Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
NOAH
Aiden: Who’s coming to Disney?
Brooks: I’m thinking no.
Daniel: Mav still isn’t feeling great, so we’re a no.
Snow: Could I convince you to go to the pool bar instead?
Brooks: You can convince me, but I’ll be napping at it.
Snow: Boring.
Brooks: One-month-old at home. I’m stockpiling sleep.
Snow: Pretty sure that’s not a thing.
Brooks: It’s worth a shot.
Aiden: War?
War: My kids would lose their minds if I went without them.
Aiden: I’m going to lose my mind. Someone needs to come to mother-ducking Disney with me. Harry? Bet Ollie will want to go!
Me: Sorry, dude. We’re going fishing.
War: Oh, snap. Can I come with you and the big man?
Brooks: I could fish.
Snow: If we bring a cooler, I’m down.
Shit.
I pace the lobby while Ollie keeps his eye on the elevator. Sienna should be down any minute.
If I ignore the group chat, I can pretend I didn’t see their messages until too late.
I’m not sure who is more excited for today, Ollie or me.
Probably me, but my kid isn’t playing it cool at all. He had a great time with Sienna last night, and he’s chomping at the bit to teach her how to fish.
Or maybe he understands that his old man has no game and he’s doing me a solid by being my wingman.
I could use the help, so I’m not complaining. Putting Sienna at ease rather than pissing her off has been my top priority since she came back into my life. Convincing her to spend time with me is a nice little bonus. She and my son hitting it off so easily? It’s more than I could have asked for.
As much as I hate that Mav is still feeling bad, I’m thrilled about the turn of events. He’s wingmaning me, too, and doesn’t even know it. Without him, I wouldn’t have even had the opportunity to ask Sienna to come with us.
I’ve been racking my brain for ways to get through to her, and I think yesterday was a step in the right direction.
When the elevator opens, Ollie and I whip around.
At the sight of her, I almost stagger back a step. Her jean shorts are distressed, with several holes in strategic places, and her red halter top cups her breasts in a painstakingly perfect way.
Though I want to ravage her, I remind myself that my son is with us and force my attention to her effervescent green eyes and dazzling smile.
Ollie has far less chill. He darts for her, yelling, “You look pretty!”
I can’t help but chuckle, and a few people nearby join in.
“Doesn’t she, Dad?” He tips his head up and loudly whispers, “Bet his heart is doing the thump-thump-thump.”
I press my lips together. Little traitor. But he isn’t wrong.
“Thank you.” She gives my son a smile so bright I swear it cracks my heart in two. “Is this outfit okay for fishing? I’ve never gone.”
He bobs his head. “Yeah, no special outfit, right, Dad?”
I take two large steps, stopping a little closer than necessary. “You’re perfect,” I say, my voice thick.
She sinks her teeth into her lower lip, assessing me, clearly getting the double meaning.
Ollie prattles on for the thirty minutes it takes to get to the pier. Fortunately, Sienna is a master at steering the conversation back on track when he goes off on a tangent. Only when we’ve got our rented poles and are out on the pier does the kid take a breath.
Sienna has gone completely silent, grimacing at the live shrimp we brought for bait.
I show Ollie how to cast, and while he dances around, his pole bouncing so violently I can’t imagine any fish will get near the shrimp, I step up behind Sienna and bring my mouth to her ear. “Can I help you?”
She stiffens. “I, um…am not sure fishing is the hobby for me.”
Chuckling, I reach around her, pressing my front to her back, and pluck a shrimp from the container. “That’s okay, butterfly. I’ve got you.”
As I add it to her hook, she lets out a shuddering breath.
When the bait is in place, she steps away and brings the pole back, then casts forward.
Nothing happens. For a moment, she stares out at the water.
“Dad,” Ollie chides. “You didn’t tell her to lift the bail.”
I take the blame with a smile. “Oh, right. Silly me.”
Cheeks pink, she turns and thrusts the pole at me. “Fine. Show me.”
With a shake of my head, I set my pole down and crowd her space. I put my hands over hers. Then, from over her shoulder, I guide her through the steps.
“Lean back into me,” I instruct. “Flick this wrist and then release.”
When the lure goes flying and it hits the water with a plop, she squeals and does a little dance, her ass brushing against my dick. “Now what?”
