Chapter 8 #2
Beside them, Slater stood and pulled out his phone. He winked at Jonah like he had a plan. Connor watched as he quickly tapped out a text and waited for a response. Two minutes later, he sat back down.
“So…Nora’s down at the boathouse taking care of a few things.
I asked her if maybe she wouldn’t mind coming up and taking the kids down to the playground,” he explained.
“I’ll go too, in case you’re both not comfortable with it.
She’s a great person, and she’s really good with kids.
” He looked at Connor. “I know you know your staff is going to take care of everything, but I’m sure you’re going to hover. ”
“I don’t hover,” he mumbled.
“Seriously? Do you want me to point out some of your recent hovering moments?”
They both knew what he was talking about, so Connor shook his head. “Fine. I hover.”
“Exactly.” Then he looked at Lexi. “You know Nora’s awesome, and she and Jonah have hung out a lot this past week. Maybe if she takes him and Annabeth down to the playground, you can enjoy the last little bit of the reception and see if Kelsey needs anything.”
“That would be nice…”
“Okay! Then it’s settled. She’ll be here any minute.”
Both kids jumped up and cheered just as Milo strolled over to join them.
“Hey! What’s all the excitement, huh?” he asked with amusement.
“We’re going to the playground with Nora!” Jonah announced.
Milo looked at all of them. “Who’s Nora?”
“Dude, I told you,” Slater replied. “She’s my assistant. We used to work together out west, and now she’s here at the resort. I thought you guys had met. Earlier today she mentioned that she accidentally knocked your drone into the lake and then dove in to get it for you.”
“She’s your assistant?” he demanded hotly. “She’s a menace! And she cost me a top-of-the-line drone!”
“Oh, uh…” Slater nervously raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, so…I didn’t know that it broke.”
“It landed in the lake! Of course it crapped out!”
Connor quickly got to his feet. “Okay, okay…I’m sure it was an accident.”
“She threw a rock at it,” Milo said through clenched teeth. “Why would someone throw a rock at a drone unless they were deliberately trying to break it?”
Glancing over his shoulder at Slater, he said, “He’s got a point.”
“And I’m sure there’s a logical explanation, okay? And when she gets here to get the kids, I’ll ask her. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding. Nora’s a people person. She wouldn’t do something destructive on purpose.”
No sooner were the words out than Nora was walking toward them. Her eyes narrowed at Milo, and he caught her frown right before she turned her attention to the kids and smiled.
Interesting…
“Who’s ready to play on the playground?” she asked, causing the kids to cheer again.
Lexi stood and gave the talk about how they needed to behave and listen to Nora. Meanwhile, Slater had the unfortunate task of asking about the drone.
“So, um…Milo seems to think that you deliberately tried to break the drone,” he began slowly. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything like that, but…”
“Oh, it was,” Nora said sweetly. “And he knows why.” Turning to the kids, she asked, “Are you guys ready?” They were dancing around her excitedly when she gave Milo a smug smile. And without another word about it, she led the kids out of the restaurant.
The four of them exchanged glances, but Milo—mild-mannered Milo—looked like his head was about to explode.
“Excuse me,” he murmured before storming off in the opposite direction of where Nora went.
“Well, that was…unexpected,” Slater announced. “And that’s my cue to leave. You two enjoy yourselves.”
And finally—finally!—he and Lexi were alone.
“How about another dance?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.
Her smile was radiant. “That sounds lovely.”
They only got the one dance before the party started to break up. But when the music ended, Connor’s arm went around her waist as they walked around saying goodbye to everyone.
“Do you need to go and check on the staff?” she asked.
“I should, but…not yet. This is nice, just walking around like a normal couple.”
Laughing softly, she shook her head. “A normal couple?”
“Yeah, you know, the kind of couple who can just be themselves in front of everyone without feeling self-conscious or worried about what their kids think.”
“Ooh…I see what you’re saying.” They’d been very careful with how they interacted with each other in front of their children, but it was getting a bit old. “Too bad we can’t really test that theory since the kids aren’t here.”
He smiled down at her. “Are you saying you’d be open to maybe introducing them to the idea of us being a couple?”
“That is what I’m saying,” she confirmed. And before she knew it, she was in his arms and being thoroughly kissed.
“Jeez, get a room, you two,” Walker said as he walked past.
