Page 41 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

“A place filler for what?”

“Time,” she says, shrugging one shoulder like I’m supposed to know what that means.

“That sounds stupid.”

She lets out an incredulous laugh.

“But he was right. He became one of those things I just filled my time with, and nothing more.”

“Did you want more with him?” Please say no.

“No.” She looks away from me, I can’t tell if it’s because she feels ashamed to have led the guy on, or if it has something to do with me staring at her.

“So you’re not seeing him anymore?”

She turns back to look at me. “No, I’m not.”

Well then, this might be the best thing I’ve heard all day.

“Good.”

Chapter 17

Sophie

We spent hours today on the beach watching Vivi play. She built sandcastles with Jonah, played catch with a foam football, snorkeled in the water, and we walked up and down the beach to collect shells. And while I had planned on spending this weekend by just bringing a towel down and lying out in the sun, past that I was uncertain. This however, became an amazing day and what I’m sure will be the start of an amazing weekend.

“Wildflower, you look sunkissed,” Jonah tells her as he rubs some after-sun lotion on her arms.

“I feel sunkissed. I got a tan today,” she says, sticking out her legs and looking at her golden skin. She’s wearing another super cute romper. This one is navy-and-white striped. I can’t help but wonder if Jonah takes her shopping for these clothes or if maybe Camille volunteers.

“You did,” he tells her, kissing the top of her head, then placing the bottle on the coffee table.

Earlier, I told him he was doing a great job with her, and he really is. He’s so attentive, and it’s clear he adores her something fierce. He’s giving me straight-up single-hot-dad vibes, and I swear my ovaries jump and rejoice. I’d like to blame it on my age, but it’s just him.

For dinner, we decided to walk to the Beachside Café. Jonah offered to cook us dinner, but this was Vivi’s idea. I’ve been here once before for brunch, and from what I remember, the food was amazing. As we make our way down the beach, Vivi is in the middle and she reaches for both of our hands. It’s so innocent and so sweet, but over her head, Jonah and I lock eyes onto each other. The three of us are connected, and my heart stutters at how we look. Is his doing the same?

We look like a family.

A really beautiful family.

Vivi starts swinging our arms and humming, and Jonah’s eyes drop to her. He seems surprised by her actions, but she doesn’t seem fazed at all. It’s like the three of us walk together all the time instead of this being the first time, and I can’t help but wonder, could this be a glimpse of our future?

“Look, Uncle Jonah, dune sunflowers!” Vivi shouts. She lets go of his hand and points toward the sand dunes on our right. All three of us turn to look. The dunes on the island at this point aren’t large, but they are beautiful and covered with seagrass. And sure enough, close to the ground, there are patches of shrubs that are covered with little yellow flowers with a dark center.

“I see them,” he tells her, and she retakes his hand.

“Tomorrow, can we go hunt for wildflowers?” she asks, looking up at him with big eyes.

“Of course we can. We’ll see if we find any new ones.”

She smiles up at him, then looks at me.

“Do you want to come with us?”

“I’d love to go, but you need to tell me more about what we’re going to be doing.”

“Hunting for wildflowers!” she exclaims, like that should explain it all.