I groan in her ear and tighten my arms around her to keep her from moving. “Now we wait.”
When I step away and pick up my pole, she peers over her shoulder, her lip stuck out. “Really? Wish I had known that earlier. I’m not very patient.”
Laughing, I cast my own line. Looks like she’ll get a lesson in patience today. Because for the next couple of hours, all we’ll do is wait.
If that isn’t irony, I don’t know what is.
I’ve become an expert at waiting, and if I have to continue waiting for Sienna, then at least I can do it with her by my side.
Waiting is my only option, because I’ll never move on. She’s it for me.
Now if only she’d believe it.
“You know what happened at school this week?” Ollie asks.
I don’t have a clue, which is surprising. For as much as he talks, I was certain he’d replayed every moment of the time we were apart already. “What?”
He shakes his head, like the story he’s about to tell me is unbelievable. “At recess. At recess.” He smacks his head, getting himself all worked up.
Amusement floods me. Fuck, I love this kid. “What happened at recess?”
“Jack kissed a girl.” He peers up at me, practically bug-eyed, like he’s waiting for me to be affronted right along with him.
Sienna takes the bait. “On the lips?”
He whips his head back, his face screwed up. “No. Ew.”
I laugh. “So on the cheek?”
“Yeah.” He shudders, clearly still grossed out by the idea.
“Did he get her consent?” I hedge.
He tilts his head. “Yeah. He asked her. Actually, I asked her because he wanted to and I wanted to see if he would.”
“Ollie.” I laugh loud enough to scare the fish away. “Seriously?”
“I didn’t think he’d actually do it. So weird. We were at recess.”
With her lip caught between her teeth like she’s fighting a smile, Sienna eyes me. Then she ruffles his hair. “Have you kissed the girl you like?”
My breath falters. He likes a girl? This is news to me.
He shakes his head. “Nah. But we’re going to hug when I get back.”
Sienna gives up the fight and breaks into a grin. “You already planned it?”
“I can’t just hug her without asking first, right? So I asked her if I could hug her at recess when we get back.”
Sienna’s surprised giggle is like a shot of pure joy injected straight into my veins. God, what I would do to hug this girl right now. I don’t even need my lips pressed to hers. Just the ability to touch her would be enough. For now.
Her fishing pole jolts, and her giggle turns into a surprised squeal as she backs up.
Just as she lets go, clearly panicked, I snag it, keeping it from clattering to the pier or ending up in the water.
She turns to me, her eyes wide. “What do I do? What do I do?”
I set my pole to the side and step behind her again. “We reel it in.”
When the tiny sunfish breaches the water, making her pole bounce lightly, she and Ollie are both ecstatic.
Though as it gets close enough to really look at, she gasps, as if only now realizing the fish was truly snagged by the hook. “Oh no, is the hook hurting it?”
I take the pole from her and kneel to unhook the fish. It flops in my hand as I hold it out to her, but rather than take it, she pulls a face, like I’ve lost my damn mind.
“It needs water,” she urges. “Toss it back.”
“Don’t you want a picture with it? To prove that you caught a fish?”
With her hands held out in front of her, she steps back. “I am so not touching that thing.”
“Fine, a selfie.” I dig my phone out of my pocket, then loop my arm over her shoulder. “Come on, Ollie. Hop in the pic.”
He bounces over, popping into the frame in front of Sienna. His face is inches from the fish I’m holding, while Sienna’s eyes are wide and I’m full-on grinning.
Greatest picture ever.
As I toss the fish back and pick up my pole, Ollie says, “Hey, you got a blue butterfly on your wrist.”
I whip around immediately, my gaze focused on where she stands with my son, wrist up, tracing the spot I’ve noticed her touch several times these last few weeks. “Turquoise, actually.”
Ollie grins at her. “My dad has one just like it.”
Sienna’s spine goes straight and her emerald eyes lock on me, swirling with questions. “Really?”
My little boy, oblivious to the sudden tension in the air, continues, “Yup. He said that he found the most beautiful butterfly a couple of weeks before I was born. But he couldn’t keep her.” Head tilted, he frowns in concentration. “Wait, what else did you say, Dad?”
I step forward, my heart in my throat. “I said I wanted to remember her magic. I wanted to remember how I felt when I saw her, that I hoped the reminder of her on my skin would make me feel a little less lonely.”
