“I love you too, Mommy,” he replies, unbuckling his seatbelt. I climb out of the car and walk around to let him out. He takes my hand as we walk into the market. I know this side of him won’t last forever, so I hold onto the feeling of his small hand in mine.
The boys agree to meet at the fountain, and when we arrive, I’m startled to see Ember play boxing with Lucas. I can feel a crease settle between my eyes. How does he know Lucas?
“Hey, fancy seeing you here?” He offers me a smirk that has my insides somersaulting.
“I could say the same,” I scoff, and that has him raising his brows. The boys run to each other, and they’re already rambling. Brody can barely contain his excitement at seeing Ember.
A familiar face appears carrying two ice-creams. “Marcy?”
“How did I not know Luke was friends with your Brody. He keeps calling him, my bro.” He chuckles. She hands the boys their ice-creams and gives me a hug. “It has been a long time, Shelb. How have you been?”
“Good, I’ve been good.” I suddenly feel awkward. I had no idea these two were together. They do make a gorgeous couple, though, and I feel entirely inadequate next to them. Marcy is a photographer. She has taken every one of Brody’s baby pictures and our family portraits too.
“Have you met my brother? Ember, this is Shelby.” She smiles brightly at the man beside her. Brother? Oh. At second glance, the resemblance is uncanny—the same jet black hair, dark eyes, and striking good looks.
“Yes, we met at Grady’s a few times,” I tell her.
“Ah, I see.” She looks between us, and a look passes between the two of them. I can’t tell what it means, so I decide not to delve too deep into it.
“Anyway, since we all know each other now, can I take the boys on the rides?” Ember asks, clearing his throat.
“Please,” the boys beg us in unison, jumping up and down.
“We should get food,” Marcy tells me.
“You boys, be careful now,” I call after them. Ember looks over his shoulder, and I swear his eyes smolder when he looks at me. It suddenly feels a hundred degrees hotter out here.
Marcy and I find a small food truck with tables and chairs set out in the sunshine. Umbrellas advertising the many small businesses in the market give the customers some shade. We choose a table, and Marcy offers to place our orders. Tacos and Coke it is. It’s a beautiful day, and while the farmer’s market is busy, it’s not uncomfortably crowded.
She returns with heaven on a tray, and we sit chatting and eating what must be the most delicious tacos I have ever had. I guess I always say that.
“So, you and Ember seem close?” I start, not sure why the first thing out of my mouth is a question about him.
“Believe it or not, he’s my twin brother. I’m exactly six minutes older than him.”
“Really?” That kind of explains how much they look alike. She is tall and slender, though, where he is all muscle with a few inches of height on her.
“I know. He is pretty hard to look at.” She teases, and I flush because I think she knows how attractive I find him. “I didn’t realize he was talking about you, though—” She realizes her mistake and stops herself from putting her foot in it.
I smile, chewing on my lower lip. I ignore the way my stomach flips at the thought of him talking about me. “So, Lucas said his dad lives in Florida. That must be tough.” I quickly change the subject.
“Yeah, Kevin and I just had different plans. This is my home. My family and business are here. I couldn’t up and leave that. We tried to make it work for a while, but long-distance relationships aren’t for everyone. They take a toll on the relationship and the family.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I hate the thought of Lucas not being able to see his father as much as he’d like while the man is a flight away.
“He comes over for a weekend every month, sometimes twice, and we share the holidays. He travels a lot anyway, so it kind of works. He video calls, and we’ve all adjusted to ournew normal.” She smiles, a faraway look in her eyes. “I know you must think I’m pretty selfish.”
“No, not at all.” I raise a hand. “I do feel sad for your son not having his father around all the time, but if you three have found a way to work around the situation, that’s pretty great.” I give her a reassuring smile. “When my folks split, it was ugly, and initially they passed me around like a ping pong ball, trying to turn me against the other until co-parenting started getting too real for them. They met new people, wanted new lives without meaningless reminders of the past. They eventually decided neither of them wanted the responsibility and passed me onto my grandmother. She was pretty great.”
“I never knew that about you,” Marcy says with a frown.
“Not many do, except Drew, Grady maybe. I put that part of my life away and moved on. Sunnyville is my home now.” I take a sip of my Coke.
The boys come barreling over, Ember in tow. They sink into the empty chairs at the table, Lucas and Brody chattering over the ride they just went on.
“You two have fun?” Marcy asks.
“We’re just getting started.” Lucas laughs. “We want to ride the Ferris wheel next. It is kinda boring, but we can see the whole world up there.”
