapped up to meet his, already resting squarely on mine. Tension built between us again, so tight that it was threatening to snap. My pulse quickened, my nipples suddenly hard as my lips parted and my gaze dropped to his.

For one crazy second, I thought this was it. He was going to kiss me.

The heat of him disappeared and I blinked myself back into reality, noticing that he’d pulled his hand away. He cleared his throat, reaching for his drink once more, but instead of draining what was left of mine, I felt too flustered to stay.

I pushed back my chair, stood up, and shot him an apologetic smile. “I should go and get cleaned up. Thank you for a wonderful dinner. I’ll see you guys around tomorrow.”

With that, I made my escape, disappointed that the night had ended so abruptly but getting the hint very clearly. Instead of kissing me, he’d pulled away. I could’ve sworn I’d felt his attraction echoing my own, but maybe I’d been wrong, and if so, then he’d just done me a huge favor.