“Look, they have kites,” Aiden said excitedly as he jumped out of the backseat of Ace’s truck.
“Can I fly one?”
I turned to answer him but realized Aiden was looking up at Ace.
Ace briefly turned his head in my direction. His expression was unreadable, with his eyes hidden behind his aviators. I swore he’d worn them on purpose so that he could conceal his expression from me.
“You have to ask your mother.”
“Mama, can I?”
“We’ll see,” I told Aiden, taking him by the hand.
The state park was about an hour outside of Harlington. A shallow river ran throughout, and the area had an open field for children to run around and play in.
From the looks of it, several different games had been set up already.
It was a little after eleven, and others were still arriving.
“Hey Cannon, can’t believe you showed up to one of these,” a guy called.
I turned around to see a tall, bald Black man with a massive grin on his face. He wore the same aviators that Ace wore covering his eyes. I knew right off the bat that this guy was another fighter pilot.
Obviously, a member of Ace’s squadron. They all had a specific look about them. A confidence that wasn’t easy to emulate or fake.
It was probably the assurance of knowing you were highly trained in flying some of the most advanced air technology in the world. But, in all honesty, Ace had always had that confidence. It’d only grown with age.
“Maple,” Ace said. “’Sup.” They slapped hands.
The guy Ace called Maple looked toward me. I saw his eyebrows lift above the rim of his sunglasses. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
“This is my wife.”
Maple had to work on his poker face because the way his jaw fell open, it was apparent that he wasn’t expecting that sentence to come out of Ace’s mouth.
“Your wife,” Maple said as he peered his down the brim of his nose.
“Dennis, don’t be rude,” a petite woman with caramel skin and a beautiful high-puff said as she moved next to Maple.
“My bad. I, uh, didn’t know Cannon was married.” He cocked his head to the side, to stare at Ace.
I cleared my throat, bringing their attention back to me. “Savannah,” I said, sticking out my hand.
“Sabrina,” the other woman said. “And this is my husband, Dennis.”
Ace didn’t say a word during the awkward introductions. I guess he meant it when he said that he didn’t plan on explaining anything to his teammates or anyone else. I certainly wasn’t about to give these strangers the rundown on our relationship.
Which wasn’t actually a relationship.
“Mama, I wanna fly kites,” Aiden whined, reminding me that he was still standing there.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Maple’s face drop again. His head snapped over in Ace’s direction.
“Okay, sweetie,” I said, taking Aiden by the hand. If Ace didn't feel the need to explain any of this, I sure as hell wasn’t going to.
“He can play with James and Angel,” Sabrina said as she called her children over.
