Page 64 of Secret Submission

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Connor

Straining his muscles, Connor gritted his teeth as he stood up straight, forcing his arms to rise into the air to the delighted screams of the children hanging from them. He had four hanging from each arm.

They’d been adding one kid on each lift, and he wasn’t sure that he could take five on each arm. He also wasn’t sure they’d be able to fit, anyway.

Holding the pose for a moment, he dropped back into a squat, so their feet were back on the ground—though the shortest ones had to drop an inch or two when they let go. Applause broke out around them from the watching adults—sadly, Julie wasn’t one of them. She was across the yard, talking to some of her cousins.

John was there, though, scowling at Connor. Likely because his conversation had been interrupted when the people he’d been talking to had turned to see what was going on. Connor ignored the man. He could tell a bitter ex when he saw one. John wasn’t his problem, though, other than the obstacle he posed to Connor’s goals.

He wanted to make this afternoon nice for Julie. John’s presence had definitely thrown her and made the afternoon more of a chore than a joy. Why the man was still hovering around, Connor didn’t completely understand.

The only conversation Connor had overheard him having had been bragging about a particularly difficult surgery he’d performed recently. Which was impressive, but Connor had overheard the story at least three different times now, and he wasn’t even trying to listen to the man. Quite a few people seemed impressed by him, though.

He did notice that Sandra and her husband weren’t part of any of the groups talking to him. Whether that was in support of Connor or just because they didn’t like John, he wasn’t sure.

“You’re so strong!” One of the little girls, he was pretty sure her name was Mari, wrapped her arms around his leg, beaming up at him. “How did you get so strong?”

“Eating lots of veggies,” he said, winking down at her.

There was a whole play area set up for the kids, but somehow, he’d become the more interesting toy. He wasn’t sure how it had happened. One of the little boys had asked him how much he could lift, and it had snowballed from there.

“I need some veggies! Where are the veggies?” One of the other kids yelled and started running toward the food table. It started a bit of a stampede, which made Connor laugh. As he was watching the kids, he noticed Julie’s dad at the very full trash can on the edge of the patio, pulling up the edges of the plastic bag, then struggling to actually pull the bag from the trash can.

Connor headed over, crossing the distance in a few short strides.

“Can I help?” he asked.

“If you can get it out, I’ll put the new bag in. I think I accidentally vacuum-sealed this one in the can.” Daniel chuckled, straightening up and stepping back.

He had, but it still only took Connor a few seconds to work it out of the trashcan.

“Thank you,” Daniel said, shaking out the new bag and eying Connor.

“Of course.” He hefted the full bag. “What should I do with this?”

“I’ve got it. I just needed help getting it out.” Daniel slid the new, empty bag into the trashcan, pulling the edges over the lip to keep it in place.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

Pausing, Daniel looked up at him. “Are you trying to impress me?”

“Well… yes,” Connor replied honestly. “But not with the trash. It just seems rude to pull it out, then run.”

That made Daniel laugh.

“Okay, well, you can take it around to the side of the house.” He pointed to the side that didn’t have the gate. “We’ll deal with it after the party. If you’re still around, I’ll let you take it to the front then.”

“No problem, we don’t have any other plans for today.” Hefting the trash bag up, he took it around to the side of the house. It wasn’t hard to tell where it went since there was already a full bag sitting there. He set his bag down next to it.

When he turned around, John was standing on the side of the house, fists planted on his hips, between Connor and the party.

“Do you need something?” Connor asked, walking toward the other man. He wasn’t worried about getting around John if he needed to, but he’d really rather this not turn physical. Julie wouldn’t like that. Her parents probably wouldn’t either. They seemed pretty attached to the guy, even though he was no longer their son-in-law.

“From you? No. I just want to be clear; I’m not going anywhere. Deep down, Julie knows we belong together. She only brought you to try to prove a point to her parents. She’s fighting the inevitable, and that’s why she’s fighting so hard. She doesn’t like to feel out of control… but us getting back together is inevitable.” Clenching his jaw, John nodded firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. The fact that he had to tilt his head back to keep his gaze level with Connor’s as Connor got closer clearly irked him.

“Okay,” Connor said easily, stepping around the other man as his jaw dropped with shock.

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