Go Away, Darling - Alexis Anne Page 0,10

creating a visual story that went with his voice.

Earlier he’d been dressed in swim trunks and—briefly—a long sleeved shirt. Now he had on a worn pair of faded jeans with an equally worn navy blue shirt that pulled tight across his shoulders and biceps.

He looked good.

“And then?” Linc asked, practically falling off his stool as he tried to get closer to Chris.

“Then I took a nap,” Chris said with a shrug and grin that filled me with warmth.

“A nap!” Linc howled. “How could you nap after that? I would have put my line right back in the water.”

I took our two glasses and started for the kitchen.

“Oh really? You fish?” Chris asked.

Linc nodded, mouth full of food as he responded. “My mom taught me. She’s the best.”

For a moment I was trapped between wanting to hide behind the kitchen wall so I wouldn’t have to reply to Linc’s praise, my desire to remind him not to speak when his mouth was full, and my curiosity over what Chris’s reaction might be. So instead of smoothly correcting my son’s manners with the cool grace I liked to think I typically employed, I stood frozen in the doorway of my kitchen with my mouth hanging open as Chris’s gaze collided with mine. It was soft and, well, nice.

“Really? The same girl who used to squeal over a bait bucket full of shrimp?”

It was true I used to loath reaching my hand into a bucket of live shrimp. “People change.”

I blinked as his smile turned mischievous. His brown eyes twinkled and these adorable slits appeared around his mouth near where some men had dimples. I had the most inexplicable urge to run the pad of my index finger over them and test how soft or rough his five o’clock shadow made the skin feel.

“They do indeed. Take me for example. I’m more than two feet taller than I used to be.” He moved his hands from his waist to over his head. “Lots of changes.”

“You knew my mom when you were little?” Linc asked, shoving the last bite in his mouth. Finally.

“Yep,” Chris grinned. “She was nice enough to hang out with a little kid like me.”

“Mom’s always nice. Except when I pee on the toilet seat. Then she shrieks a lot and yells.” He shrugged his little shoulders like whatcha gonna do?

And Chris shrugged right back, shaking his head. “I have two brothers. My mom stayed far, far away from our bathroom.”

His comment made me a little sad. I’d always wanted at least two children and there were many days when it preoccupied my thoughts. Mostly I enjoyed it being just Linc and me. We were a little team and we were happy. But I couldn’t help wondering what he’d be like as a big brother, how his life might have been different with siblings.

“Can I fish before bed?” Linc asked, waving his hands in front of my face. Apparently he’d asked several times while I was stuck in my head with my thoughts.

“Um, yeah sure. Better hurry though, it’s just about dark.” My favorite part of the long summer days was that night seemed to be as reluctant to appear as I was to see it.

Linc scurried out the back door leaving me alone with Chris. Suddenly I didn’t know what to do with my hands, where to look, how to make conversation.

He cleared his throat first. “Is this your father’s house?”

“It was, yes. He gave it to me when he decided to move to Miami.” It was the only way I could afford to live on the island. Okay, technically Beau offered to buy it but my dad refused. And when we decided to divorce, Beau wanted nothing to do with it. He insisted it was my house and he would be happier knowing Linc and I lived someplace we both loved.

Honestly our entire divorce was that easy. We weren’t mad at each other or even hurt all that much. We were both sad because we wanted it to work but it was more a grieving process than anything else. Outside of that it was all about Linc and what was best for him. Beau wanted to see as much of his son as possible in the off-season and I never made him feel guilty for being stressed and busy during the season. My job wasn’t a huge moneymaker but it paid the bills. Beau took care of Linc’s college fund and had trust funds set up in his name.