“Yes.” I stepped back, shaking my head. “Hangovers are not my friend.”
He chuckled. “I get it. And I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been dying to take you out on the water. It’s been too long.”
A pang of something I couldn’t place settled in my chest.
A lot would be changing after this summer we were spending together.
I knew with me living across the country, it wouldn’t be the same as when I was living in Los Angeles and was only an hour away. I’d come to stay with him at least two weekends a month.
But now I’d be a plane ride away. We weren’t even going to be in the same time zone.
I pushed the thought away and glanced out at the water as he fired up the engine. I took the seat beside him as we moved through the water with ease. There were a few boats out in the distance, but as soon as he turned down into this little cove, he slowed the boat and cruised forward until he came to a stop under several tall trees.
He turned toward me and then motioned for us to head to the back of the boat, and he grabbed the bag of food.
“I love boat picnics,” I said, chuckling.
“Me too.” He handed me a bottle of sparkling water, and I set his sandwich down in front of him where we sat on the bench. “Remember all the times we were out on the water as kids? It was always my happy place.”
“Yeah, me too. I love the water.”
“That’s one thing the city doesn’t offer,” he said, raising a brow.
“I know. But I’ll try to come visit as often as I can. The first few months will be super busy, since I’ll be expected to do whatever is asked of me as the newbie there. But we’ll talk every day.” I groaned when I took a bite of my turkey sandwich. “I was clearly hungry.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I ordered these from the Cozy Griddle. They make some damn good sandwiches.”
“I remember when we were kids, you used to tell me how someday you’d grow up and have a boat of your own and a house on the lake.” I shook my head at the memory, because it was truly amazing that he’d done everything he’d said he was going to do. “And that you were going to run your pops’s business someday, and become an architect at the same time. And here we are.”
“Here we are.” He winked. “And I do recall you saying you were going to be a girl who decorated houses and owned a farm with pigs and dogs and chickens.”
“Ahhh… Bob Picklepants was the best dog ever. And I miss Maxine so much. She was the best pet pig. I still laugh at the fact that my father let me have a pet pig who lived in the house.”
“Your dad is the best. We had damn good childhoods, considering all the obstacles we faced at the start.” He took another bite of his sandwich and reached for his napkin.
“Do you think that was part of our bond when we were young? That we both had unusual situations with our moms? And then ended up with the best moms around, just a little later in our childhoods.”
He took a long sip from his water bottle and nodded.
“I think we both had really strong father figures, and then they both married these amazing women, so we had something unique in common. But I don’t know, Jeege.” He tilted his head, his gaze locking with mine, as the sound of trees bustling around us filled the air. The sky was clear and the sun was shining, but we had just enough shade to keep us cool. “From the minute I met you, we just fit, you know?”
“Yep. We did. And I agree that we both got really lucky finding our mamas a little later than most.” I set my sandwich down on the paper. “It’s been a while since you’ve heard from Tara, huh?”
Tara was Cutler’s biological mother. They didn’t have much of a relationship, but she’d occasionally reach out unexpectedly every few years. He’d been adopted by his mom, Emerson, whom he was very close to.
“Funny you should ask. She reached out while you were in Paris.” He scratched the back of his head, which was always a sign that Cutler was uncomfortable.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were living in another country, and I knew you were struggling. So I didn’t want to bring up something that really doesn’t matter.”
I knew that his relationship with his biological mother still affected him, even with having a woman like Emerson in his life who had stepped up for him. His mother walking away was something that I always thought had caused him to hold back just the slightest bit in his relationships with most people.
Never with me.
And I was thankful for that.
eleven
