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CHAPTER TEN
Ally
“Hey, you wanna go in the Apple store?” I asked, a sparkle to my eye. Jonah was immediately on it, pulling open the big glass door and letting it slam shut behind him. I sighed, rolling my eyes a little. The Apple store in Manhattan is an architectural wonder with dozens of soaring skylights, a glass elevator and a curving, spiral staircase worthy of a museum. But still, this was the Apple store. Inside there were a million gadgets that all looked the same to me, everything encased in Stormtrooper-like white plastic.
I shot Rob a glance and he frowned. This wasn’t his cup of tea either.
“After you,” I murmured softly, a twinkle in my eye. But neither of us moved, rooted in place because the store was jam-packed, like a sweating sea of humanity, all jostling elbows and BO despite the A/C on max. So Rob turned to me, eyebrow raised.
“Baby, let’s go somewhere else,” he rumbled, shaking his head.
And I let out a sigh of relief, flashing him a quick smile.
“I agree,” I nodded quickly. “There’s a Starbucks one block to the north, east, south or west, you choose,” I said with a cheeky grin.
And Mr. Martin slapped my butt lightly, letting those big fingers trail across my curvy ass. I spun to look at him, eyes wide and shocked. We were in public, he couldn’t be touching me like that. And what if Jonah saw? But the boy had already disappeared into the throng of people, and besides, the big man was unperturbed, leaning in to brush my ear with his lips.
“I want people to know that you’re mine,” he murmured. “My son’s not gonna see, he’s already trying out those new 3-D goggles,” he nodded. And it was true because I turned and saw Jonah then, screaming with delight with clunky headgear strapped to his face as he moved a joystick right, left, then right again, his frail body ducking and weaving as if he were flying a jet, or maybe killing monsters.
I just shook my head, not sure what to say. But Mr. Martin said it for me.
“Not exactly boyfriend material, huh?” he asked, eyebrows quirked. “The way he left us standing here, ditching us like two parents at freshman orientation.”
And I sighed again, shaking my head because yeah, Jonah’s behavior was so juvenile, and today had been especially atrocious. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and as I puttered about in the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee, the boy had barreled out of his room screaming, “Post-Thanksgiving sales, come on, come on!” brandishing some flyers in a clutched fist. Good thing I’d left Mr. Martin’s room early because it was only seven a.m.
“Calm down,” I soothed, keeping my tone easy. “I’m sure it’s fine, there’s plenty of inventory, we’re not going to miss anything.”
But Jonah shot me daggers.
“Are you kidding? Did you grow up with things handed to you on a silver spoon?” he snorted. “If we aren’t the first hundred in line we’re going to end up with nothing, nada. I’m gonna have to karate chop some little old lady just to get to the stuff I want.”
I shook my head, sighing. My insides curdled at the thought of seeing Jonah fight, a little old lady could probably pin him in a lock and take him down, but this wasn’t the right time to mention that. I wanted to keep him happy, to go with it, so instead I just murmured, “Ready when you are,” picking up my jacket.
But the weight in my stomach lightened when a deep voice growled, “I’ll come with you.” Because when I spun, Mr. Martin was there, dressed casually in a pullover and jeans, big form huge and relaxed, looming in the kitchen. Would he come with us? Oh my god, that would make Black Friday shopping so much better, more bearable.
And Jonah just nodded happily.
“Perfect, you can help me carry bags,” he said before grabbing his jacket. “Let’s go, let’s go!”
And that’s how Rob and I found ourselves the designated porters as his son browsed in the Apple store, lost to the world. A mature individual would want to spend time with family and friends, but Jonah wasn’t having any of that. Instead the boy was lost in a virtual world now, a world where he roamed prehistoric Earth with dinosaurs, soared the skies as an intergalactic traveler, explored salt mines on alien worlds.
But there’s only so much you can do because kids need to grow and develop on their own. So might as well leave the boy to it, and I turned to Mr. Martin with a cheery smile.
“Ready for Starbucks?” I asked. “Again, there’s four within one block of us, just depends on which direction you want to go.”
And the big man threw his head back and laughed deep in his throat, blue eyes dancing.
