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“Yeah,” he says, looking into my eyes. But then he clears his throat and looks away. “Let me help you to the beach towels. You need to rest your ankle.”
“I’m okay—
“Kids, what do we do when we hurt ourselves?”
“We rest,” they say together.
I frown at him in confusion, and as he walks me to the towels, he says, “They like to keep playing no matter what happens to them. So, I have been drilling into them that when you hurt, you rest.”
“That’s smart.”
“For kids and stubborn adults.”
I giggle. “I’m not stubborn.”
He helps me to sit. “Willful?”
“That’s a nice word for stubborn.”
“Obstinate?”
“What’s a word for a smart ass thesaurus?”
He grins. “Cormac.” I snort a laugh, and he takes the towel next to me. “Kids, you can keep playing. I’ll take care of Lily. Go on.”
“Okay,” they shout together as they run to the water.
“Looks like volleyball is not their sport,” I note.
“They’re five. They’ll bounce back.”
I smile and roll my eyes. “So, you took off work for this. I thought you were a workaholic.”
“I am. But I didn’t want to miss this.”
“Why don’t you go hang out with them? I’ll be fine.”
He smiles at me. “If I run out there, one or both of them will run back here to keep you company. Better I stay put.”
It’s then that I notice his fingertips are dangerously close to mine on our overlapping towels. I feel stupid, but just being this close to Cormac makes my heart flutter.The kids, I’m supposed to be watching the kids.But looking out at the water, they’re fine. I want to say something, anything to him. “Cormac, why did you leave work today? The real reason?”
He swallows first, and his breath gets tight. “Isn’t it obvious, Lily?”
I shake my head, afraid to say the wrong thing.
He looks at me, lip pinched like he’s nervous, too. “I thought…if…” His fingers graze mine. “Spending time here would be something…we could do together.” His head tilts in that way.
Thatway. He comes closer, leaning in—
“Can we have snacks?” Franny asks near my feet.
14
Cormac
“Of course,” Lily blurts, before she digs into her bag.
Shit.
