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I grinned at him. “I got you.”
I placed our order for two hot dogs with lots of ketchup, fries, and lemonades, then we found a picnic table on the sidewalk. I shot a quick text to Grant, letting him know we were over by Town Hall, then we got down to business, eating our food.
“Lana?” Hudson said.
“Yeah, bud?”
“You’re right. This is the best hot dog ever.” He grinned at me, a blob of ketchup on his chin, and my heart melted. What a sweet kid.
“Glad you like it,” I said, dabbing at the ketchup on his face.
“Daddy!” Hudson cried, throwing his hand into the air and waving.
Grant jogged across the field towards us. He’d changed out of his suit into more casual attire; it was the first time I’d seen him in anything other than a dress shirt and slacks. The navy-blue polo stretched across his broad chest and I appreciated how he filled out the shirt, the sleeves emphasizing his strong biceps. The man was fine, even if he was older than most of the guys I’d dated before.
“Hey,” he breathed, sinking down onto the bench next to Hudson and ruffling his hair. “How’s lunch?”
“Mmm, good, Daddy. You should get one.”
Grant smiled at him. “I think I will, in a minute. Thanks a million, Lana, for watching Hudson for me. I hope he behaved.”
“Of course he did! We had fun.”
“I’m sure you have better things to do than hang with us, so let me pay you so you can take off and enjoy the rest of your holiday.” He pulled out his wallet.
“Oh. I actually planned on showing you two all the fun things to do today. But if you have other ideas…” My heart sunk as I bit my lip, trying to hide my disappointment.So he didn’t want to hang out. Probably for the best.
“Really?” Grant asked, his face lighting up. “I just assumed you’d have other plans.”
“Nope. Consider me your Starlight Bay Fourth of July tour guide,” I said, smiling. “Grab a hot dog and eat it quick because Huddy and I want to play some games, right, bud?”
Hudson beamed at me as he bounced up and down on the bench. “Yes, Daddy, hurry! Lana said there were snow-cones, too! And I want one!” Hudson reached for my hand across the table, then Grant’s, squeezing. “This is the best Fourth of July ever!”
I glanced across the table at Grant and noticed a flash of pain cross his face. When he met my eyes, though, he was smiling, tiny laugh lines etched around his eyes. There was definitely a deeper story there and I needed to find out the details before I got in too deep with this man. A child was involved, and no matter how much I liked his dad, I didn’t want to cause Hudson any more hurt than he’d already endured. Even if that meant walking away from a great guy.
I’d take our relationship one step at a time and figure this out. Do things the right way for once. I didn’talwayshave to rush in. I could go slow. Sure, it wasn’t how I usually went about life, but a girl could change. Right?
Grant
When I saw Lana sitting next to Hudson at the picnic table, my chest squeezed and my breath caught in my throat. For the first time in a very long while, Huddy looked happy. Really happy, not just trying to make me happy-happy. He kicked his legs and beamed up at Lana like she was the prettiest, coolest, nicest person he’d ever met. My heart melted and I was torn. I should cut her loose now, before Huddy got attached. I couldn’t do that to him again. Things with his mother had blown up so tumultuously we no longer resided on the same continent.
That’s how great I was at relationships.
So why, then, was I spending the entire holiday with Lana, playing cornhole, laughing and joking with her, acting like we were a couple, maybe even a family? Talk about mixed messages. To her and to Huddy.
But I couldn’t help myself. She was a magnet, drawing me to her, and I didn’t want to disengage. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.
Now it was dusk and we’d just feasted on lobster rolls and blueberry pie, with a snow-cone chaser for Huddy because Lana’d promised. We were heading down to the beach, Hudson between us, holding onto our hands and swinging his arms happily.
A perfect little family.
What the fuck was I doing?After tonight I was going to have to chat with Hudson about how Lana and I were just friends. And then avoid her at all costs. I couldn’t afford to get involved again and risk breaking Hudson’s heart. Mine was reinforced with steel now, but Huddy’s was still tender, fragile.
I had to protect him.
“It’s a beautiful night for fireworks,” Lana said, tipping her head back to gaze up at the dusky sky. A few stray rays of sunlight found her face, highlighting how beautiful this girl was. Every muscle in my body tensed, heat flooding my system.
No, Grant. No.
