Page 27 of The Summer Plans

RJ smiles at him as he finishes wrapping Lucas’s ankle and rubs his leg in support. “That’s the best part. You can just float. You don’t have to swim or kick.”

The responding joy on Lucas’s face warms my heart. Their own father doesn’t want to spend this much time with them. It would be easy to assume RJ’s placating them, that he feels sorry for me, that he’s just humoring us. But that’s never been RJ. I know he has a good heart. That’s why his rejection back in high school hurt that much more.

“Do you think we’ll see any octopuses or starfish?” Logan asks.

Lucas’s face lights up. “I want to watch a starfish poop out of its hands!”

RJ laughs at the absurdity of his words. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

Lana rolls her eyes. “They don’t have hands.”

“Legs. Whatever,” Lucas says.

“I’ve been practicing my punching in case an octopus comes near me,” Logan adds.

Lana crosses her arms. “Shut up. An octopus isn’t gonna punch you.”

“You don’t know that,” Logan argues. “It could, and I wanna be prepared.”

The last thing I want to do is go snorkeling. It’s probably an irrational fear, and I know we’re vacationing on an island surrounded by the ocean, but I’ve never loved swimming in big bodies of water.

RJ’s staring at me while the kids continue talking. He slowly walks toward me, and I squirm in anticipation as he approaches. Everything about this man is overwhelming. His scent. His gaze. His attention. He leans in close to my ear. “I got you.” My eyes flick up to his in confusion. “If you’re nervous.”

How does he know that? Is it all over my face? “I’m not nervous,” I lie, biting my lip.

His eyes track the movement, and I swallow thickly. “It’s perfectly safe. And you can hold on to me if you’re worried about floating away.” He leans in close. “And this time I’ll rub sunscreen all over you, so I know you’re protected.”

Why is that so hot? That shouldn’t be so hot.

“Can we, Mom?” Lana begs, breaking the spell.

I lean around him and glance at my kids. They’re all looking at me with big eyes. There aren’t a lot of activities that they agree on, so the fact that they all want to do this is huge. A defeated sigh escapes me. “I guess we’re going snorkeling.”

“Yay!” the kids shout in unison.

“But I have some things I need to get done around here first. I need all of you to go straighten up your rooms and make your beds. It should look like no one is staying in it. I need to snap some pics.”

“Why are you taking pics?” Sophie frowns.

“Raven asked me to create a listing so she can sell this place.”

Sophie’s head snaps to her dad. “Shit, Auntie Raven wants to sell this place?”

“Language,” Logan shouts from the love seat.

“Sorry, kid,” Sophie calls back.

RJ shrugs. “It was news to me too.” He holds up his phone and turns to Logan. “I’ll pay for her swear.”

“Dad, you can’t let her do that. Have you seen this place? It’s amazing. We have to come back here every summer. Can we buy it from her?”

“It’s not up to me,” RJ says.

Sophie gestures around the space. “But Dad…”

“Sophie.”

“We have to talk her out of it.”