Chapter 15 #2
Eyes alight, my brother basically mugged Connor and dropped the Blox into his basket, which, like Maisie’s, was about to overflow.
Dad and Erica are going to love this, I thought once my brother and Connor started talking about potential construction projects. My siblings’ sugar rush might be fun, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near the later crash.
I saw Connor grab an empty basket, presumably to pick out a few things for Finn and Teddy, and I followed suit.
My dad loved any and all types of gummies (save for those of the recreational drug variety); I grabbed him a bag of blue sharks.
Erica wasn’t normally a big fan of candy, but I couldn’t resist the Fun Dip.
It’d been her top craving while pregnant with the twins.
Why are you being so nice to her? the voice in the back of my head asked. You’re rarely this nice to her.
Because she needs to loosen up, I answered, trying to shake the thought away. No one should be this tightly wound on vacation!
I felt a twinge in my chest, realizing the statement wasn’t solely applicable to Erica.
“Hey, Olivia!” I heard my name and turned to see Connor standing by the case of gourmet chocolates. “Are you a chocolate lover?”
“Try a chocolate snob!” Maisie answered for me, as Annie’s words drifted through my mind: A couple weeks of fun never hurt anyone…
“It’s true,” I said with a shrug. “A Hershey’s bar doesn’t do it for me.”
“Or Dove,” Bryce chimed in. “Or Godiva.”
“Got it,” Connor said, bemused. “No drug store chocolate for the queen.”
My siblings giggled. “Olivia isn’t the queen,” Bryce said. “That’s Annie!”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little too. My dad sometimes referred to Annie as “the queen,” usually when she beckoned him over to fix something ASAP.
Connor raised an eyebrow.
“Lupo family lore,” I explained and joined him by the chocolates. “Do they have chocolate-covered orange peel?” I sidestepped closer to him to better peer into the case.
But I closed my eyes when I felt heat radiating off his skin. He smelled like sunscreen, laundry detergent, and whatever delicious watermelon-hinted scent his shampoo was.
I felt like melting.
“Sophisticated,” he remarked, and the accidental bump of his hip against mine forced my eyes back open but sent my pulse off to the races. “Top shelf, left side.”
“Are you going to get anything?” I asked after selecting a bag of orange peel and a few of Annie’s favorite Turtles.
“Caramellos,” he said. “Caramel and marshmallow nougat covered in chocolate.”
I laughed when he sighed dreamily, but once we finally made it to the register, I had to focus. “You each need to put five things back,” I told the twins and their bursting baskets. “I don’t have enough cash for everything.”
“But you have your debit card,” Bryce countered.
Ignoring him, I suggested they leave behind the more generic goodies.
We still spent sixty bucks.
This island was getting more expensive by the day.
“No way,” Finn said when we returned home later, the twins immediately showing off their treasure. “You went to the candy store without us?”
In response, Connor (gently) pelted him with some packs of Pop Rocks. “Dude, you know I’m always thinking of you.”
“You’re the best, Connor!” Teddy exclaimed after a bag of tangled blue raspberry laces hit him in the shoulder.
Connor smiled. “Where’d your grandparents take you today?”
The afternoon had flown by; Luke was already marinating chicken in the kitchen while Nick performed his best juggling routine (big beefsteak tomatoes instead of colorful balls), and I spotted Charlie and Jay out on the deck, husking corn.
“Grandpa took us hiking in Aquinnah,” Finn said, sparking something in my chest.
Aquinnah.
I had to see those cliffs, to see if they were as incredible as their rendering in Annie’s watercolor painting.
Had she gone to see them with her summer love?
God, that sounded so Grease.
“And then we got lemonades,” Teddy added. “Gram had a lot of phone calls, so she stayed here.”
“But she still has a surprise for us,” Finn said as I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Couldn’t Beth be an attentive grandmother for once? I had yet to see her spend any quality time with the boys. “Something is happening later.”
“Huh.” Connor nodded slowly, seemingly in the dark. “That’s exciting—”
“Liv!” I pivoted to see my dad and Erica coming in front the deck, faces pink from the sun with the twins in tow.
“Hey, Dad,” I said once Maisie and Bryce took off with Teddy and Finn. “What’s up?”
He gave me a look. “That’s a lot of candy.”
Oh, okay, I thought, a little taken aback. I’d been expecting Erica to come at me.