The kiss lingered just a little longer, and when they broke apart, she was breathless. “Look at us. Kissing in the middle of a semi-crowded room.”
“It’s good, right?”
“Mm-hmm…”
“Should we head down to the playground and see what everyone thinks?”
It was tempting, but…
“That depends.”
“On?”
“If you need to be back here, then it’s going to be rushed, you know?
Like if Annabeth has questions, it’s going to be awkward if you have to interrupt her so you can come back and check on the progress of the cleanup.
” She glanced around. “Where’s Lauren? You said she was the best event planner you’d ever worked with.
Maybe ask her to work with Sunny so you can leave? ”
“Um…”
Sighing, Lexi stopped in her tracks and faced him.
“Connor, you hired a very competent staff, and the only way you’re going to know that they can work without you…
you know…hovering, is if you let them do their jobs.
Everyone knows how to find you if they need you.
This is a good first step in learning that you don’t have to work all the time. ”
He looked ready to argue, but thought better of it.
“Your daughter will thank you,” she quietly assured him as she caressed his cheek. “And I thank you. This is as close to a date as we’re going to get for a while, so let’s enjoy it.”
“You’re right. Come on. Let’s say goodnight to the bride and groom on our way out.”
They walked across the room and found a line of people making their way out, with Jayce and Kelsey thanking everyone for coming. When it was finally their turn, Lexi hugged them both.
“I am so happy for you two! I hope this day was everything you wanted it to be.”
“It truly was,” Kelsey said, beaming. “Connor, I can never thank you enough. Everything was perfect.”
“It was my pleasure,” he told her. “And I believe Lauren’s arranged for light snacks for your family a little later. And we have a skeleton crew working the front desk overnight in case anyone needs anything.”
“But you two don’t need to worry about all of that because it’s your wedding night!” Lexi chimed in. “Just know everything’s under control and we’ll see everyone for breakfast.” She hugged them both again before casually leading Connor out of the restaurant.
As they strolled across the lobby, she felt herself relax. It had been noisy in the restaurant, and just the overall peacefulness surrounding them was nice. Humming softly, she snuggled closer.
“This was a good day,” she said quietly. “You really outdid yourself.”
“Thank you. But I didn’t do it alone. I really do have a great team.”
“It’s even more impressive considering they weren’t all part of the planning process.”
“True. I called in a few favors from my restaurants back home to pull it all together, but it seemed like Jayce and Kelsey were happy with the results.”
“They were. Everyone was.” Smiling up at him, she added, “You’re a very talented man, Connor Winslowe.”
The way he grinned at her said he appreciated the compliment.
But he was also thinking sexy thoughts.
“What if we didn’t go directly to the playground?” he suggested. “What if we took a slight detour and had a few minutes to ourselves?”
“Ooh…that is quite tempting, but unfortunately, I don’t think it’s fair to Nora. After all, she’s doing us the favor.”
He chuckled softly. “I hate when you’re logical.” Then he playfully nudged her. “But I know you’re right. And we’re going down there with a purpose beyond picking up the kids.”
“Exactly.”
They stepped outside and continued at their slow pace. The air was crisp and cool, and she shivered.
“Hang on,” he said as he stopped them so he could whip off his suit jacket and drape it over her shoulders. “There. That’s better, right?”
They resumed their stroll, clinging closely to each other.
“Thank you.” The jacket was huge on her, but it wrapped around her, warding off the chill, and it smelled of his cologne.
Carefully, she inhaled, and it made her smile.
She loved the days when they made love in her bed because when she’d go to sleep, she could smell his cologne on her sheets.
“So do we have a plan or are we just going to wing it when we hit the playground?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t think we need a plan. We just need to go down there and be ourselves and see how they respond.”
“Do you think Jonah’s going to understand?”
“Probably not. He was too little to remember Adam living with us, and then he rarely saw him after he moved out, so he’s only really known it to be just the two of us.”
“Damn. I’m so sorry, Lex. I can’t understand how a parent can do that.
” Then he laughed mirthlessly. “And yet here I am in the same situation with my ex-wife. Still, I don’t get it.
I can’t imagine not seeing my daughter. Even though I work more than I should, she’s always on my mind, and everything I do, it’s for her.
When I was here and she was back in Boston with my parents, it bothered the hell out of me.
I could never just walk away and never see her again. ”