Page 8 of Whatever You Want

She bumped my shoulder. “Why should the kids get to have all the fun, right?” She winked at the girls. “So, who wants to be my partner?”

Madison grabbed on to my daughter’s arm. “I already promised Brina.”

Amelia and Marco took advantage of the distraction and snuck away before they could get guilted into playing. I was about to suggest Quinn until Emery came up and grabbed on to his forearm.

“Dad, are you ready to play?”

He looked like he would rather have his balls tugged off than play a silly lawn game. For Emery’s sake, he’d act like getting splattered with water balloons was the best time ever.

Ava blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and turned her attention to me. “I guess you’re the last man standing.”

“Are you going to be able to catch it without letting it pop?” I asked, setting the goody bags off to the side. If I were lucky, maybe they’d be gone by the time we were done. My daughter didn’t need any more chalk, bubbles, or cheap jump ropes.

She arched an eyebrow. Her playfulness was cute. “Are you going to be able to catch it if I throw it?”

I was just about to respond that I wouldn’t mind if we both ended up a little wet when Marco’s brother called all the players to the back of the yard. “All right, everybody, find your partner and form two lines.”

Once the lines were formed, he instructed us to face each other and take a step back. He blew a whistle, and I picked my balloon out of the bucket and tossed one to Ava nice and gently. She caught it, but her throw was a little low when she threw it back, and it almost landed at my feet.

She shook her head, and we spent the next couple of minutes laughing and tossing the balloon back and forth until it was just us and another couple left. We stood twenty-five feet apart, so this would be a tough one. Our daughters stood off to the side, cheering us on, while the rest of the party guests stood around to see who the winner would be.

Matteo blew the whistle, and Ava threw the balloon a little high. I had to step back to catch it, but thankfully I grabbed it without an issue. I looked to my left, and Marco’s cousin completely missed her catch as the balloon splattered on the grass. Ava pumped her fists in the air in victory and ran over to me.

I lifted her up and spun her around. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and my hands went to the middle of her back. The hair at the end of her ponytail tickled my fingertips. I inhaled the scent of whatever lotion was on her skin. She fit perfectly in my arms like they were always meant to hold her. She reached forward and grazed the side of my temple with her palm. It was taking everything in me not to lean into her touch. Our faces were inches apart, and I wondered what she would do if I kissed her?

The sound of the people cheering off to the side was drowned out by the thickening current flowing between us. I didn’t understand how I could be so calm with the way my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

But just as quickly as that moment came, it ended. Ava cleared her throat and slid back down to the ground. My hands fell to the side when she took a step away from me.

“Great job, champ.” My voice was steady despite how nervous I felt.

Her shoulders relaxed now that there was some distance between us. “Thanks. We make a great team.”

She walked briskly over to Amelia. Marco stood at her side, giving me a funny look.

I ran a hand through my hair and slipped my shades over my eyes. I was fucked.

“What happened to your wrist?” I asked, even though I already had a pretty good idea. I looked around the house, searching for any sign of that sorry excuse she called a husband.

My mother met Richard when I was in third grade. She worked for his family as their housekeeper until his first wife died of breast cancer. When I was a senior in high school, he moved us from the guesthouse to the main house. Five months later, she married him—something to this day I still didn’t understand.

She sat back in her chair and placed her hand in her lap. “I slipped in the bathroom. It looks worse than it feels.”

Based on the blue and purple bruising on her skin, I highly doubted that.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep my tone gentle. “Mom, are you ever going to leave him? I don’t understand why you continue to put up with this.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Honey, when you’re older like me, you don’t have a lot of options.”

“Is that what he’s filling your head with?” I looked at her in disbelief. “You can’t possibly believe that.”

My mother was in her mid-fifties, but she still took great care of herself. She walked three miles every day and ate a healthy diet. Sure, she had laugh lines, wrinkles, and a few gray hairs, but she was still beautiful, both inside and out. She would have no trouble finding someone if she decided to put herself out there again.

“I don’t expect you to understand.” Her eyes stayed glued to the floor as she spoke. “Just trust that I know what’s best for my marriage.”

“What about what’s best for you?”

I wanted to reach across the table and shake her by the shoulders. Get her to stop believing his lies. Scream at her until she listened to me, but nothing I said would ever make a difference. She would always defend Richard and make excuses for his behavior, and I hated him even more for the tension he caused between us.

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