“Yeah, I know,” I said, “but believe me when I say I did force them to narrow it down…” I blindly reached into my tote bag and grappled for his sweet treat. “Will this make things better?”
My dad chuckled at the gummy sharks. “Funnily enough, there were a few sightings today on Shark Watch,” he told me as he popped a piece of candy in his mouth and chewed. “Mmm, that’s the stuff…”
I smiled and quickly presented Erica with her Fun Dip, bracing myself for her to admonish me for the massive amounts of candy. But instead, she laughed. “I haven’t had this in years!” she said, excitedly ripping open the package.
“Really, Erica?” her brother called. “Don’t upset Mom by spoiling your dinner!”
“Take a hike, Jay,” Erica said. “It’s not my fault your daughter isn’t here to bring you Fun Dip.”
And with that, she spun on her heel and waltzed back outside.
Daughter? I thought, sort of stunned. Since when am I Erica’s daughter?
For as long as I could remember, I’d been Chris’s daughter.
My dad squeezed my shoulder before I could decide how I felt about that. “We love you, Liv,” he said, then planted a kiss on the top of my head and whispered, “But you’re on call if Maisie or Bryce boots.”
* * *
Finn and Teddy’s surprise revealed itself after dinner, when I offered to help Charlie clear the table.
“Mom!” Finn shouted, and everyone turned to see a woman walking into the kitchen.
Her brown hair was trying to escape her messy bun, but her face lit up when her sons practically fell out of their chairs so they could race over to her.
The Carmichaels cheered, which encouraged Nick to pump his fist and start a chant.
“Ashley! Ashley! Ashley!”
“Are you our surprise?” Teddy asked once they’d hugged.
Ashley nodded. “A good one, I hope.”
By way of an answer, her younger son squeezed her again. A lump rose in my throat, unable to imagine being seven and not seeing my dad for an entire month. Because I knew what it felt like to be seven and not see my mom…for much, much longer than a month.
“An epic surprise,” Finn clarified, then he dropped his voice a little. “Is Dad coming?”
“Not yet, sweetheart.” Ashley gently smiled and touched his cheek. “He misses you so much, but he still needs to help…”
With what? I wondered if Connor would fill me in, now that Ashley was here.
Beth clapped her hands. “Let’s make Ash a plate, okay?”
Crickets.
“Are there leftovers?” Jay ventured tentatively. “Because I had thirds—’”
Erica pushed back her chair. Her brother was really on her nerves today. “How does soup and oyster crackers sound, Ashley?”
“Amazing,” her eldest niece said, smiling gratefully. “Thanks, Aunt Erica.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know!” Connor said once Ashley was settled at the table.
Only a few people remained; the others had funneled out onto the deck for the Carmichael ritual known as “sunset drinks.” Next to me, Charlie loaded the dishwasher at lightning speed so he didn’t miss it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Maybe I wanted to surprise you too,” she teased, then she stretched to tousle Connor’s hair. I bit the inside of my cheek, yearning to do the same.
Well, I more wanted to run my hands through it—again and again, over and over, perhaps even endlessly.
“We also need to talk,” Ashley said while I considered whether or not some fresh air would do me good. “Right now.”
Even from dish-rinsing duty at the island, my ears perked up.
Connor nodded. “You have my attention.”
“Good.” Ashley paused to accept a glass of white from her dad. “Then you’ll hear me—loud and clear—when I say that you are to take the next week off.”
My heart leaped. What?
Connor’s wide eyes signaled the same, but he quickly shook his head. “I really appreciate it, Ashley, but no. A week is too—”
“It’s not too much,” she cut him off. “You have spent day in and day out with my children for the last month.”
“You’re paying me to,” Connor reminded her.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need or deserve a break.”
Her manny didn’t say anything; for once, he looked a little tired.
Wiped out, even.
“I’m only here for a week, Connor.” Ashley took a sip of her wine. “I promise to return them to you.”
“Well…” Connor started, sighed. “I haven’t picked up my stick in days.”
“Perfect,” she said, as Erica set down her bowl of soup. “Play some lacrosse.” She laughed. “And afterward, please have some fun!”
Have some fun.
“I’ll try, boss,” Connor chuckled, and I swear I felt all of space and time freeze when he caught my eye and winked.
* * *
Instead of downing a drink for liquid courage, I sat on the deck and dug into my chocolate spoils.
Connor, upon accepting his PTO, was nowhere to be seen.
“You’re really not going to share?” Nick prodded for the umpteenth time, as I chewed a nutty Turtle.
