“Building Blox,” Connor answered as he showed off a hefty bag full of what looked like colorful Legos. “I’d always build something before eating them.” He grimaced. “They can be a little hard on the teeth, though.”
Eyes alight, my brother basically mugged Connor and dropped the Blox into his basket, which, like Maisie’s, was about to overflow.
Dad and Erica are going tolovethis, I thought once my brother and Connor started talking about potential construction projects.My siblings’ sugar rush might be fun, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near the later crash.
I saw Connor grab an empty basket, presumably to pick out a few things for Finn and Teddy, and I followed suit. My dad loved any and all types of gummies (save for those of the recreational drug variety); I grabbed him a bag of blue sharks. Erica wasn’t normally a big fan of candy, but I couldn’t resist the Fun Dip. It’d been her top craving while pregnant with the twins.
Why are you being so nice to her?the voice in the back of my head asked.You’re rarely this nice to her.
Because she needs to loosen up, I answered, trying to shake the thought away.No one should be this tightly wound on vacation!
I felt a twinge in my chest, realizing the statement wasn’t solely applicable to Erica.
“Hey, Olivia!” I heard my name and turned to see Connor standing by the case of gourmet chocolates. “Are you a chocolate lover?”
“Try a chocolatesnob!” Maisie answered for me, as Annie’s words drifted through my mind:A couple weeks of fun never hurt anyone…
“It’s true,” I said with a shrug. “A Hershey’s bar doesn’t do it for me.”
“Or Dove,” Bryce chimed in. “Or Godiva.”
“Got it,” Connor said, bemused. “No drug store chocolate for the queen.”
My siblings giggled. “Olivia isn’t the queen,” Bryce said. “That’s Annie!”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little too. My dad sometimes referred to Annie as “the queen,” usually when she beckoned him over to fix something ASAP.
Connor raised an eyebrow.
“Lupo family lore,” I explained and joined him by the chocolates. “Do they have chocolate-covered orange peel?” I sidestepped closer to him to better peer into the case.
But I closed my eyes when I felt heat radiating off his skin. He smelled like sunscreen, laundry detergent, and whatever delicious watermelon-hinted scent his shampoo was.
I felt like melting.
“Sophisticated,” he remarked, and the accidental bump of his hip against mine forced my eyes back open but sent my pulse off to the races. “Top shelf, left side.”
“Are you going to get anything?” I asked after selecting a bag of orange peel and a few of Annie’s favorite Turtles.
“Caramellos,” he said. “Caramel and marshmallow nougat covered in chocolate.”
I laughed when he sighed dreamily, but once we finally made it to the register, I had to focus. “You each need to put five things back,” I told the twins and their bursting baskets. “I don’t have enough cash for everything.”
“But you have your debit card,” Bryce countered.
Ignoring him, I suggested they leave behind the more generic goodies.
We still spent sixty bucks.
This island was getting more expensive by the day.
“No way,” Finn said when we returned home later, the twins immediately showing off their treasure. “You went to the candy store without us?”
In response, Connor (gently) pelted him with some packs of Pop Rocks. “Dude, you know I’m always thinking of you.”
“You’re the best, Connor!” Teddy exclaimed after a bag of tangled blue raspberry laces hit him in the shoulder.
Connor smiled. “Where’d your grandparents take you today?”
