Page 71 of Resorting to Romance

“I’m almost seven,” Noah says to Chloe. “You have to call me Noah now.”

“I can’t call you sweetie anymore?”

I feel Chloe’s pain. My son is growing up far too fast.

“No, thank you.” He pauses, obviously thinking this through. “You could call me dude.” Noah pauses again. “Or bruh.”

“In that case, I’ll stick with Noah.”

Kai’s heavy footfalls hit the steps. There’s a clunk of something heavy being set down.

“Okay,” he announces with his smile seeping through his words. “You can peek.”

I open my eyes, shut them, and open them again to make sure I’m actually seeing what I’m seeing.

Kai is standing one step down from the porch, and his hand is proudly wrapped around a surfboard that stands taller than he is. It’s red with a white stripe down the middle. And Noah is jumping up and down like a frog on a hot tin roof. Which sounds awful. Okay. He’s not a frog with his wee little froggy toes getting all blistery and crisp. Let’s just say he’s got springs in his feet. And he’s squealing, “Unko! Unko! Unko! That’s for me?”

Kai beams at my son. It’s the kind of smile that isn’t for me at all. As a matter of fact, I think I could slip into the inn and neither of them would notice. I look over at Chloe. She’s clutching her hand over her heart and mouthing, “Put a ring on that.”

“What?” I mouth back to her, hoping I misunderstood her.

Maybe she said “Buttering a cat,” or “Pooh Bear isn’t fat.” She can’t seriously be telling me …

“Put. A. Ring. On. That,” Chloe mouths again, clear as day.

I shoot her a glance that says, “Put a cork in that.”That, being her mouth.

During our little exchange, Noah leapt at Kai and now he has his arms wrapped around Kai’s waist in a grip that looks like we’ll need a crowbar to pry him off.

“Thank you, Unko! Thank you! That’s what I always wanted! And you got it! It’s my own board!”

Kai’s gaze is trained downward at Noah. He’s wrapped his free arm around my son. And he has a smile on his lips that leads straight into his thoughts. He’s reveling in Noah’s reaction, savoring it with a fork, picking up every crumb on the tines until the plate has been cleaned.

I glance at Chloe. She raises her eyes as if to say,I said what I said.

“Mom!” Noah releases Kai. “Unko got me a surfboard!”

“I see that.”

And then Kai looks over at me, finally. He’s got this shy look on his face, the opposite of how Brad would look in a moment like this. Brad always wanted credit for the gifts he gave. He wasn’t narcissistic, but he had this part of himself that just wanted to be known as a giver. He’d wait until I was thrilled with whatever he gave me and then he’d say, “I did good, huh?” or something like that. It wasn’t ever something that bothered me until now—now that I see what it looks like when a man can give without any thought of himself whatsoever.

And I hate that thoughts of Brad are contaminating this beautiful moment between my son and his Unko.

Kai’s face softens and he looks at me so earnestly, I could run to him and wrap my arms around him. I’d secretly hope every single person on this side of the island has misplaced their crowbars.

Instead, I just say, “Thank you.”

My words come out soft and possibly a little choked with emotion.

“I wanted him to have his own board. He needs it the way he’s surfing. And I wanted to be the one to give it to him.”

“I’m glad it was you.”

Kai nods softly—just one simple bob of his head that speaks volumes. “Me too.”

We’re still staring at one another as if no one else on this porch exists. And then it occurs to me what this must look like to Noah. Chloe obviously already picked out napkin colors for a reception that’s not happening.

“Well, then.” I turn to Noah. “Where are we going to store this board of yours?”

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