She growled playfully at him while the other adults laughed.
Simon looked back as he said in an off-handed tone, “My dad will probably win. He’s good at everything.”
The statement was made in an almost experimental tone, as if he were trying out the sound of the words. Perhaps he’d assumed that since Joanna, Adam and Maddie had already known of his parentage, Adam’s friends were in on the knowledge, too. He was right, of course, but it was clear that now that the subterfuge really was over, Simon saw no reason to keep it quiet. Joanna and Adam would have to accept that any decisions they made on Simon’s behalf would be done with the boy’s full awareness of his parentage.
Trevor looked more startled than Walt at hearing Simon refer to Adam as his dad, but he merely said, “Yeah, he beats me every time we play. But here’s a hint for you. He’s not so good at the thirteenth hole. Always putts too far to the right of the windmill.”
Simon nodded gravely, committing the advice to memory. “Okay, thanks.”
Adam spoke then. “Fancy seeing you here again, Walt. I don’t remember you hanging around the resort this much before.”
Walt smiled faintly but didn’t look away from Maddie. “Yes, well, something here just keeps drawing me back.”
Maddie tossed her head. “Must be the food. Try the cedar-plank salmon. It’s especially tame tonight. Unlikely to cause you any problems later.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he murmured.
Joanna noted Maddie trailed a fingertip teasingly down Walt’s arm as he passed her into the dining room, and she was pretty sure she saw more in her sister’s expression than Maddie intended to reveal. What was it with Adam and his friend that they had such a powerful effect on the Zielinski sisters? And would either of them come out of this week with their hearts intact?
* * *
FLUSHED WITH LINGERING excitement from the rowdy game of minigolf—which had come down to a fiercely competitive battle between Adam and Maddie during the last three holes, with Adam winning by only one stroke—Simon made it clear to Joanna that he didn’t want the evening to come to an end. The resort grounds were bustling on this Saturday evening with music and lights and chattering guests. Simon tried to take in everything.
Still, eventually it was time to call it quits. Simon’s steps lagged as they approached the Seafoam Lodge. The four of them paused in the courtyard, and he gazed at Adam. “Are you coming up?”
Joanna and Maddie exchanged glances, and Maddie spoke quickly before Adam could say anything. “Hey, Si-bot, how about if you and I head on in and get you ready for bed while your mom and, um, your dad make some plans? I’ll read you a story, okay? Remember the book we started the other night? You fell asleep before we could finish, and I’d like to know how the story ends.”
With a grateful look at her sister, Joanna nodded encouragingly to Simon. “Go with Aunt Maddie, Simon. I know we have a lot to talk about still, but we’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow, okay?”
A six-hour-plus drive faced them the next day, and she had little doubt the trip would be filled with talk of Adam rather than their usual songs and car games and whimsical stories. At least Maddie would be riding with them to deflect some of the more problematic questions. She’d caught a one-way flight to join them, renting a car from the airport to get to the resort. Normally Maddie could be counted on to provide nonstop entertainment and amusement. But would she, too, have a man on her mind when they left?
Simon’s lower lip protruded, but he was probably afraid to push his luck too far after his great escape earlier. “I’ll see you before we leave tomorrow, won’t I?” he asked Adam.
Adam rested a hand gently on the boy’s shoulder. Joanna thought his voice sounded a little huskier than usual when he said, “Of course you will.”
“And will you come see us when we move to Seattle? And can we come back and see you here?”
Joanna noted sadly that Simon seemed to accept that he and his newly found father would live separate lives in different states. Perhaps he understood because he had friends at school whose parents were no longer together. One of Simon’s best friends, Liam, spent every other week at his dad’s house, and Simon had mentioned that on a few occasions. She was sure Simon, too, would grow accustomed to whatever arrangements she and Adam made for him, though none of them would have been what she’d have wanted for her son.
“I won’t disappear from your life, Simon,” Adam promised.
Perhaps only Joanna understood exactly how much that guarantee cost him. He’d just made the type of commitment he’d spent his adult life avoiding, and because of the honorable man he was, he would make every effort to keep it. Which meant that Adam Scott was now a permanent part of her life, too. In addition to the difficulties she would face in learning to share her son, in preventing him from being hurt—even inadvertently—by a man who had no idea how to be a father, she was afraid she was going to have to protect herself just as vigilantly. She was much too vulnerable where Adam was concerned. And she was well aware that he’d made no commitment to her.
“Say good night, Simon,” she said quietly, moving aside to let an attractive couple walking hand in hand pass.
His sweet features were illuminated by the soft lighting around the fountain and koi pond when he gazed upward. “Good night, Dad.”
Adam froze. Joanna wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
She knew the feeling.
His voice was rough when he finally grated out, “Good night, Skipper.”
Simon threw his arms around Adam’s waist, giving him a big hug. Adam didn’t even hesitate before drawing the boy in, returning the hug warmly. Joanna was gratified that he didn’t make Simon’s spontaneously affectionate gesture seem awkward.
Maddie hustled Simon inside the building without further delay, throwing a sympathetic look at Joanna over her shoulder as they left. Joanna gave herself a few beats to compose her expression before turning to Adam.
His face was stark in the lamplight. His hand gripped the back of his neck, the sure sign that he was stressed. She didn’t know whether she wanted most to comfort him or to give him permission to make a run for it.