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“Hey, Oscar. What’s up?”
“I saw my calendar had blocked off this afternoon asBeach Meeting.”
I grinned. “I’m glad you saw that it was also markedImportantand took that note seriously.”
He only grunted in response, but when Penny noticed him and flung herself into his arms, he softened. Sand flew everywhere, including in my face, and I sputtered and wiped at my thighs.
“Easy, Pickle. You’re getting sand all over Lark.”
“Daddy... it’s thebeach.” After she released him, she turned to me. “Lark, can I go back to the playset?”
I glanced at Wyatt, a little uneasy that she was asking me instead of her dad. “As long as it’s okay with your dad.”
He looked out over the sand to the playground crawling with children. “Stay where we can see you.”
Without another word, she was off like a shot. I continued to brush at the sand that had piled up on my towel.
Wyatt untucked a towel he had stuffed under his arm and laid it beside me. He was in a T-shirt and swim trunks, along with flip-flops. While he didn’t dress up every day, this was much more casual than the Dockers and football polos he usually wore when he traveled into work. He was casually undone in the sexiest way, and my insides went melty at the sight of him. But even his dark sunglasses couldn’t hide his frown.
“You don’t have to stay... if you don’t want to.”
I looked out over the water and watched as kids and families played in the waves of Lake Michigan. “Kicking me out already?”
“No, I... I just don’t want you to think that you’rerequiredto be here. You’re off the clock.”
“Ah,” I said, easing back on my elbows. “Don’t worry.” I looked over the top of my sunglasses and winked at him—then had to swallow my smile when I noticed how his jaw worked in response to my playfulness. “I won’t charge you.”
Truth was, I felt guilty taking his money. Penny was a riot to hang out with and really easy. The boys were, well, overgrown children, really, but nothing I couldn’t handle. They respected me and checked in when I asked them to. I think it also helped that I didn’t always let Wyatt in oneverythingthey were doing. We were operating strictly under the “you can get into a little trouble, just don’t get caught” kind of parameters.
Within minutes Penny got bored of the playground equipment and found her way back to the beach toys a few feet away.
I reached into my overstuffed beach bag, around rogue Cheetos and a racy paperback. “It’s getting hot, Pen, we should probably reapply your sunscreen.”
When I lifted the bottle up, Wyatt plucked it from my hands. “I got it.”
Penny trudged through the sand and plopped in front of him. “I hate sunscreen.”
I laughed. “Me too, but when you’re my age, I promise, you’ll be glad you used it.”
“Why?”
“It keeps your skin safe and helps prevent wrinkles.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I guess it helps you not become a shriveled-up prune.”
“Why?”
“Penny.” Wyatt’s tone was terse, and she sulked at him, cutting short her favorite game ofWhy.
Penny looked at me. “Well, if I have to, so do you.”
I smiled at Penny, loving her tenacity. “You’re right. I need some too.”
I picked up the lotion and squirted a blob on my palm, then worked it into my shoulders and arms. From behind my sunglasses, I sneaked a peek at Wyatt, whose jaw flexed, but he stared straight ahead as he finished Penny’s back, and she scrambled to get up and play.
“Don’t forget her back, Daddy.”
