“Was she talking your ear off?” Lucas asked from behind her. Paige turned, and the sight of him nearly took her breath away. She couldn’t explain it really. He was only wearing jeans and a quarter-zip fleece, but he looked like he’d just stepped out of a magazine ad for some overpriced men’s cologne. The ocean breeze played with his hair, giving it that sexy, rumpled look she found so irresistible, and the way he looked at her, smoldering and yet shy all at once? Let’s just say she was darn happy she agreed to stay.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked.
Maddie ran up, which was just as well because if Paige had told him her thoughts, she would have had to reveal that she’d been thinking about how it would feel to run her fingers through his unruly hair, or how badly she wanted to slide her hands under his fleece and feel the warmth of his skin against hers, or how she wanted him to kiss her until they were both breathless.
“Can we look for shells?” Maddie asked.
“Well, we need to collect something with that bucket. Should it be shells or crabs?”
“Oooh gross, why would we collect crabs?” she asked. It seemed crabs were bad but toads were good. Go figure.
“Then shells it is,” Lucas said. He took Paige’s hand as they fell in line behind the four-year-old leader of their expedition. Paige couldn’t remember the last time a man held her hand. In fact, it had been so long, she was quite sure the last male to do so was merely a boy, and not a man at all. “This okay?” he whispered, nodding toward their joined hands.
Paige smiled. It was more than okay. It was perfect. And so was their day. The three of them spent hours walking along the beach, collecting seashells or using their feet to draw silly faces in the wet sand. Lucas and Maddie even had a game where they tried to spell out a word before the other one could guess what it was. Granted they were supershort words—cat, bat, hat… Today’s day at the beach was brought to you by the letters a and t—but Paige was still impressed with how Lucas combined education with fun and games.
When Maddie finally grew tired, they found a place on the beach to spread out a blanket. Once they were settled, Maddie and Lucas unleashed the kite. It was in the shape of a giant panda bear, something Paige found both peculiar and fantastic. She watched as the bear bobbed around in the wind, much to Maddie’s delight.
“Did you bring a snack?” Maddie asked. Now there was a girl after her own heart.
Lucas’s expression went blank. “I thought you were going to bring the snacks.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped open. As it did, her father began to laugh. “Close your mouth, missy. A seagull might fly in.”
Maddie giggled. “My mouth is not big enough for a seagull.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes as he sized her up. “Hmm, you might be right.” He tied the kite to a piece of driftwood, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a banana. “Is it big enough for a banana?”
“Maybe,” Maddie said. “But it could definitely fit a cookie.”
Paige fought to keep a straight face.
“Sorry,” Lucas said. “I’m fresh out of cookies.”
Maddie looked to Paige. “Do you have any cookies?”
Paige reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a tin of breath mints. She always carried them with her in case of an emergency. Like if she’d just finished a garlic-heavy meal and a client had a crisis that required face-to-face intervention. Or the scenario Sammy preferred: she was trapped in the elevator of their building with the hot guy from the twenty-third floor. A crisis that in her assistant’s opinion would require a different kind of face-to-face action. “Only these.”
Maddie cocked her head to one side as she tried to sound out the word. “Aaaalllltoids.”
Mental note, almost-five-year-olds can read. At least this one could, and not just words that ended in at. Right, she thought, no spelling dirty words in front of the kiddo.
“What’s an Altoid?” Maddie asked.
“A grown-up candy,” her dad answered.
“Can I have one?”
“Are you a grown-up?” he teased.
“Almost.” Maddie made the declaration with total sincerity. Paige tried to remember being four years old. Had she thought turning five was a major milestone as well? All at once, she remembered being at the store and telling her mother that turning five meant she was old enough to get her ears pierced. Of course her mother had disagreed, telling Paige that pierced ears were for adults, not children. But still, maybe she could relate to a kid after all.
“I don’t think you will like them,” Lucas said. “They’re kind of hot.”
“What if I eat the banana?” Maddie flashed her father a smile sweeter than any cookie. “Then can I try one?”
Paige had to hand it to her, the girl was good. Between her adorable face and her precocious charm, there was probably nothing she couldn’t negotiate. Then again, her father wasn’t a very difficult mark. He was clearly wrapped around his daughter’s tiny finger.
“Deal,” he said. Not the toughest negotiator, Paige thought. But extra points for letting her learn from what would no doubt be a mistake.
Maddie stepped forward and extended her hand. Lucas tried to hand her the banana, but she shook her head. “No silly, I want to shake on it.”
“Shake on it?”
“Yes, that’s how you close a deal.”
Lucas glanced at Paige. “Wonder where she learned that?”
She tried to twist the smile from her lips, but it was no use. This kid was a hoot.
Lucas grinned and shook his head. “I’m doomed,” he said before taking his daughter’s hand.
When enough banana had been consumed to fulfill her contractual obligation, Maddie held her hand out to Paige. “May I have my Altoid, please?” Hilarious and polite? Even better.
Paige opened the lid of the small red-and-white tin. Lucas was right about one thing; while small, the cinnamon-flavored mints were intense. As she held out the metal box, she couldn’t help but wonder how the transaction was going to end.
Maddie stood on her tiptoes for a better view of the coveted mints. She pressed her lips together while her eyes roamed over what felt like every single piece and, after what seemed like an eternity, carefully selected one from the top of the pile.
Paige and Lucas watched as she placed the mint on her tongue.
One.
Two.
Three seconds.
Maddie’s brows shot up and her eyes grew wide, but she said nothing. Instead she began to chew. Fast. And then she swallowed. Hard.