“I am, too,” Nick says, kicking his feet.
“I bet you are, buddy. Learning is always fun.”
Mackenzie presses her lips together to keep from smiling. She probably thinks I’m joking, but I was serious when I said I liked academics.
“You know, Liam’s too advanced for his league. He needs a bigger challenge. I should look into some year-round programs for him.”
Her head snaps up. “You’d do that?”
“Yeah. You’ve got enough on your plate. Let me take care of it.”
A flicker of something unreadable crosses her face before she smirks. My body reacts instantly. She has no idea how tempting sheis or how much I want to see that smirk in far less innocent situations.
“Mom. Mom.” Liam sprints over to us. “Toby told me all about a Pumpkin Festival. It has rides and games and everything! Can we go?”
“I want to go,” Nick pipes up. “Do they have penguins?”
Liam groans. “No, it’s not a zoo.”
“But I want to see penguins.”
I smother a laugh at their ridiculous argument. These kids are something else.
Liam turns to me. “Are you coming too?”
“When is it?” The words are out before I can stop them. Damn it. It shouldn’t matter when. But asking that question just proves what I already know—our time together has an expiration date.
“The weekend after our tournament.”
“Then it’s a date.”
Nick frowns. “Like what you had with Mommy?”
I choke at Nick’s words.
“Ew, Nick, that’s gross,” Liam protests.
“Is not.”
Mackenzie’s squeak makes me cringe. “Who told you we went on a date?”
“Grandma. She said you got all pretty for Nate. She said it was because you had a date. But Uncle Jordan was mad, but Grandma told him to lie down.”
“What?”
“No, she said to lay off.” Liam gives his head a frustrated shake. “She thought Uncle Jordan was ridiculous.”
My gaze strays to Mackenzie. Her face is a mix of mortification and something else. Something deeper.
I steer the conversation back to the festival. “Anyway, I’ll be there. We’ll have a great time.”
That earns me a round of cheers.
Liam tugs on my sleeve. “You’re coming to my birthday party, right? It’s in a few weeks.”
Liam’s steel-blue eyes peer up at me with eagerness. I would turn the world upside down to keep that look on his face. “Wouldn’t miss it. What do you want for a present?”
Liam’s face falls slightly. “Nothing. What I want no one can bring.”
