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“You tell me,” I say, wanting to hear her answer as much as I don’t.
“I will, but it will have to wait.” She points ahead and I turn to see Gavin standing outside the ice cream shop. A group of young girls, maybe in their late teens or early twenties, step around him and head inside.
“Come on, there’s a big line.” Gavin shouts. We hurry to catch up with him and I open the door and wave them in. I tug my hat low, but the second we enter, a hush goes through the crowd. Phones are instantly pulled from pockets and aimed my way. And what do I do? I instantly go into Rule Breaker character.
But first I toss an apologetic smile Harper’s way. “Sorry.” That’s when I notice she’s gone a bit pale. I’m about to ask what’s wrong, but she backs up a bit and takes her son’s hand. Before I can reach out to her, I’m surrounded by girls, all wanting their picture taken with me. “Harper,” I begin, wanting to check in and see if this is okay with her. She’s probably having second thoughts about me and Gavin. Worried that I’ll lose him in a crowd if I get swarmed. To show her I’m responsible, I put my hands up and back off.
“I’m here with my little brother today,” I say and hold my hand out to Gavin. I meet Harper’s eyes and she hesitates for a brief second before she lets him go. He comes to me, and I pick him up and put him on my shoulders. He squeals in delight. A lot of oohs and awws come from the girls.
Presenting my bad boy hockey character, I smile for the girls and raise my voice when I say, “I’ll be happy to give you an autograph and a pic, then I need to get this guy ice cream.” I spend the next few minutes signing my name on napkins and notebooks, and joking and smiling for the pictures. The girls eventually get their ice creams and head out, but I have to say, these kinds of things always leave me exhausted inside.
“Is it always like that?” Harper asks when the frenzy dies down.
“I promise I won’t lose sight of Gavin in the shuffle, Harper. You have my word on that.”
She nods. “You were gracious to them.”
I shrug. “Have to keep the fans happy.”
“Does all that attention bother you?” she asks, her nose scrunched, her expressive eyes assessing me, not looking at me but through me, and I gulp. Can this woman see the guy beneath the charade?
“Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. You seem a bit different around your fans.”
“Ice cream,” Gavin blurts out, still on my shoulders and I pick him up and put him on the floor.
“What’s your favorite flavor?” I ask, and from the way Harper is looking at me, it’s clear she’s aware I didn’t really answer.
“I like rainbow,” Gavin says.
“Me too.”
“Really?” he asks. “Mommy doesn’t like it.”
I glance at Harper. “Let me guess, chocolate.”
“Actually, vanilla,” she says, and my thoughts race, go off in another direction they probably shouldn’t go. But you know what, vanilla suits her, and I think that’s why I’m so intrigued by her. She’s different from all the other women in my world. She doesn’t have a face full of make-up, isn’t really put together, and could care less about impressing me. My God, is it vanilla I’ve really been after all these years? Maybe I should take a taste and try.
“Vanilla it is,” I say.
I order all the cones, and we step back out into the sunshine. I take a lick of mine. “So good,” I say. I hold it out to Harper. “Want to try?”
“No, it’s disgusting.”
I laugh, as she holds hers out to me. “Try mine.”
I take a lick and flash her a smile. My gaze drops to her lips as I swipe my tongue over my own. “I never knew vanilla could be so delicious.”
She gulps, like she’s not sure if I’m talking about her ice cream, or what I think she’ll be like between the sheets. Either way, I want more.
4
Harper
“My God, Charlie, you need to cut down on the treats,” I say as I maneuver the big retriever in the shower area, and try to wash the soap off his body, but he refuses to lift his backside, which is totally weighing him down. “You need to go on a diet, boy.”
“Mommy, when will Liam be here?” Gavin asks, as he plays with his cars on the floor beside me, his duffle bag at his side. Since Liam is taking him to the rink today, I packed him his hat, mitts, a big sweater, and his bicycle helmet. I take my eyes off Charlie for one second so I can check the time, and sure enough, he gives a big shake and splatters me with soapsuds. Laughter from a young boy—my son—and a grown man—Liam—reach my ears, and a thrill goes through me that he showed up, that he hasn’t let my boy down. I turn to find Liam walking down the pet store aisle toward me, his lips turned up at the corners.
