Page 82 of The Irresistible Distraction

“Both,” Brody answers quickly, when it’s clear I’m sputtering a little. “I was thinking that, after we fix things up a little—all with Sophie’s blessing, of course—the diner could benefit from a little more social media presence.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Walter’s mood, as usual, is an unpredictable rollercoaster of hormones he should have grown out of by now. “There are so many times I’ve wanted to make and post little videos about my days here, but Sophie’s never been into that.”

I don’t remember Walter ever approaching me about any of this, but I don’t contradict him. Instead, I give Brody a look that I hope communicates, No clue, but run with it.

Walter pulls out his phone and has enough grace to check with me, because normally, I don’t let him take it out when there are customers—even if it’s only the Shepards, lingering. “Look, I have almost twelve hundred followers, right? And I think I could totally help bring in more business, especially if we installed a skate ramp in the back.”

“What?” My voice is mostly a squeak.

“Just a half ramp. I mean, look at all that extra space we’re not using! Think of the possibilities.”

Brody’s face is solemn, even though I can see the gleam in his eyes as he nods to Walter’s stream-of-consciousness brainstorming about future skateboarding teams, competitions in Mexico and that he studied film in college, which could help pull it all together.

When Walter pauses to catch his breath, I mentally add no skatepark to my list of things to go over with Brody later, before grabbing Brody’s arm so I can show him how, and where, to deposit the money when we close up each night.

Later, when I arrive at Vera’s place, it’s to see the front porch practically buried under boxes.

“Some of that’s the camping gear.”

Sebastian glances up from the chess game they’re apparently immersed in, which explains why neither boy has carried the boxes in.

“So we have full disclosure, Cally’s vacation starts in a week and a half, because that’s when whatever resort she wanted to visit had openings, which means that for the rest of this week and all of next week, you’ll inherit my assistant as well as my life. I ordered you a tankless water heater, and I prepaid for a small bathroom renovation, because today? I’m still rich.”

“You ordered me a tankless water heater?”

“I mean, it’s really for . . .” he trails off, glances at my son. “Read somewhere that cold showers are tough.”

It’s too much. But too much is basically Brody’s brand. Jesse brought me wildflowers, Brody’s getting me a perpetual water heater. I look to the large pile of snacks haphazardly arranged on top of Vera’s counter. “And those?”

“I asked Cynthia to prepare a few additional meals because—” He catches my gaze. “It’s not really cheating if I ordered it today. Anyhow, the bulk of it arrives tomorrow, mostly freezable things. Even Cynthia can’t prepare four and a half weeks of meals in a day, but in the meantime, I ordered additional provisions, to ease into my destitution.”

“You’re not really going to be destitute.”

“Right, we have to talk specifics.” He looks at the board and checkmates Sebastian casually, almost as if it was a chore he forgot to check off. “Haven’t taught you that one yet.” Brody looks at the clock. “Your lesson with Lorelai’s in ten minutes.”

And . . . I can’t help myself. Even if we weren’t switching places, being able to come home to a happy Sebastian, knowing that Sebastian has a lesson I haven’t had to arrange or remind him about, is such a blessing. I hug Brody, dropping a quick kiss on his surprised lips, before I remember to look at Sebastian and gauge his reaction.

My son shakes his head. “This is okay. But it does not go beyond this. I do not want to know why the shower curtain’s down.”

I haven’t really had the talk yet with Sebastian, so I’m a little surprised by this level of awareness. But all my son does is shrug at my questioning look. “Aidan’s parents are really happy, and he complains about their HDA.”

“HDA?”

“Home displays of affection. I told him it should be IHDA, because it’s in-home displays of affection, but he thinks his way reminds people more of PDA. Anyway, Aidan says they’re better in public, but at home they’re always making out in front of him. Which is not okay. I want like a one kiss a day quota.”

“Is there an upper limit on hugs as well?” Brody asks, his hand resting on my lower back.

“My eyes are still developing. Please don’t push it.”

And with that, he goes to Vera’s guest room to set up for his lesson with Lorelai.

Brody’s hand drifts to my butt as soon as my son is out of eyesight. “That went better than I expected.”

I’m blushing as I reply, “Except for the shower curtain.”

I move toward the front porch, where, together, we unpack apparently the entirety of the camping section of the REI catalog. There is a large air tent that inflates within two minutes and is, according to the instruction manual, “multiroom.” There are two large, down-filled sleeping bags, a neon-green one Sebastian apparently selected, as well as a bright-orange one Brody picked. The sleeping bags are ridiculously soft and designed to help mountaineers committed to conquering the world’s tallest peaks, being that they’re rated for temperatures as low as -40oF.

“Definitely not overkill, considering it’s summer in Lake Arrowhead.”