Page 100 of Changing Tides

Leia giggles as she wedges herself between us.

Sebastian releases my mouth and looks down at her.

“You’re kissing Mommy.” She snickers.

He reaches down and picks her up and plants a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

She squirms.

What has gotten into him?

He sets her back on her feet.

“I’ve got to get back to the dock. You guys enjoy the festival,” he says.

I grab his elbow before he runs off. “We’re still on for tonight?” I ask.

“Yeah, just the two of us, right?”

I nod. “I want to talk to you about something.”

He nods as he backs away. “I need to talk to you about something too. I’ll find you when I get back. Should be an early one.”

“Okay.”

He grins and winks at me before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

“You look like you’re about to puke,” Amiya says as she joins us and hands Leia an ice cream cone.

“I just might,” I agree.

“There’s nothing that you can do but let things play out the way they will, so you might as well enjoy the festival.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I snap.

“It sure is. That’s the beauty of only having casual, surface relationships. No nerves. No making myself sick. Just easy-peasy.”

“Stop bragging,” I grumble.

“Come on, boo. Let’s go buy you a cocktail,” she says.

“Okay, but I’m warning you: loading the kid up on sugar and me up on alcohol is the recipe for a rough night for you.”

A band called The Salty Dogs takes the stage during the picnic, and we spend the afternoon on a blanket, enjoying the music.

Leia makes friends with a girl her age, whose family is lounging beside us, and the two of them dance and twirl while I discuss day cares and the local public schools with her mother.

When Sebastian and Anson find us, the sun has set, and the wharf is lit with strands of bulbs wrapped around every tree and post.

Sebastian slips in behind me and kisses the back of my neck as I sway to the lyrics of the haunting song coming through the amps.

“Having fun?”

I nod. “How was your day?” I ask as I lie back in his arms.

“Good. The last angler caught a sailfish. He was ecstatic.”

Leia hobbles over to us.

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