“Why do you have a butterfly?” he asks Sienna, the question one of pure innocence.
“The same reason.” Her admission is barely a whisper.
“Seriously?” Ollie rears back. “Maybe it was the same butterfly. Maybe I’ll see her one day too!”
Without missing a beat, he turns back to his pole and casts the line.
I move to her, like the two of us are tethered, like she’s reeling me in. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
She wrings her hands and licks her lips, her chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
“Did you really never date his mother?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t dated anyone since you. Hell, I never dated anyone before you.”
Sienna nibbles on her lip, and the action goes straight to my dick. “Are you having fun today?”
I smile. That’s an easy question. “This is the best date I’ve ever had.”
She huffs lightly and rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “This isn’t a date.”
I shrug and take another step closer. “Still the best one.”
Her cheeks go pink and her eyes flash with mischief as she leans in close. “Better than when we fooled around while out to dinner?”
Fuck, my heart races at the memory of her in my lap. But the way she looks at me now makes it go absolutely wild.
“Yes, because that wasn’t real. I didn’t know your name then.
And our time was limited. You weren’t mine to keep.
” A shot of anger courses through me at that last part.
Because it’s still true today. “But you here, with my son? This is the dream I’ve had every day since you left me in the Bahamas.
Having you here with us? That alone makes it the best day ever. ”
“Noah.” My name is a plea on her lips. She’s begging me not to push past the boundary she’s drawn.
I clear my throat and tamp down on the need to pull her into me, to bury my face in her neck and breathe her in. “I know. We’re just friends.”
She frowns, suddenly wary, like she’s not sure we’re even that.
But I refuse to give that up. “I’ll take friends over not knowing you.”
Her emerald irises darken, luring me in, pulling me into their depths. There, hidden behind fear and hurt, is a flicker of hope that tells me there’s a chance that this can be so much more than friendship.
I ignore it. For now. “Okay?”
She nods. “Okay.”
When Ollie interrupts us this time, I’m grateful for it. I need a few seconds to breathe.
As I assist him, I feel Sienna’s gaze on me. As the day goes on, it continues.
I find myself watching her just as often, trying to catch glimpses of the design she permanently imprinted on her skin.
When we return to the hotel, I’m not ready to say goodbye. Though since I’ve avoided the group chat all day, I’m slightly concerned they’ll all be waiting for me in the lobby.
Fortunately, the coast is clear.
“What are you doing tonight?” Ollie asks Sienna as we take the elevator up to our floor.
Her eyes flit to me, then back to him again. “I’ll probably grab dinner at the bar and get to bed early. Spending time in the sun always wears me out.”
He nods thoughtfully, though his next comment is utterly off the wall. “You should come with us to meet my grandpas.”
I cough to keep from laughing. Damn, this kid is too smooth. He’s doing my job for me.
“Your grandpas?” She peeks over at me again. “I thought your dad lived in Boston.”
“Oh, these aren’t my real grandpas,” Ollie explains. “They’re just old and they’re friends of Dad’s.”
Sienna snorts. This time I don’t fight the laugh. Bert is going to be so pissed when I tell him that Ollie thinks he’s old.
“It’s Bert and Ernie,” I tell her. “They live in the area.”
Sienna sucks in a breath. “You still talk to them?”
“You know them?” Ollie asks, wonder in his tone.
It would be best to skirt around the truth here. If our past comes out, I don’t know how her brothers will take it. Still, I don’t believe in lying to my kid.
Apparently, Sienna has similar beliefs. “I met them a long time ago. Briefly,” she says.
“We ran into each other on a snorkeling trip,” I tell him. “Wasn’t planned at all.”
Sienna’s responding smile is so big the skin around her eyes crinkles. “Personally, I think your dad was following me, but he swears it was a coincidence.”
I hum. “A happy coincidence.”
“You guys are weird,” Ollie mutters. “So,” he hedges, peering up at Sienna, “you coming?”
She gives me an uncertain look, like she’s worried I won’t want her there.
Fuck. How could I not? So I dip my chin once.
Even after that silent exchange, I’m certain she’ll turn us down. So I’m shocked when she says yes.
Then again, everything about Sienna tends to shock me.