Page 52 of A Summer Mismatch
“I liked that part the best,” he replied with a satisfied grin.
She looked flustered, so he decided to ease up his teasing. He wrapped his arm around her waist and turned to face the ocean once again. She matched his position, and after a moment, she relaxed into his hold and let her cheek touch his shoulder.
“Thank you.” He wished he could convey to her how much it meant to him that she was here. He needed to pick up Leo and Amelia. Give his grandpa a break. Call and check on Adia. Text Willow to see how she was doing.
But right then, he chose to be in that moment just a little bit longer, sitting side by side with Julia, longing to stay like this,feellike this, forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Julia
“Julia!”
“Hm?” Julia wondered how many times her grandpa had called her name before she’d heard him. Her head was somewhere up in the stars, and even now, walking into the bungalow, she was having a hard time coming back down to earth.
“Distracted?” He lifted a brow.
“Sorry,” she said, hoping her blush hid the way her cheeks were already flushed as if she’d just been thoroughly kissed. It had only been a single kiss, but it had been the most incredible single kiss of her life. She wouldn’t have minded another one.
But she shouldn’t.
She couldn’t.
But what if they could?
She set her purse on the table by the door and came in to give Cameron and then her grandpa a hug.
“You’re not getting sick, are you?” Grandpa felt her cheek with the back of his hand. “You feel warm.”
“No. It’s hot outside.”
“Are you sure that’s all?”
“It’s been a strange day,” was all she could say in response. How would he react if he knew she’d been kissing Logan? Would he be angry? Sad? Disappointed? None of those reactions sat well with her.
“Did your boss make you stay late again?” Grandpa’s voice was gruff. “He works you too hard. You’re young and need time for fun too.”
“No, I wasn’t working late,” she assured him. “I got caught up with a friend having a hard time. They needed someone to listen.”
“Oh, I’m glad you could be there for them. You and your grandma are good at that—knowing when someone needs an ear.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.” Sometimes Julia got so focused on the things she wished she could fix about herself that she forgot to recognize the things she did well.
“Grandma made a dinner plate for you,” he said, pointing toward the fridge. “She and Nancy are off somewhere together, but she wanted to make sure I gave you a hug for her.”
Julia leaned over the back of the couch to give her grandpa a second hug and breathe his familiar cedar scent that somehow felt like home. Sometimes she marveled at how lucky she was to not only have great parents who loved her, but grandparents who were affectionate and supportive. “Done. What movie are you watching?”
“Captain America: Civil War.We’ve got about thirty minutes left.”
“I’ll go eat, and you guys can finish up.” Grandpa and Cameron were trying to make it through the entire Marvel series this summer. She paused as Captain America came on screen, realizing for the first time how much Logan looked like him. Logan’s hair was darker, and he had a short beard, but they had the same square jaw, the same kindness and determination in their eyes, and they both were so handsome, you almost had to take a second look to make sure they were real.
While she warmed up her dinner plate of mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, and shredded chicken, she thought about everything Logan had told her. About his mom and sister and Adia. About how he didn’t want to lose anyone else that he loved.
She could only imagine that kind of loss. And the fact that he could still open his heart enough to care for others, to let them in despite the risk, just showed the strength of his character.
It showed the kind of amazing man he was. The kind she didn’t think she could get enough of.
She peered over at her grandpa, watching the intense fight scene between Captain America and Iron Man in rapt attention.