It had been ages since I’d had one; they were far more delectable than I remembered.
“Are you serious?” I swallowed. “I offered you an orange peel.”
“Yeah, but…” My step-cousin sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t like mixing chocolate and fruit.”
I laughed. “Candied orange hardly qualifies as fruit.”
Nick considered my waxy white bag, but before he could step out of his comfort zone, someone put their hand on his shoulder. We looked up to see Sage with a bright smile on her face. “You ready?” she asked.
“Now?” Nick answered, seemingly surprised. “What about your headache?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll stick around.” Sage shrugged. “But we can’t miss these stars, Nicholas.”
Her fiancé broke into a grin that rivaled tonight’s dazzling celestial display before leaping up from his Adirondack chair to loop his arm around Sage’s waist. “Marry me, Morgan,” I heard him whisper.
She laughed. “I’d be careful,” she teased. “If you keep asking me, I might change my mind…”
Something tightened in my chest once they stepped off the deck and set off across the lawn hand in hand, toward the beach, to do whatever it was they were going to do.
If I had to wager a guess, I’d say skinny-dipping.
I squinted to see Nick scoop Sage up in the darkness, then I blinked hard and rose from my seat. “Good night,” I said, softly and to no one in particular.
Blood pumped through my ears as I all but ran through the house, the last of my chocolate coating my thickening throat. I vaguely registered Swede, Greta, and Posey tailing me, sensing excitement, but when I reached Summer Camp, I opened and closed the door before they could slip inside too.
All was still in the bunk room; all was silent.
He’s out on the porch, I surmised, and sure enough, I found Connor standing in the lamplight; he was trying to stay as close to the house as possible—or, in other words, as close to the Wi-Fi router as possible.
Because God forbid his call dropped.
“Can we rewind?” I blurted, too keyed up to hold back. “Back to last night?”
Connor raised an eyebrow, but the voice I heard wasn’t his. “Rewind?” I heard a girl squawk, and when no one responded, she pressed on. “Back to last night?”
“Sweet dreams, Madeline,” Connor said smoothly, but I was mortified. “Please don’t forget to give Arthur and Francine my best…”
“Wait!” Mads tried to put up a fight, but Connor mercifully ended the call and tossed his phone on the couch.
Then looked at me.
My heart flared.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I missed what you said.”
Liar, I thought, able to tell from the slight tilt of his head. But I indulged him, with a deep sigh. “I said, ‘Can we rewind to last night?’”
A nod. “To which part?”
My voice came out as a croak. “You know.”
“I’m not sure I do.”
“Connor.”
“What?” He held up his hands, as if I’d caught him in my flashlight beam.
“I need some clarification.” He took a step toward me.
“Are we backtracking to when you made fun of my sunglasses?” A second step.
“To someone almost nailing me with a water gun?” Third step. “Which was when you were dancing with—”
“After the sun set!” I cut in. “Specifically, after the sunset, on the roof, and during the fireworks, but before the finale.”
Connor stopped in front of me, one of the porch’s wood planks creaking under his feet. I could feel the shift, very aware that his fingertips were dangling only inches from mine. Sweat beaded on the back of my neck.
“It’s been tormenting me all day,” I added. “I keep thinking about it.”
“Join the club,” he said lightly, then cleared his throat. “I really like you, Olivia, but I’m not sure what you want. I don’t want to be pushed away every other day.”
“You won’t.” I quickly shook my head. “I promise.”
Because I’m not going to let you get that close.
Connor and I were just going to have fun together. I wouldn’t feel that knot.
Pulse skipping, I dared to take his hand, slipping my fingers between his and squeezing tight. My stomach somersaulted when Connor squeezed back.
“Okay,” he agreed, and when he grinned, I started mentally counting the seconds until he leaned in and kissed me.
Instead, he took a step backward.
My heart sank, and my face must’ve said it all.
What?
“I’m sorry,” Connor said, clearly trying not to laugh. “But I can’t kiss you now.”
My brows knitted together. “Does my breath smell?”
“Yes, like chocolate.”
“My Turtles.”
“Right.” He nodded. “Your Turtles.”
It hit me a beat later. “Oh, no…” I groaned, suddenly wishing Turtles had peanuts instead of pecans. Because Connor didn’t need an EpiPen for peanuts; he was allergic to tree nuts.
Literal distance, I reluctantly supposed, made the heart grow fonder.