Enemy's Secret

Greyson and Harley are side by side, sharing a mountain of blueberry and strawberry pancakes, while Landon's busy wolfing down a full plate of eggs and bacon. Seeing us, he waves.

"Whoa, where did you get that?" Maddy asks, eyes on his chocolate croissant plate.

Landon points to a far-off station with a pyramid of aesthetically-arranged chocolatey confections. "Over there. Quick, though, they only had two left when I snagged this one."

That's all Maddy needs to zip off with a "Be right back, Mom!"

A smile quirks on Landon's face as he turns to me. "She's independent."

"That she is," I say, more stiffly than I intended.

OK, so it's morning now and last night was last night, but still. It ended off weird.

"Listen," he's saying now, leaning in so only I can hear, "about the other night - "

"It's fine," I interrupt him. Now isn't the time. Or place. "Really."

"No." His hand squeezes mine as he soldiers on. "I was upset. I didn't want the night to end and then you - "

"Ended the night." I exhale. Is it really that simple? It is.

I find myself smiling. "Alright, thanks for explaining."

I can't say that I blame him. A few times, as ridiculous as it is, I've felt a bit resentful for him having to leave earlier than I expected. No one likes to end a good time.

"Yeah?" he's saying now with a small smile.

"Yeah," my own smile says.

Damn it, that smile of his is infectious!

Now there's a mischievous twitch to his lips too, surrounded by their sexy stubble. "Did we just... have our first successful almost-fight?"

I laugh with a shrug. "Don't know - you tell me."

Under the table, he squeezes my hand. "We did."

Looking over my shoulder, he laughs.

I follow his gaze, and my jaw drops when I see what's on Madison's plate.

"Oh no you don't," I tell her, moving to intercept her.

A few steps away from our table, clutching her plate to her chest in a protective stance, Madison stops, eyeing me balefully. "But Mom, there were only five left. I had to make sure everyone got one."

Hands on my hips, I ask, "Oh really?"

She bobs her head. "Really." Picking up the first croissant, she hands it to Harley. Then the next to Greyson.

By this point, we're all chuckling.

An hour or so later, we've got our Disney-ready clothes on and our full-but-not-too-full-and-no-outside-food bags packed.

The day gets off to something of a rocky start, which is mainly my fault.

Who would've figured that the lines would be horrendous at freaking 9:15 AM? Or that the skip-the-line passes would happen to be sold out too?

OK, I might've guessed the second part, but still. That doesn't make it less shitty.

A few hours later, we're roasting under the merciless noontime sun and Madison has actually started nodding off by the statue where we've been waiting for a good half hour, when Landon turns to me, waving two passes. "I don't want to beat a dead horse. But Nolan and Emerson definitely won't be needing these."

"Fine," I snap, grabbing them. "Let's just go."

The rest of the day goes smoother. In the time it took us to almost go on one ride, we manage to go on five and get food. Yes, the rest of the day is a whirlwind: rides, more rides, ketchup-laden French fries, a window-sized white chocolate cookie, even more rides. Madison's face-wide grin is the only thing that remains constant as we hit up Space Mountain, the Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, the Haunted House...

That, and how damn good Landon is with her. Maybe since he's a giant kid himself: lifting his hands up on the roller coasters, pointing out all the coolest things to check out on the rides themselves.

Or it could be that I'm biased because he's so damn gorgeous. He can make a pair of dark wash Levi's and a red t-shirt look like an Abercrombie and Fitch ad.

Dinner that night is at Be My Guest, the Beauty and the Beast-themed restaurant that is way more elegant than I expected. Hearing the name, I expected a campy, toy-laden ode to the Disney classic. Instead, I got glamor that I'd expect more in some upscale adults-only thousand-dollar-a-night resort.

Cherrywood claw-legged table... Gilt ironwork chair... Vast overhead painting of the night sky... Golden chandeliers glittering with flames... A beaming Mickey-hatted Maddy on one side of me... A grinning Landon on the other...

Is this a fairytale?

Or is it a perfect shimmery bubble - destined to be popped?

Even the waiters have smiles so genuine that they make you want to smile too.

"Would you be having the His and Hers Spousal Special?" our red-head waiter asks me and Landon.

"Oh, we're not..." I begin.

"Yes, they are!" Maddy declares delightedly.

"I'll just have steak," I say firmly.

"Me too," Landon agrees, with a sidelong look at me that could mean anything.