“Mom!” Ellen cried again. “If you don’t hurry up, everyone else will get the best spots.”
“I’m almost ready.” Anne Marie quickly put on lip gloss and paused to check her ref lection in the bathroom mirror. She ran a brush through her hair, then plopped a brand-new straw hat on her head. This was about as good as it got. She joined the girls, who’d linked arms around each other’s necks. They’d met at the day camp and become instant friends. For the last few weeks, they’d been inseparable. After making sure Baxter had enough water, Anne Marie loaded the girls into her car. They squealed with delight at the prospect of spending the whole afternoon at the water park. When Tim had suggested the outing last weekend, Ellen had been so excited she could barely hold still. Anne Marie couldn’t possibly have declined after that. So here she was, on her one free day of the week, wearing an old swimsuit, a cheap hat and sunglasses. It’d been years since she’d worn this swimsuit. At least it f it, although she had to admit it wasn’t even close to being fashionable. But that was f ine, because she didn’t intend for anyone other than Ellen to see it.
“Tim is my mom’s boyfriend,” Ellen told Hallie on the way to the water park. She was obviously pleased about imparting this information.
Anne Marie stopped herself from correcting her daughter just in time. Her relationship with Tim was far too complicated to explain. He’d dropped by the bookstore on Saturday and afterward they’d all gone to a movie. When it ended, he’d taken them to dinner at a pizza place, where he’d brought up this Wednesday outing. Tim wasn’t her boyfriend, of course, but Anne Marie had begun to enjoy his company. So had Ellen—who’d started asking a few too many questions about this purported romance. However, except for that night at the diner, she’d only seen him in Ellen’s presence. Nothing “romantic” could happen in those circumstances, and yet…Anne Marie wouldn’t have minded if he’d tried to kiss her. Or wanted to see her on her own. Thinking of Tim in that way was the very last thing she would’ve expected. She suddenly recalled that at her stepdaughter, Melissa’s, wedding, she’d caught the bouquet. Anne Marie had laughed at the time, telling everyone it was clearly a mistake. Then, all these months later, she’d met Tim, and now everything was falling into place. She was attracted to him, he was her daughter’s father—it all seemed to f it. A picture of the three of them creating a family was so tempting, she had to force herself to be sensible. She’d started to build this fantasy and it had to stop.
When they arrived at their destination, Anne Marie had to drive to the farthest reaches of the parking lot before she located an empty space.
Ellen and Hallie were f idgeting, eager to get to the water. The second she turned off the engine, the girls unfastened their seat belts and leaped out of the car. Anne Marie was stuck hauling the beach bag with their inf latables, changes of clothing and everything else. As they neared the ticket stand, she saw Tim waiting there, as they’d agreed earlier.
When he saw them, he hurried over to Anne Marie and took the heavy bag from her arms.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
He smiled at her, then asked the girls, “Are you two ready for some fun?”
In response, they gave high-pitched squeals. Once inside the park, they chose a shady spot to arrange their towels and other paraphernalia. Tim helped Anne Marie spread out the blanket she’d brought, while the girls, unable to wait a moment longer, raced toward the wave pool.
“Go on, Tim,” Anne Marie said. “I’ll stay here.”
“Aren’t you coming in, too?” he asked, sounding disappointed.
“Maybe later,” she said, kicking off her sandals and taking out a paperback novel she’d been looking forward to reading. “I’ll hold down the fort,” she told him, sitting cross-legged on the blanket. They’d been fortunate enough to secure a place on the grassy area in front of the water.
He jerked the T-shirt over his head, tossed it onto the blanket and ran to the wave pool. She couldn’t help noticing that he had an impressive physique, with sculpted muscles and broad shoulders. He probably worked out, but he wasn’t excessively muscular with that weight-lifter look she hated. He joined in the girls’
antics as if he were nine years old all over again. Anne Marie did make an effort to read. Soon, however, she abandoned all pretense of following the story and spent her time watching Tim and the girls.
“This is silly,” she muttered and stripped off her T-shirt and shorts. She waded into the pool. The shock of the cool water made her gasp, but after a minute or two she’d adjusted to the temperature. The wave machine, which was periodically turned off, wasn’t on just then.
Ellen and Hallie rushed toward her, and Anne Marie instinctively held up her hands. “I’d like to keep my hair from getting—”
She didn’t have a chance to finish before two teenage boys nearby decided to have a water f ight. Caught between them, Anne Marie was drenched within seconds. Her hair hung in wet tendrils about her face. She wiped her eyes, blinking to clear them of water. So much for that idea.
“You want me to splash them back?” Tim asked, making no effort to disguise his amusement. “I’ll defend your honor.”
Anne Marie played along, clasping her hands and batting her lashes outrageously. “My hero!”
