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The amusement dancing in his eyes skips to me. “Something on your mind?”
“No.” I dip my chin to hide the fire blazing across my face. “You’re just a stinker.”
“And you’re flushed,” he murmurs.
I press my palm to a fiery cheek. “Stop it.”
Bradley is tuned into our interaction with too much perception. His attention lands on the instigator beside him. “Are you gonna marry Grace?”
The question hits Garrett just as he’s about to take a sip of soda. His can pauses in midair. “Um, what?”
“She doesn’t have a husband ‘cause she’s waiting for Prince Charming. Is that you?” His nose scrunches at the idea.
Violet gasps, as if putting the pieces together. “Pwetty pwinshess.”
“Oh, no,” I mumble under my breath.
Talk about putting a barely reformed bachelor under pressure. But Garrett flashes that signature grin that puts everyone at ease. “She’s my soulmate, buddy.”
The troublemaker in training screws up his features while trying to decide if those two terms align. “Does that mean she’s not gonna do boring adult stuff on the weekends anymore?”
“She probably still will, but we’re gonna do it together. As a team.” Garrett points from me to himself.
My eyes roll to the clouds above. “Jeez, thanks a lot.”
Bradley’s expression brightens as he focuses on me. “Super awesome. You’re gonna have lotsa babies. Then you won’t miss me so much when I’m at school.”
“Okay, whoa. Let’s press pause. We aren’t getting married and having lots of babies,” I interrupt.
Garrett whispers something that sounds like, “We’ll see.”
Before I can delve into that contradiction, Bradley bounces on his seat. “I wanna marry Sydney.”
Garrett spits out his recent swig of Sprite. “Jake’s daughter?”
“The one and only,” I sing.
He snorts and pats the love-struck kid on his back. “Good luck with that bold move.”
Bradley isn’t dissuaded. If anything, he gains confidence while rolling his skinny shoulders. “She’s gonna be my girlfriend once I start kindergarten. I’m gonna get dripped out for her.”
I gape at him. “Dripped out?”
He tugs at the thin silver chain around his neck. “Uh-huh.”
Garrett laughs at my dumbstruck expression. “Like super fresh and cool. Get with the times, soulmate.”
“You’re older than me,” I jest in return.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t stay relevant.”
The last bit of sandwich gets popped into my mouth. “I’ll study the latest trends when I get home.”
Bradley nudges his bench partner. “See? She does lame things likestudy.”
My seemingly considerate boyfriend puts on a brave face. “I’ll try to fix that.”
“You two shouldn’t be sitting next to each other. Bad influence,” I grumble.
