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Truth be told, I had no idea what I was going to say to Harper, but if getting her to come along happily took bribing a three year old with sugar and a camel, I would do it just to see Sicily look at me like that again. It was an innocent day, sure. I had no expectations, but it definitely felt like an opportunity for me to get closer to her. She was guarded, I could tell. I didn’t know why, but that didn’t matter in that moment.
I had Sicily in my sights, and I wasn’t even capable of tearing myself away.
Chapter Twelve
Sicily
I packed up the cooler, shoved our towels and stuff in my bag, and then stood, watching as Daniel knelt down next to Harper. It was strange seeing them so close to one another. I had never realized how much Harper was like him. Maybe not in the traditional looks kind of way, she definitely took after me in that department, but in their motions and movements. I never thought those kinds of things could be hereditary, but they tilted their heads in the same way, moved their hands in the same way, and even made very similar faces.
Instantly nerves rattled my chest, hoping that the similarities I saw, he didn’t see. I knew it was probably impossible, and I noticed those things because I knew my daughter so well, but it still made me nervous. So nervous in fact, I took a step toward them, ready to call off the whole thing. But then Harper jumped up and threw her arms in the air, doing a little dance. I paused and watched as Daniel hoisted her up on his shoulders, turning to me.
“You ready?”
I blinked at them for several moments and picked up the cooler and bag, slipping my feet into my sandals. How was I supposed to argue with that?
He reached out and took the cooler from me, letting me lead the way to the car. When we got to it, I pulled out Harper’s sundress and sandals, and he sat her down on the stone half wall at the edge of the beach. I watched as Daniel put her sandals on before pulling her dress over her head. I pulled the sunscreen from my bag and applied some to her cheeks, shoulders, arms and legs before turning to put it back.
Before I could, Daniel reached his hand out. I thought he wanted it for him so I handed it over. Instead, he put a little on his finger and stepped toward me, gently wiping it across both of my cheeks. I bit my cheek, my eyes looking up at him as he glanced at me and smiled. “We can’t have you coming back to work looking like a lobster can we?”
I shook my head, watching as he put more on his hands and rubbed them together, walking around me. As his warm hands smoothed the lotion over my shoulders, rubbing it in, I had to consciously control my breathing. Electricity flooded through me like fire, and I didn’t know whether to run or fall into his arms. All I could do was stand there, and to divert my attention, I made faces at Harper, who giggled as she swung her feet forward and back.
When he was done, my cheeks were bright red, and not from the sun. He came around and smiled at me before launching Harper back up onto his shoulders. We headed down to the little bistro and got a table inside, ordering some sandwiches. Harper sat next to me and Daniel sat across from us.
“So, Miss Harper, how do you like California?”
“I love it,” she said excitedly, chips down the front of her dress. “I like building sand camels.”
Daniel tilted his head and looked over at me. I chuckled, wiping my mouth. “Castles. Not camels. She struggles with that one.”
He chuckled. “I like building those too. There’s a big sand castle competition next weekend.”
Harper nodded excitedly. “It’s where I live.”
He looked up at me. “You live in IB. I totally forgot. You won’t have to worry about parking. Lucky.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I am taking the bus all next week so I don’t lose my parking spot in front of the house.”
“We can’t have that,” he declared. “I’ll send a car.”
I shook my head. “No, no. That’s ridiculous. I’ll be fine.”
“So will I but I’m still sending a car,” he replied, instantly turning to Harper to avoid my argument. “They have snowcone stands there and they make snowcones the size of your head.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wow.”
Part of me felt completely terrified at the idea of him sending a car for me. The other part felt endeared by it. It wasn’t like he was sending an engagement ring, and he wouldn’t even be in said car. But still, I felt like everything I did in that manner, everytime I said yes, it would only encourage something I knew could not happen.
Still, sitting there watching him with Harper, thinking about his hands rubbing lotion on my shoulders, it was all so very surreal. There were emotions floating around in me that made it impossible to give into my fears. He did something for me no one had ever done. He made me feel safe and secure, desired, like a woman, not just a mom and employee. I felt like a person for the first time in a long time, and I hadn’t even realized until then I had been missing anything.
“I do miss my gramma and grampy,” Harper said with a sigh. “But they call me on video call and they’re gonna come visit for Thanksgiving.”
“That’s great,” he said. “You know what I do when I miss my family?”
“What?”
“I close my eyes really tight, and I think about my favorite memory with them. I really think about it. I think about the sounds and the smells and it feels like I had a little miniature visit with them.”
Harper smiled and then closed her eyes really tight. Her little face was so scrunched I had to hold back a giggle. Daniel pressed his lips together holding back as well. Finally, she let go and took a breath too. When she opened her eyes she smiled big. “It worked.”
