“Elle’s tired. I can’t carry her, so I need something to put her in or we need to go back to the hotel.”
Harrison nods. He bends over and says something to Elle before he picks her up from behind and places her on his shoulder. Her face beams as she steadies herself.
“We won’t be needing the wagon,” he says to the clerk who shrugs. I stand there stone-faced as he walks out of the store, ducking when they get to the entrance, with my baby on his shoulders.
“Hey, is that Harrison James?”
“No,” I say as I leave.
“Harrison?” he stops and faces me. His sunglasses are covering his eyes again and it makes me wonder if Elle did that for him. “You don’t have to carry her, she can walk.”
Harrison looks up at Elle while she looks down at him. They smile at each other as if they are sharing their own secrets. “Princess Elle, I’m your Henchman, what say you?”
I smile and laugh at the way Harrison is talking to her.
“Take me to my palace and I shall feed you for the night,” Elle says in her princess voice. Good lord, he fell right into her game.
“We’re good, Queen Katelyn.” Harrison winks as they walk off. He starts to gallop, giving us all the sound of laughter. I seek out Peyton, wondering if she’s jealous. If she is, she’s not showing it. Between Jimmy and Liam, I think they have her missing piece filled nicely as well.
“Looks like I’m by myself,” I say to no one.
“I’ll walk with you.”
Next to me is mini-Harrison, just a bit cuter.
“Thanks, Quinn.”
“It’s okay.”
We catch up with the henchman and his princess just in time for my stomach to growl.
“Harrison, are you ready for lunch?” I stop dead in my tracks when the words are out of my mouth. I try to look away, but I can’t
. He’s trying not to smile, but to no avail. There’s no use in trying to play it off as something as innocent as lunch, he’s caught the meaning. I don’t want him thinking that I’m even remotely close to taking a step with him because I’m not. It’s lunch. Nothing more.
“There’s a restaurant on the other side of the palace. We can go there.”
“I’ll tell the others and meet you there.”
Harrison nods and tells Quinn to go with him. I watch as he walks away with Elle on his shoulders and his son holding his hand like this is something they do every day. He didn’t think twice about helping Elle and that scares me. I don’t want her attached to someone who isn’t going to be around later. It’s not good for her and it’s definitely not good for Peyton. They need stability.
I let everyone know where we are going and they all agree to meet us there. Peyton and I walk hand in hand through the Palace toward the restaurant.
“Are you having fun?” I ask, hoping for the best.
“I am.”
“Yeah, Quinn’s been here before. It’s nice to hang out with someone who knows their way around, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Can we come back again some day?”
“Of course. I like it here. It’s magical.”
Peyton laughs and shakes her head. “You’re a dork, mom.” I may have been insulted, but getting her to laugh is worth it in my book.
We walk in and find the rest of our party waiting for us at a table that sits five. Even though Peyton hasn’t been around us much today, he thought ahead and planned for her to have lunch with us. Who does that?
LUNCH is a quiet affair with Quinn, Elle and Peyton teasing me about not going on any rides. I’m adamant that I’m fine taking pictures of everyone, but they aren’t buying it. Quinn calls me chicken and Peyton adds the noises to go with it.