Page 47 of Forgettable in Every Way

I scooted over to the door, assuming it was a delivery. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to stop a lot of the packages I’d ordered for redecorating the house. It was going to be a pain returning everything. But Dad was adamant he wasn’t moving. The jury was still out on whether or not Mom would. Hopefully, today would be a step in the right direction for them. Although it meant them having to sell the house they’d bought in Boston. Perhaps they could just rent it out.

Well ... it wasn’t a package at the door. Unless you counted Simon as the total package. There he stood, smiling, wearing nothing more than swimming trunks, holding life vests and a cooler. He brought with him the cutest kid I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, who beamed up at me as if I truly were a magical princess.

I did a terrible job resisting ogling Simon, and my eyes wandered toward his chest. His defined contours mesmerized me.

“Hello, gorgeous. You look smashing,” Simon crooned in the way only he could.

My head snapped up to catch his eyes roving over me in what I could only describe as a seductive way.

“Uh ... hello.” I gripped the doorframe for support. “What are you doing here?”

“Chasing you.”

Those might be the sexiest and scariest words ever spoken. But Cinderella was about ready to kick Joan Jett to the curb. “So This Is Love” drowned out “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” I began to wonder if I would hate myself if I didn’t give Simon the chance to love me.

“We’re here to go on an adventure with you,” Jack declared, dressed in swim trunks and a T-shirt. He wrapped his arms around my legs, halting the war that had been going on inside me the last few days.

My heart instantly calmed. A sense of rightness washed over me. “What adventure is this, Sir Jack?”

“We’re going on a boat.”

My attention turned back to Simon, thinking how odd it was that once again he knew what my plans were for the day. It definitely explained why he was in swim trunks and looked like the hundreds of fantasies I’d had of him over the years. “Do you have a boat?” I coyly asked, not caring how he knew my plans, only that he had shown up in my life like he’d promised he would.

“I don’t.” Simon grinned. “But I believe I saw a canoe or two in your garage. How apropos that you’re dressed for the occasion. Lucky me.” His eyes did another scan of me.

Heat crept up my neck as Simon took his time perusing me. “Well, I was planning on kayaking over to the island.”

“It’s a magical island full of fairies,” Jack informed me.

I crouched down to be eye level with him. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” Jack’s big eyes lit up. “Maybe we can find some.”

“Maybe.” I smiled. My heart melted into an enormous pile of goo. It was official. Cinderella was going to kick Joan Jett’s butt. Besides, I had a feeling Simon would follow me to the island whether or not we were in the same canoe. “I suppose we should at least try to find one or two.”

Jack flung his arms around my neck. “I missed you, Princess Jewel.”

I was toast. There was no way I could hurt Jack again. I hugged him to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world, breathing in the sunscreen Simon had bathed him in. “I missed you too.”

Simon gazed adoringly at his son and me. “Thank you,” he mouthed.

I wondered what he was thanking me for but felt like I shouldn’t ask in front of Jack.

“We should probably get going,” I suggested.

“I brought lunch.” Simon held up the cooler.

I stood, keeping hold of Jack’s hand. “You were presumptuous.”

“Just hopeful,” Simon responded sincerely.

“Is this real?” I had to make sure.

“Very.”

“Okay. Just checking,” I said way too pitchy.

Simon reached up and rested his warm, masculine hand on my cheek, his thumb caressing my soft skin. “Lovely Jules.”

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