“Mom, watch!” Ellen shouted and dove underwater. In a few seconds, she’d thrust her skinny legs into the air as she stood on her hands. She surfaced and shoved the wet hair out of her eyes.
“Did you see? Did you see?”
“I didn’t realize you were so agile,” Anne Marie teased.
“What’s agile? ” Hallie asked.
“Limber,” Tim explained.
Hallie exchanged a blank look with Ellen.
“It means I’m talented,” Ellen said.
“So am I!” Hallie imitated the trick and a moment later both girls were upside down.
A bell rang, indicating that the waves were about to start again. When Anne Marie had watched earlier, she thought it looked tame enough—at least from the sidelines.
“Get back, Mom,” Ellen warned.
“I’m f ine,” Anne Marie said.
Standing near the “shore” with both girls, Tim called out,
“You might want to move to the shallow end.”
“Would you two cut it out?” Anne Marie said as the f irst wave hit her. She was swept off her feet and went tumbling through the water. She came up choking and sputtering to the sounds of Tim, Ellen and Hallie roaring with laughter.
“Very funny,” Anne Marie managed to say. Clutching her throat, she made a show of choking. Soon Ellen and Hallie were pounding her on the back.
Anne Marie’s biggest concern was that the girls not get sunburned. Throughout the afternoon she repeatedly slathered them with sunblock. Returning the favor, Ellen rubbed the lotion on Anne Marie’s back. At one point, Anne Marie caught Tim watching her—and suspected he would’ve enjoyed being the one to rub her back. It was a good feeling and she held on to it for several minutes.
They stayed at the park until after f ive and although the girls were bone-weary, they protested when Tim announced it was time to leave. In order to buy peace, Tim offered them dinner at McDonald’s. They stopped at one close to the park, and Tim purchased cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes for everyone. Anne Marie couldn’t remember having such a good appetite in years. She relished every bite of her burger and drank every drop of her milkshake.
When she’d f inished her meal, Anne Marie felt completely relaxed, completely content. While the girls explored the playground, she and Tim sat in the booth, chatting.
“Thank you. That was a lot of fun,” she said. “I didn’t intend to go in the water but I’m glad I did.”
His gaze held hers for an extra-long moment. “I’m glad you did, too.”
Anne Marie smiled. “I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?”
The girls would eventually have dragged her into the water, one way or another.
Tim glanced at Ellen, who’d clambered to the top of a huge red slide. “She’s terrif ic, isn’t she? So conf ident and naturally charming…”
Anne Marie nodded, enjoying the opportunity to see her daughter through another person’s eyes.
He sighed, and then looked tentatively at Anne Marie. “Would it be all right if just the two of us—just you and I—went out to dinner one night?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Sure,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. In reality she was excited about seeing Tim again. On their own. Without kids. It was her fantasy coming to life….
“What about Friday?”
“Friday works for me,” she replied. It wasn’t as though she had to check her social calendar; she rarely had plans for Friday night.
“There’s a wonderful Italian restaurant not far from Blossom Street,” he was saying. “Their eggplant parmesan is out of this world.”
“You like eggplant?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Love it.”
Anne Marie cringed.
“Would you rather eat somewhere else?”
“Oh, no, they’ll have something other than eggplant on the menu. I’m a pasta girl myself.”
Tim grinned. “Then Italian it is.”
Apparently the girls were f inished playing because they ran back to the booth, laughing as they did.
“You ready to go?” Anne Marie asked.
Ellen and Hallie both nodded.
As Tim slid out of the booth, Ellen turned to him, an odd look on her face. “You can kiss my mom if you want,” she whispered loudly.
“Ellen!” Anne Marie said, shocked. She could see that Tim was trying to hide a grin.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about doing exactly that,” he announced. Leaning forward, he planted a loud kiss on Anne Marie’s cheek.
Ellen frowned. “That’s not a real kiss, not like in the movies.”
“That’s ’cause adults do it in the dark,” Hallie said. “They don’t like kids watching.”
“Oh.” Apparently this made everything clear to Ellen. Anne Marie, Ellen and her friend parted company with Tim in the parking lot, although he insisted on following them back to Blossom Street. By the time she dropped Hallie off and drove home, it was almost seven-thirty. Ellen was struggling to keep her eyes open.
“Come on, sleepyhead,” Anne Marie said.
Ellen trailed her sluggishly up the stairs, dragging her beach towel behind her. Baxter greeted them enthusiastically, no doubt ready for his supper, his walk and some intensive cuddling. Anne Marie fed the dog, then threw their towels and swimsuits in the washing machine. Tim volunteered to take Baxter for a short walk and she accepted his offer. When he returned with the Yorkie, they found Ellen fast asleep on the sofa. Tim kissed her forehead, then lingered only a moment, declining coffee or tea. Anne Marie had to admit she was disappointed that he didn’t take the opportunity to kiss her.
