“So, you have to adhere to a pretty strict diet for football, huh?”
“Yes, but my parents had a garden, we raised our own animals, and I’ve always eaten clean.” He takes another taste of his ice cream.
I choke on the little end of my cone filled with the last bits of creamy ice cream because the way he delights in his is almost personal, intimate, like I shouldn’t be watching.
“What?” he asks, peeking at me.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Enjoying that?”
“Immensely. Thanks,” he says as an afterthought.
“I should thank you because you insisted on paying.”
“As I mentioned, I’m a gentleman.”
But there is nothing gentle about this beast of a man, except, as it turns out, the way he eats an ice cream cone.
“I figured this would be a good time to explore your people skills before we turn you loose into the wild tomorrow.”
“But you’re coming, right?”
My inhale catches in my throat. “Yes. I’ll be with you for the remainder of the thirty days.”
Up until this exact moment, I didn’t think about what returning to the United States might mean in terms of my security. Todd has texted and called numerous times. Sometimes he tries to make nice, plying me in a friendly tone. Other times, he’s all bite and venom, spewing threats if I don’t make good on our marriage arrangement.
I don’t want to get tangled in his sticky web and yet, it’s not enough to tell myself that he’s all noise and to forget about him. I’m hoping to get some of my money back, but that means keeping the door to our history open.
“Everly?” Grey asks from what sounds like another room, even though he takes up all the space beside me.
I give my head a little shake. “Yeah?”
Grey must’ve asked a question and I didn’t hear. He squints slightly, like the sun just caught in his eyes or he’s concerned about my well-being.
“Yes, I always wanted a pony,” I test an answer.
Those eyebrows of his pinch tighter. “My mother has a couple of horses.”
Apparently, my stab at what he was talking about was off the mark. “I love popcorn, kettle corn especially.”
“They had a popcorn-flavored ice cream inside.” He tilts his head toward the door to the ice cream parlor.
“Yes, I even eat the licorice-flavor jellybeans.” Another guess in response to what he may have said.
I get a full forehead furrow in response like my head is full of jellybeans. I guess that’s not the right answer either, but I don’t want to admit that I wasn’t paying attention or have him ask what I was thinking about.
“I’m fine. Everything is good.”
Two children race each other toward the ice cream parlor, then pause when they see me and look back toward their mother. She gives a friendly wave.
“Hard to believe we’ve been back a week. I’ve been meaning to call you,” Patty says.
“Yes, I love kids,” I say more to Grey than to the woman I met at the baggage claim as the question he asked filters back to me. At least, I think that’s what he was talking about.
“Glad to hear it. This week has been hectic as we settle back in after the trip. Zoe just started swim lessons and Sam’s pet frog keeps escaping.”
I smile fondly at the delightful chaos of family life—not that I ever experienced that. “Did you get your suitcases back?”
“Believe it or not, they were waiting for us when we got home. A small miracle if you ask me. How about your stuff?”
