Page 15 of Demon

He laughs. It’s manic. Fake. “Aww, Little Bird. Don’t get too close to me. You won’t like what you see.”

For whatever reason, he’s convinced himself he’s a monster, and my heart aches for him. A thought comes to mind, so I give him a sassy smile. “I’m game if you are.”

He stares at me, stunned, hardly blinking, making my smile only get bigger. I turn, swaying my hips as I walk to my car, an intoxicating rush coursing through my veins. As I reverse my car, he’s still staring, hasn’t moved an inch, but his eyes have changed. They are darker, heated even, so I decide to add gasoline to the fire and lower my window. “See you tomorrow, handsome.” I laugh as I’m driving away.

I’m having way too much fun. My focus for so long has been on keeping my head above water, doing overtime, trying to keep Sammy’s sperm donor out of trouble. Now we’ve moved, I no longer have to worry about him. I can spend more time with Sammy and take a chance and meet people. Now I’m finally interested in someone—I’d like to get to know Jett. I deserve to have a littlemetime too.

SEVEN

IVY – BETRAYAL SLICES LIKE A KNIFE

Ivy

Last nightI slept with Sammy in her very small single bed. I’ve missed her so much, and all I wanted was to hold her. I’m grateful our life is finally looking brighter—this is the fresh start we needed here in Crown Village.

In the kitchen, I grab the pan and get the ingredients out to make pancakes—Sammy’s favorite. After making six of them, I pile them on a plate.

Sammy walks out, rubbing her eyes. They widen at the plate of pancakes on the kitchen counter. She dashes over and eagerly takes a seat. “Oh, yummy! Pancakes!”

It’s the small things. I grab her a plate. “How many?”

She presents me with a cheeky grin. “All of them.”

Laughing, I place two pancakes on her plate. “You don’t want to feel sick at the beach.”

She squeals. “We’re going to the beach?”

I nod.

“Yesss,” she cheers, punching a hand above her head.

I let her eat while I get our bathing suits and clothes ready and pack a large bag for the beach.

* * *

Sammyand I take a seat on towels laid out on the sand. My hair flutters away from my face. There are no waves at the beach. The ocean water laps the sand instead. People are scattered around the sand, but it’s not overly crowded.

Sammy’s sitting beside me on her pink unicorn towel, grinning and wearing rainbow-colored sunglasses and, of course, a frilly one-piece unicorn bathing suit. I grab the sunscreen out of the bag. We smeared it all over her before we left, but there’s nothing wrong with adding more sun protection.

I place a dab of the cool white cream onto my hands and shuffle over closer to her. “Sunglasses off, please.”

She groans. “But Mom?—”

I cut her off. “Just one more layer on your face and I’ll leave you be.” For a little while, but I decide to leave that part out.

She hesitates.

“Please,” I add again.

She lets out a little huff of annoyance. I’m getting the sass already.

After lathering her up, I apply more sunscreen to my face, then pull my dress over my head and put it in my bag.

“Can we go into the water?”

“Sure can.” I already have a light sheen of sweat on my body.

We stand, I grab her little hand in mine, and we walk toward the water, our feet sinking in the sand as we go. When we get to the water’s edge we halt, letting the cold water lap over our feet first. Sammy lets out a high-pitched giggle. I smile, loving the sound of her happiness.

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