Page 127 of Square Deal

Hell yes ma’am.

I held her phone out in front of me and snapped photos at lightning speed like I was her own personal paparazzi. The girls were lined up in front of the water, posing as their hair blew in the wind. They posed with their arms around each other, and then in the air, throwing up peace signs.

Kristin’s older siblings, Logan and Kylie, were laying out on striped beach towels, soaking up the sun. The two younger ones, Hunter and Zoey, were digging a giant hole in the sand. For what reason, I had no fucking clue.

They were good kids, though. Rambunctious, but respectful. I guess that’s how kids were supposed to be. I didn’t have a clue. Maddie mentioned something about them being out of school for the summer.

I didn’t know how Kristin managed the four of them andworked as much as she did. It was probably a good thing Hannah Jane dragged her to the beach, kicking and screaming. The girl needed a break.

“Let me see!” Hannah said as she broke free from the group to approve the pictures. I handed Hannah her phone, so the girls could crowd around and praise my photographic genius.

There was a flurry of ‘text me that one’ and ‘ew, not that picture.’

Luca clapped his hand on my shoulder and laughed. “Welcome to the struggle. They’ll never agree on one picture.”

The two of us walked back to the tent where Steve was digging through a diaper bag, and Chase was flying the baby around like an airplane.

“So tomorrow’s the big day, huh?” Luca asked. “Meeting the family?”

I shrugged and plopped down on the blanket that was spread under the tent. “Not that big of a deal, other than the fact that I already pissed her mother off,” I said with a chuckle.

Steve grimaced. “Good luck recovering from that.”

“Have any of you ever met her family?” I asked.

They all shook their heads.

“I don’t think the girls have either,” Chase said. “If H.J. ever visits her family, she always goes there. If they’ve ever been here, she did a damn good job of keeping it quiet.”

Hannah was better at keeping secrets than all of them realized.

“Wonder why,” Luca mused.

I shrugged. “Her mom’s a bitch.”

What else was I supposed to call a woman who cared more about shoving Hannah into a one-size-fits-all mold rather than her daughter’s happiness?

I slid my sunglasses on top of my head and watched Hannah run through the sand to me.

“Hey.” She grinned. Her hair was windswept and wild. Hermakeup was simple today, and I could see her freckles through the thin layer of whatever she smeared on her face. I liked it. “Wanna go on a walk?”

“Sure,” I said, hopping up and pecking her lips. I took Hannah’s hand and laced our fingers together. We were a good-looking pair.

“Ay, yo,” I said, getting Luca’s attention. I tossed him my phone and dipped Hannah backward for a kiss. It wasn’t as iconic as the kiss between the sailor and nurse in Times Square that she had framed in her office, but it was ours. And it was perfect.

As is.

Luca took the picture and threw my phone back.

Not too shabby.

I kissed Hannah’s temple and held her hand. As we headed down the beach, I heard Logan—Kristin’s brother—ask, “Is that really Isaac Lawson?”

We walked until the poker club was out of sight. I waited patiently as Hannah dug a seashell out of the sand. “So, how did I do as your personal photographer? Not too bad?”

She giggled and slipped the seashell into the pocket of my swim trunks. “Pretty good. It’s been a while since we’ve all been able to make it to the beach at the same time.”

“You gonna print any of them and frame them for your house?” I asked.

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