“Why don’t you and my Dad get married?”
My eyes shoot up, startled by the question. She’s never asked about me and her dad. I always thought it was because us being separated is all she’s ever known. Is she curious now that she’s older?
“Why do you ask that?”
She shrugs her shoulders and takes a sip of her apple juice.
I look at her curiously, wondering what she’s thinking. She looks deep in thought, so I know she has something on her mind. “You know you can tell me anything you’re feeling, right?”
She nods.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” I ask, slightly shifting in my seat.
“Emma asked me why you and my dad aren’t together. She thought it was weird because you guys are always around each other.”
"Well, sometimes things don’t work out between parents, and they end up better as friends.”
“So, you and my dad didn’t work out being boyfriend and girlfriend?”
"Right, honey. We didn’t work out that way. Remember how I told you we were very young when we had you? We tried to make it work, but we were better as friends than as a couple.”
“But now you guys are older, so why aren’t you boyfriend and girlfriend now?”
Just when I thought this engagement couldn’t get any more confusing, Amari is asking me all kinds of questions about her dad and me. I expected these questions eventually, but right now? The timing isn’t right. Oristhe timing right? How long has she been thinking about this? She's a smart kid. Is she comingup with these questions now because she knows I’m engaged to Liam?
“Do you want me and your dad to get back together?”
She shrugs, looking a little uncertain. “It just weird. All my friends’ parents are married.”
Her words hit me like a gut punch. I hadn’t realized how much she noticed. She sees more than I give her credit for, and the weight of what she’s feeling suddenly makes everything so much harder. And now, I wonder if this engagement is going to be more complicated than I thought.
Blakely
Kai pulls up to the stunning California beach house we rented for the week. I slide out of the SUV we rented and inhale the salty air coming from the ocean.
“You ready to share a room with me?” I hear Kevin ask in the background.
I turn around, and he’s raising his eyebrows up and down at Paige. We could only find a four-bedroom house with the late notice of us booking it. So, Paige and Kevin have to share a room. It’s a kid's room with bunk beds, but it was the only thing that would work out.
“Ugh.” Paige groans and rolls her eyes at him. She walks closer to me. “I can’t believe I agreed to this.”
I giggle. “It won’t be that bad.”
"Listen, if he so much as dares to try anything, I’ll chop his balls off and feed them to the sharks,” she says as we walk intothe home. It’s decorated with an ocean theme—soft blues and a light beige.
“Let’s all get situated, and then we can decide who goes to the grocery store to get food and drinks for the week,” Kai says.
That’s odd. He’s usually not one to take much control. When we’ve done our family trips, I’ve usually been the one who plans everything. This time, he and Kevin planned it. Which shocked me even more because Kevin is always going with the flow, never caring what we do.
“Let me take your stuff,” Liam says, grabbing my suitcase from me.
“Thanks, babe.” I thought after Kai and I talked, it would be awkward being in the same room with both of them, but Kai hasn’t made it seem awkward. It’s as if the conversation never happened. I catch him glancing at me here and there. Which he usually always does, but this time feels different. It feels like he’s waiting for an answer from me with every glance. Still, all I can feel is guilt. It’s making me get into my head too much, and I’m driving myself crazy for no reason.
“Are you sure this vacation won’t bother you?” I ask as we step into our bedroom. A light driftwood bedframe sits at the center, draped with a soft beige and white comforter. I walk toward the sliding doors that lead to a balcony that overlooks the ocean. I step outside, breathing in the salty air. The soft chirping of birds makes the peaceful scene even more perfect. I can’t wait to wake up in the morning, have my morning coffee out here, and watch the sunrise.
“No, I told you I’m fine with it.” He steps outside with me and wraps his arms around my midsection. “You seem to be more worried about it than any of us. What has you so worried?”
“Because you’ll be around Kai.”
