Page 53 of The Summer Plans

“I was professional, I promise. It kind of reminded me of giving Sophie a bath when she was a toddler.”

“This isn’t happening.”

It’s fun teasing her like this. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved that stage with Sophie, but I’m glad she’s grown out of it. I’m way too old to be bending over bathtubs wrangling little kids. I couldn’t imagine going through the baby stage again. And Sophie better not have any for a long time.”

Her posture stiffens as she frowns. “So glad my drunk self reminded you of a toddler.”

Placing a hand on her back, I trace my fingers tentatively along her spine. When she doesn’t push me away, I press my palm against her, rubbing up and down. “By the time I knew how much you’d drank, it was too late. The pitcher was nearly empty, and Lana was so upset. She thought she’d poisoned you like the boys did once.”

Her eyes widen as her mouth drops open. “She didn’t⁠—”

“Tell me about the poop juice debacle? She did.”

“OH. MY. GOD.” She fists her hair, tangling her fingers in the strands.

I chuckle, I can’t help it.

“This isn’t funny. This is mortifying.”

“It’s a little funny.”

Her hands drop to her hips and her eyes lock with mine, a fire in them unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It should scare me, but it’s oddly comforting. I’ll take her ire if it means she feels something other than indifference toward me. I can work with that. We lock eyes and I lower my voice. “There’s nothing you could do that would scare me off.”

“Please stop talking.”

She turns so she’s in profile, and I take in the gentle slope of her nose. The definition of her cheekbones and how pink they are even though her face is makeup-free.

I want to tell her everything, confess every feeling sizzling inside me desperate to come out. Even though I was dreading it, I’d love for her to have whatever serious conversation she wanted to have with me yesterday before everything got derailed.

When she exhales, I know none of that is happening. She’s shutting down, and I’ve missed my opportunity. “I need to get things ready for Raven to sell the house. And once I finish, I want to relax by the beach. This whole week has been a lot, and I just want to hold on to what little dignity I have left.”

The silence in the room is deafening, and I wait for her to say more, to change her mind, but she doesn’t. When she disappears back into the bedroom minutes later, she takes a little piece of my heart with her.

CHAPTER 16

RJ

When we arrive at the airport the next day, I’m not ready to let go, not ready to leave our bubble. We all make it through security together but have to separate since we have different gates. Summer is on a different flight to Denver than us, and her kids are headed to Wyoming. Logan, Lana, and Lucas take turns giving me hugs as Summer keeps her distance, refusing to look at me.

Shoving down the disappointment, I offer her a smile. “It was great seeing you.”

She blinks at me, and I instantly wonder if I’ve made things worse. “You too.” And then she turns and ushers her kids toward their gate, and we head in the opposite direction.

When we get to our gate, I plop into a chair and try not to let my disappointment creep in.

“I’m sorry, sweetie.” I lean toward Sophie. “I feel like we hardly hung out this week. I was looking forward to the two of us spending time together. And then Aunt Raven totally screwed up her calendar.”

“We did spend time together. And Summer’s kids were cool. It was kind of fun getting to play oldest child instead of only child. I had fun, I promise. Plus, who wants to spend a whole week with their dad? Gross.” She playfully nudges me with her shoulder. “Also, I’m pretty sure Auntie Raven was messing with you.”

My head whips to hers. “What? Did she tell you that? When did you talk to her?”

“Relax. I texted her to complain about the situation initially.” She tilts her phone showing me their exchange.

Sophie: There are people here already, Auntie

Raven:

Sophie: What does that mean?