Page 71 of Changing Tides

“I hear you saying one thing, but that look on your face is saying something completely different,” he states.

“Um …” I can’t find my words.

Parker snaps his fingers in front of my face and brings my attention back to him.

“For fuck’s sake, just be careful with her,” he advises.

“I will,” I promise as I stand and help them into their chairs.

Once Amiya has joined us, we place our orders, and the server brings a small plate of fries for Leia while we wait.

“So, you’re leaving us tomorrow, huh?” Anson asks.

“Yes, I have to get back to reality,” Amiya replies as she squirts ketchup on Leia’s plate of fries.

“That’s too bad,” he says.

Her eyes snap to him. “Oh, Anson, are you gonna miss me?”

He places his elbows on the table and turns sad eyes to her. “Like crazy,” he whines and sticks his lip out.

She cups the side of his face. “Don’t worry, handsome; I’ll be back the week of the Fourth for two whole weeks. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of summer island bunnies to keep you company until then,” she coos.

“What’s an island bunny?” Leia asks, and Anson laughs as he taps her nose.

“Cute little bunnies with beautiful, full cotton tails,” he says, and Avie growls at him.

It’s an adorable sound. Like a lioness warning off a hyena.

Leia looks up at her mother. “Can we get an island bunny?”

Amiya leans over to the kid. “No, LeLe. Island bunnies are cheap imitations of a real bunny. They’re fun to play with for a while, but they die off quickly.”

“They die?” Leia whimpers.

Avie cuts her eyes to her friend as the rest of us try to hold in our amusement.

Stop, she mouths.

I reach over and snatch a fry off Leia’s plate.

“Hey,” she cries.

I toss the fry into my mouth and reach for another.

Leia slaps at my hand.

“I’m hungry,” I state.

“Get your own fries,” she tells me.

I sit back and fold my arms over my chest.

“And I shared my ice cream with you the other night,” I scoff.

She looks me dead in the eye. “That was the ice cream that you owed me, and I shared it with you,” she declares, all thoughts of dead bunnies gone.

Parker and Anson start hooting.

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