Page 57 of A Summer Mismatch
Grandma Winnie gave Harry and Rosa a meaningful look that they both seemed to understand, and they both sat down, typing away on their phones.
Julia frowned. “Are you sure? You look like you need to sit down.”
“No, I’m fine. I’m one hundred percent fine.”
She didn’t look one hundred percent fine. She didn’t even look fifty percent fine, but she was already marching toward the front of the room, though she did seem a little unsteady on her feet. Julia offered her arm for balance, and Grandpa took the other so she walked between them.
“You look pale.” He said to Grandma quietly. “I’ll get one of those golf carts to take us home.”
“I want to be here,” she told him with a pat on his arm.
“What happened?” Julia asked.
Grandma told them about how her nonfiction club had gone over, and somehow she’d ended up putting Logan’s presentation into her calendar wrong. She’d raced over as fast as she could, but she was still bummed to have missed most of the presentation.
It was probably her imagination, but Grandpa had a guilty expression on his face. He hurriedly walked away, mumbling something about checking on Cameron.
“Did you at least have a good discussion?” Julia asked.
“Oh, yes. And I have the book back in the bungalow for you to borrow. It’s all about tapping into your creative self. I think you’d really like this one, especially as a writer.”
“Sounds interesting.” And probably just another book designed to make her feel like she wasn’t doing enough, or that she was doing everything wrong, only this time it would be attacking her creativity. Just what she needed!
“Wonderful. Don’t forget it when you and Cameron leave. We can touch base about it in a couple of weeks.”
Julia was grateful when Logan approached them with Circe on his arm, his brilliant blue feathers even brighter up close. Every part of Julia came alive as Logan walked closer. Would it be too obvious if she pushed him behind that huge post so they could kiss again?
His smile broadened as though he could read her mind. “What did you think?”
She blinked the image away of them making out. “I loved it. You were definitely in your element.”
“Thanks. These events are a lot of fun for me to do.”
“I especially liked the dynamic between you and Kai. It’s clear you’ve known each other for a while.”
“Too long,” Kai called over his shoulder dryly, before he moved to a group who wanted to ask some questions about the turtle named Smalls.
“Can Chuckles meet Circe?” Shirley had pushed the stroller up beside Logan, and Chuckles stared in rapt attention at the bird perched on Logan’s arm.
Logan looked a little nervous and took a step back. “Chuckles may be better-behaved than our macaw.” Circe squawked and lifted her wings.
“Julia, can I get your help?” Grandpa asked. He waved her over to where he stood near Cameron.
“Sure. Good luck!” she called to Logan. She felt his gaze on her as she walked away.
“What’s up?” she asked Grandpa when she arrived at his side.
“Cameron’s shoes came unlatched and I don’t want him to trip.”
Julia paused. “Cameron can latch his own shoes, Grandpa.” She nudged Cameron’s shoulder. He was looking a little zoned out, and he blinked at her a few times with the nudge. It was about that time of the afternoon when Cameron really wanted to take a nap, but if she let him nap, he would be up until midnight. Cameron didn’t sleep well at night because of his sleep apnea, and she was learning that meant a lot of tossing and turning and wandering around even.
“Cameron, latch your shoes, and let’s go see Logan and the animals.” Cameron brightened up. He fixed his shoes, stood up, and went straight to Smalls. Turtles were another one of his favorite animals.
“Julia, you’ve got to see this.” Grandma waved her back over to where she and Logan stood with the snake in his hands. Chuckles and Shirley had moved on to check out the chinchilla.
Julia walked over trepidatiously. She’d never been a huge fan of snakes.
“Dexter is really sweet, and totally harmless. I wouldn’t bring him otherwise,” Logan assured her.
