Page 22 of Wild Eyes
Except when she’s fucking with me and trying to pull a fast one. Then she’s a little fibber.
Oliver stifles a quiet chuckle behind her, his palm cast tightly over his mouth as though he’d betray himself somehow if someone who isn’t family heard him laughing.
“Yes you do, Dad,” Emmy insists. “It just doesn’t look that way because you shave it.”
This kid.
Now it’s Skylar’s turn to burst out laughing. I shake my head, watching Emmy’s expression go from amused to pissed-off in one breath.
“Dad, you told me that lying is bad, so don’t be a liar. Everyone knows you have a hairy chest and that you shave it. I saw you doing it in the shower once.”
“Yes, Emmeline. Everyone knows because you’re shouting about it at the top of your lungs and because you come barging in there uninvited to talk my ear off more often than you should.”
Oliver laughs so hard, his hand moves up over his eyes as though he can’t bear the crushing weight of my humiliation.
I turn to Skylar to explain. “I really only shave it sometimes. Not always.”
She has tears of amusement gathering in her eyes that she wipes away frantically.
“It’s okay, Emmy.” Skylar struggles to catch her breath in an attempt to cover for me. And it’s the least she can do after I saved her from a grizzly bear. “It’s okay,” Skylar repeats breathlessly. “I shave in the shower too. Most adults do. Totally normal.”
Emmy turns, scrutinizing her like she’s not sure if Skylar’s telling the truth or if this is an adult plot to fool her. “Your chest? Prove it.”
I suppose we all get a turn to burst out laughing tonight, and this is mine.
Skylar’s hazel eyes go wider than they did when a bear was charging us. Oliver falls to the ground dramatically, now lying flat on his back on the grass, covering his face with both hands.
If Skylar weren’t here right now, I know he’d sayJust leave me here to die. That’s it. I’m done.Melodrama is his current go-to reaction because he’s getting to that age where everything embarrasses him.
I opt to save Ollie from his embarrassment and Skylar from having to “prove” that she has hair on her chest by rerouting this utterly out-of-pocket conversation.
“Well, Skylar, now that you’ve met the whole ragtag crew, can I interest you in a burger tonight?”
Skylar’s lips roll together, eyes still dancing with delight as she peers around the space. Emmy is giving us what most people would call a dirty look, and Oliver is still flat on his back.
Her lips continue moving, and I find myself distracted by them.
Doesn’t matter that my kids are here.
Doesn’t matter that she and I seem to be a little hot and cold.
Something about the ridiculousness of the moment makes everything else around us evaporate, and all I can think about is how close my lips came to hers on that road today.
I also can’t get over how Skylar Stone is absolutely nothing like I expected in person.
“No,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you during family time. I’ve taken quite enough of your time for one day.”
Emmy glances between us, never missing a beat. “Wait a second, you two have met?”
“Earlier,” I reply simply as my daughter props her hands on her hips. At least she missed the part earlier about Skylar seeing me shirtless.
“You met Skylar Stone today, and you didn’t even tell me about it?” She gives me a deadly glare.
I know Emmy is a fan—hell, so am I—but we don’t need to run around making the poor woman feel like she’s a sideshow attraction. Rosie told me she needed space, and that’s what I intend to give her.
Which is why I throw my sister straight under the bus.
“Auntie Rosie met her too. Did she mention it when she picked you up?” I swear I can hear Emmy’s teeth grinding as she processes what I’ve told her. “Not everything is your business, Emmy-Lou.”
