Page 39 of His for the Holiday

18

SUTTON

Winnie and I were out shopping downtown when suddenly, she wasn’t at my side anymore. Since she’d been extra energetic today, I looked around the small store we’d popped into, but my blood froze over when I realized she wasn’t in here at all.

Panicked, I dropped everything I’d picked out and raced outside. My breath stalled in my lungs as my head whipped from one side to other. My heart was hammering so hard, I felt sick, but then I saw her, sitting just a few feet away on a bench with Hawk.

Dizzying relief swept over me and I raced to them, gaze locked on the tiny figure that was my daughter. “Win! What are you doing? This isn’t Stonehaven. It’s not some old, countryside town in Scotland. You can’t just run off on me.”

A little embarrassed by her behavior, I glanced at Hawk, about to thank him for looking out for her when she suddenly snapped back at me. “I didn’t ask to come here and you were taking forever.”

I winced, feeling another stab of guilt and uncertainty deep inside my heart. A fresh wave of embarrassment too.

Winnie always had a little bit of an attitude, but she wasn’t usually quite so rude. “Winifred Megill, is that any way to speak to your mother?”

She shrugged those narrow little shoulders at me. “I didn’t run off. I just went outside. That store smelled.”

Throughout our exchange, I felt Hawk’s eyes on me and I wondered what he thought of this. Of us.

Just last night, he and I had carried on as if we had been the only two people in the world, and I was suddenly deeply humiliated by the fact that he was getting a glimpse of my real life right now.

The life where I was the single mother of a little girl who hadn’t forgiven me for taking her away from everything she had known in life so far. I expected him to make his excuses and walk away. Heaven knew, that was what I would’ve done, but he did no such thing.

Instead, he turned to Winnie and stepped in on my behalf. “Your mom’s right, Win. You shouldn’t be skipping around on the sidewalk on a busy street, honey. It’s dangerous. Now I’ve never been to Stonehaven, and it sounds like a great place if you can just run out of stores there and be safe, but Portsmouth is pretty great too. Around here, it’s just better to stay with your mommy when you’re in town.”

Winnie stared into the middle distance instead of looking at him, but I could tell she’d listened closely. “What makes Portsmouth so great?”

Surprisingly, the question wasn’t snide or laced with that crappy attitude she’d shown me just a moment ago. Instead, it sounded like she was honestly curious.

Hawk gave her an indulgent smile. “Well, we’ve got some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, for starters. Once summer rolls around, you’re going to see exactly what I mean. You’re also in for lots of adventure on our waterways and we’ve got a bunch of pretty cool museums and other things to do around here. You never have to leave town and you’ll also never be bored.”

“I’m bored now,” she finally admitted, glancing at him as she relented. “Bored and starving.”

I held my hand out toward her. “Let’s go home, baby. We’ll get some food in your belly and watch a movie, okay?”

“Actually,” Hawk interjected. “Can I take you guys to dinner somewhere? Show Winnie this town isn’t all bad?”

I blinked rapidly, but Winnie accepted the invitation on our behalf. Grinning radiantly at him, she slid off the bench and nodded. “Do they serve burgers there?”

“They do,” he agreed easily, rising and offering her his hand. “Let’s go. It’s right over here. I think you’re going to like it. It’s right on the water at the beach, and there are always kids running around on the shore.”

“Are you talking about Porties?” I asked, referencing a restaurant I’d been to many times with my parents. “Gosh, I can’t believe I haven’t even thought about taking her there.”

Hawk smiled and my heart skipped several beats too many. “It was one of our favorites, remember?”

“I do,” I murmured.

He led Winnie down the street and around the corner and I followed. The restaurant was on a gentle beach, the view of the water completely unimpeded. As soon as we arrived, grabbing a table on the covered deck outside, Winnie turned to me, widening her eyes like a mournful, pleading puppy.

“Can I go play with the other kids?”

I nodded at her. “Just while we wait for our food, okay? I’ll order your burger.”

“And a milkshake?” she asked hopefully.

I chuckled. “A milkshake after your food. Water before.”

She pouted for a second but then shrugged and ran off to join the other children playing on the beach. Hawk turned to me. All of his dark hair was wind-swept today, making it look like he’d spent a bit of time outside, but those blues were as vibrant and alive as they had been this morning.