Page 42 of Claimed By the Don

“Are frogs better than dinos now?” I ask Liam teasingly.

“Yeah, I wanna be a frog for Halloween.”

“Not a T-rex?” I say.

“Frog! Frog! Frog! Please Mommy can I be a frog?”

“I think we can make that happen,” I say. “I’m going to get a drink, anybody need anything?”

“Hey,” Benny says, “Let me do that. You look at the map and decide what to do next.”

He comes back with drinks, and I sip my Diet Coke gratefully.

“One Coke a day is safe. I checked,” he says. I kiss his cheek again.

“Are you gonna keep doing that?” Liam asks. “Cause I wanna ride rides.”

“Okay, okay,” I tease. “I’ll stop kissing so you can ride.”

“What’s up next? I always liked the swings.”

“The boomerang,” I say. “I’m not thrilled about it.”

“Mommy just wants to do the carousel more,” Liam informs us.

“Maybe later,” I say. “You go have some fun. I’ll take the pictures.”

“Ride with us, Mommy!” Liam says. I shake my head.

“Not today. Maybe another time.”

“We can come back here?” he shouts.

“Yes, we’ll come back. And next summer I’ll ride the roller coasters with you and everything. I promise.”

“Yay! Let’s go on the boob-arang!” he crows.

“Boom,” Benny corrects, trying not to laugh, “Boom-a-rang. With an m.”

Liam tries and fails to repeat it. It’s all I can do not to laugh.

“What are you waiting for? I ask. “The boobarang is waiting for you.”

Benny doesn’t let go of Liam’s hand as he leans down and kisses me softly.

“Hey!” Liam protests.

“I never said I was gonna stop kissing. You’ll get used to it,” Benny tells him good-naturedly.

30

BENNY

Ikeep thinking Liam is going to get tired. We ride a lot of rides and go on the frogs five times, and he throws up his pretzel when we go on the boomerang the second time. But here he is, still bouncing off the walls and ready for more fun. I look at Daisy helplessly.

“He’s not just excited about Coney Island. He’s always like this,” she says with amusement. “But Mommy’s tired and you have school tomorrow.”

“I do?” he says, puzzled.

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