Avery didn’t wait for her to get her breath. “I’ve never, either! You know what? I fell asleep comparing him to Luke.”
The laughter slowed. “I’m sorry, hon.” Claire patted her hair to make sure it was still in the messy bun at the base of her neck.
With heavy counseling from her pastor, Avery had come to a place of acceptance and peace so she wasn’t in a hole of grief over the revelation. It was more of a surprise. “My pastor once told me that nothing makes a man perfect in his wife’s eyes like death. At the time, I thought he was nuts, but now, I think he may be on to something.”
“How so?”
“Well, Luke gets more perfect in my memory as time goes on. Like, I don’t think about how he’d set his clothes right next to the hamper.”
“Ugh!” Claire threw her hands in the air. “Why can’t they put theminthe basket?”
“I know, it’s right there! It used to drive me insane. But do you think I thought about that last night? No, all I could think about was how Luke never left without tipping—even if I bought dinner, he insisted on leaving the tip. He also used to hook our pinkies instead of hold hands, and he’d buy flowers from Pike Place for my birthday.”
Claire’s eyes softened. “You’ll have better luck with the next guy.”
“I’m not dating for a year. Self-preservation,” she vowed.
The fifth graders walked past the open office on their way to the cafeteria. Avery scanned the line and waved at Landon. He rolled his eyes and he faced forward.
“What was that?” Avery glared after the little stinker.
“He’s growing up. It’s not cool to wave at your mom with the guys hanging around.”
“He’s growing an attitude.”
“That too.” Claire smirked.
Avery folded her arms. “Half the time, I don’t know if I should ground him or hug him.”
“Probably both.”
“Right.”
Luke would have known what to do. As much as Avery missed the man, she missed having a man in her life to partner with to raise her son. She was no fool; anyone she brought in at this point would be a huge adjustment for the both of them. He’d have to love Landon as much as he loved Avery, and with her son’s sunny disposition lately, finding a man who could see through that would be a miracle.
Chapter Seven
Ben
“When I stepped down as CEO, I assumed I’d have more free time.” Ben glared at his younger brother. They were in the back of Ben’s town car, waiting in a line to pick up Savannah from her first day of school. It was all he could do not to shove the door open and charge in there to rescue his baby. She’d texted during lunch that she hated uniforms. Hated the rain. Hated Seattle. Hated the PB&J he’d made her that morning. Only babies eat PB&J.
The day before, PB&J was her favorite. He rubbed the pang above his right eye.Preteenager. As in aprecursor of what was to come, or apreview of the hormones about to take over his sweet little girl.
“Put on the glasses. The simulator is ready.” Quin shoved a pair of 3D goggles his direction. A long black cord ran from the clunky headgear to the laptop. Inside that little gold box were the plans for a new coaster, one they hoped to reveal to the shareholders next month. Quin had seven more coasters in various stages of development.
One of the reasons Magic Lamp Parks were so popular was their willingness to challenge physics. There was a fine line between giving a ticket holder the thrill of their life and inducing seizures. Quin was the genius behind the daring adventures that left riders gasping for breath—he lived for this stuff.
Ben glanced out the window, noting the three security guards casing the parking lot. The one on the end, the guy with the mullet, stared at his car. Probably memorizing make and model or matching it against the list of approved vehicles. The school required him to list not only the people allowed to pick up his daughter but also the make, model, and license plate numbers of the cars she was allowed to travel in to and from school. He’d had his personal assistant prepare the list and checked it himself. He didn’t cut corners when it came to his daughter. Even though Herb was more loyal to Savannah than he was to Ben, he could never quite trust another person to take over something he felt a father should do. And a father should protect his family.
The clock on the tower on the front of the building showed five minutes before the final bell rang. The front of the school reminded him of the clock tower onBack to the Future. It had the same lions framing a giant white clock face. Was it gargoyles in the movie, or lions? He couldn’t quite remember. He’d have to watch it again. He turned to his brother. “Did we ever watchBack to the Futurewith Savannah?”
Quin shook his head, his eyes locked on the screen. “Too much swearing for a five-year-old.”
“She hasn’t been five in forever,” he mumbled.
“Back to the Future’s been out for forever.”
“She needs to see it. It’s a classic.” He looked up at the clock again. “It didn’t have any F-bombs, did it?”
