Page 6 of Win Big

“A big one.”

I nod. I’m staying out of this one. I’d give the kid anything he wants for the rest of his life, but I get that Heather’s in charge.

“Also, I want a brother.”

Whoa. I give my head a shake. “Hmm. Did you tell your mom that?”

“Yes.” He pouts. “She said no to that too. She’s no fun.”

“Hey, your mom is lots of fun. She took you to Disneyland, right?”

“Yes.” He frowns. “But you came too.”

“It was your mom’s idea. Also, moms aren’t supposed to be fun. Well, not all the time. She has a job to do—making sure you grow up to be a good man.”

He blows out a breath. “I am a good man.”

“Yeah, you are.” I have to smile. “Okay, dude, let’s go home.”

We start walking back to the parking lot, but Owen stops at a kiosk selling a bunch of touristy junk. I expect him to want somekind of toy, but he pauses next to a rack of gaudy jewelry. He looks up at me hopefully. “Can I buy Mommy a necklace?”

I clear my throat. “Sure. Which one do you think she’d like?”

“This one.” He pulls out a purple beaded necklace with a palm tree dangling from it.

“Nice.”

We take it to the counter to pay for it then continue on our way, me slowing my strides along the wooden planks to match his small steps, him clutching the paper-wrapped jewelry. He hops down the stairs to the beach level, where we parked, and as we stroll along the paved path, my attention is snagged by a runner coming toward us. A woman, slender and fit, dressed in tight little shorts and a long-sleeved tee, a baseball cap on her head and sunglasses shielding her face. I admire the shape of her—long legs, sweet curves. I like women.

I’m smiling as she nears us, because hey, I’m a friendly guy, and then something about her ticks over in my brain. Something familiar... that shape... that mouth.

Everly Wynn.

Her steps slow as she recognizes me, but I can’t see her eyes. She sets her hands on her hips and walks the last few paces toward us. I stop, my smile broadening. “Hey. Feeling better, I see.”

I can tell she rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I’m feeling better. I thought maybe a run would get rid of the toxins in my system.”

I chuckle. “Good plan.” I gotta give her credit for pushing herself.

I sense her attention on Owen, and he’s looking at her curiously.

“This is Owen,” I tell Everly. “Owen, this is my friend Everly Wynn.”

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi, Owen.” I feel the curiosity crackling around Everly. She takes off her sunglasses and perches them on her hat. “Nice to meet you.”

“We went to the ’quarium,” he says. “And I touched a starfish.”

“Cool.” She lifts her gaze to mine. I know she has questions, but she merely says, “Well, nice to see you both. I better keep running. I’m on my way home.”

“You live close to here?”

“Eh, not too far.”

I nod. “Guess you don’t want a ride.”

She laughs. “That would defeat the purpose of going for a run.”

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