“Fine. I just need a minute to sit. The plane …” She sat on the decorative rocks and leaned her head back against the wall.
Ben waved them on. “We’ll wait here.”
The kids nodded and then took off running.
“I thought I was doing okay,” Avery mumbled.
Ben sat next to her and took her hand. Her fingers were cold. He rubbed them between his palms to warm them up. “You’re doing great,” he said, though he had no idea what she was talking about.
She snatched her hand away. “I’ll never be able to compete with this. Gah! Ben, no wonder my kid is embarrassed to say hi to me in the hall.” She buried her face in her hands. “I was completely delusional to think I could get away with enrolling him in that school if I bought the right pants and kept his hair cut.”
Ben rubbed his gut. He’d just been punched there by her words, and the feeling wasn’t pleasant. Still, it wasn’t about him. He’d wanted to bring Avery and Landon here because he wanted to share this park with them. Today was supposed to make her smile. “Avery.” He rubbed her back. “Your income has nothing to do with Landon not wanting to talk to you.”
She hmmed, giving him a thanks-a-lot glare.
“I think it’s because you dress like an eight-year-old.”
Her hands dropped and she stared at him, aghast.
He laughed. “I’m joking. You’re beautiful.” He brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her head. Then he felt dumb for taking such liberties. It was natural, though, and he couldn’t take it back, so he decided to roll with it.
She elbowed him in the stomach. Her lips twitched.
“Landon is on his way to being one of the best men on the planet because of you. It’s not money that makes the man; it’s the mother.”
She leaned into his side. “Ben, we can’t accept this.” She took the pass off her neck and tried to hand it to him.
Ben didn’t reach for it. He considered his words carefully, not wanting to lay his feelings out there to be stomped on but desperate to explain. “This is mine and Savannah’s special park. Quin and I built it the year I gained full custody of her. We spent hours here, walking through attractions, evaluating designs. It was amazing, seeing it through her eyes.
“Every time we checked something off the list, Savannah and I grew closer together. We spent so much time talking about the future of this place, the construction process, that it lessened the destruction her mother and I put into her life.”
“That’s sweet.”
He tightened his hold on her hands and pulled them to his chest, where his heart beat a quick staccato. “It’s our special place, and when I told her I wanted to bring you two here, she agreed right away. In a way, you wearing that lanyard is symbolic of bringing you and Landon into our inner circle.”
“So …” She pulled her mouth down in an I’ve-messed-up expression. “It’s a huge insult not to accept?”
“The biggest. Like spitting in my face.”
She burst out laughing. “Well, we can’t havethat, now, can we?”
He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “You’re quite beautiful.” A blush filled her cheeks with the most amazing color.
“That was awesome!” Landon ran pell-mell down the exit route. Savannah was laughing and keeping right with him. She was taller than Landon by about four inches, but that wouldn’t last long. He’d hit a growth spurt in the next three years, and she’d be looking up to him. The vision of it was as real as the tropical flowers growing behind them.
“What’s next?” Ben asked.
“The Scrambler,” the kids cheered. They looked at Avery, a matching crease of worry between their brows.
Avery settled her pass around her neck once again. “To the Scrambler!” She thrust her fist in the air, earning more cheers. Her eyes caught Ben’s, and her smile was just for him. It warmed him all the way through, filling his chest with a desire to be her last first date.
Chapter Eighteen
Avery
Avery relaxed into the camel-colored leather seat in the plane while Landon slept with his head in her lap. He’d curled up against her a few moments before, allowing her to play with his hair like she had when he was a toddler and couldn’t sleep. Ben and Savannah sat across from them, making a beautiful scene. She wished her phone was handy so she could get a picture.
Ben was … sigh … amazing. He’d spoiled them with churros, a roasted chicken dinner at the nicest restaurant in the park, and his undivided attention. Once she’d stopped thinking about how much everything cost, she’d been able to join in the fun. The rabbit hole wasn’t so strange anymore. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had an un-birthday party in the hangar when they got back.
