Page 68 of After the Vows

“Thank the mermaids,” I mutter before pouring myself a cup. I gulp half of it down before joining them at the table.

“I know what I want to do today!” Natalia announces with a shriek and I grimace.

Lucas nods to the two painkillers and water waiting on the table for me. I grunt in thanks before swallowing the pills. I haven’t had a hangover this bad in a long time. Whose bright idea was it to add moonshine shots to an escape room?

“What do you want to do today?” Lucas asks his daughter.

I love how gentle his question is despite how Natalia is shouting at the table. Mom would have punished me for being too loud. She wouldn’t have slapped me. Physical violence wasn’t her thing. A stay locked in the closet or a day of no food or water would have been more her style.

“I want to go toMermaid Mystical Gardens!”

The idea of spending the day on rides nearly has me throwing up. No way can I handle the amusement park today.

“Not today, squirt.”

She folds her arms over her chest and pouts. “Adults always say not today when they mean never.”

Lucky for me I have the best excuse possible. I point outside. “You can’t ride rollercoasters when it’s raining.”

“You can’t?”

“Nope. It’s too dangerous.”

“But I want to go there! Piper’s been there loads of times!” She sticks out her bottom lip and it quivers. Uh oh. Meltdown is impending.

I point to the calendar on the refrigerator. “Tell you what. Find a Saturday or Sunday when both your dad and I aren’t working and we’ll go toMermaid Mystical Gardensthen.” I glare at Lucas. He better not shoot my idea down. “I know your dad is looking forward to it.”

“I can’t wait to ride theAtlantis Adventure,” he says.

I smile. “Lame.Kraken’s Dropis more my style.”

“What’sKraken’s Drop?” Natalia asks.

“It’s…” Ah, shit. It’s a drop tower ride that she’s probably too short for. “Shoot. I just remembered. It’s under construction.”

“Nice save,” Lucas whispers to me and I pretend to scratch my nose with my middle finger. He bursts into laughter.

“What’s funny?” Natalia glances back and forth between the two of us. “Are you bonding?”

“You know what bonding is?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Piper’s mom said Dad and you need to bond if you want this marriage to work.”

Lucas scowls. “She said those words to you?”

“Well, um…”

“You were eavesdropping,” he concludes.

Natalia’s nose scrunches. “She was talking real loud.”

He pulls on her ponytail. “What am I going to do with you, cupcake?”

She bats her eyelashes at him. “WatchThe Princess Diarieswith me?”

“How many times have you seen that movie?”

“Dad,” she whines. “You can never watchThe Princess Diariestoo many times.”

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