“Jaxy,” she said as she dropped to her knees to hug him back. I watched as her eyes closed and arms wound around him. She hugged him for a long time, saying things into his ear that I couldn’t hear, but could see were said with love and affection. When he finally pulled away she rose, but only to wrap Ruby in a similar embrace. There was no denying that those kids loved her and she loved them right back.
“Nate,” Jax said as the dark-haired man next to Evie picked him up and gave him a much rougher, more masculine hug.
“How’s it going, kid? I’ve practiced my Minecraft skills since last time and I’m ready to kick your butt.”
“Never,” Jax replied with a smile.
I watched as Evie approached Devon with a shy smile and gave him a much shorter embrace, Nate shaking his hand, smiling broadly. I also noticed how Ruby seemed glued to Evie’s side.
“Evie, Nate, this is Grace,” Devon said, motioning toward me. He smiled, a brilliant smile that almost made me stumble, then pressed his hand lightly at the small of my back. It was the gentlest of touches, but the heat from his hand radiated throughout me. “I invited her to come along.”
“Nice to meet you both.” I reached out for Evie’s hand first, noticing the friendly smile she gave me, which matched Nate’s as he shook my hand as well.
“She’s my teacher,” Jax offered.
“Any friend of Devon’s is a friend of ours,” Evie said.
“Good to meet you,” Nate said. His handshake was friendly and short, accompanied by a smile. He dropped his hand from mine and I watched as he wrapped it around Evie’s waist, the move natural and smooth. I noticed she leaned into him without even thinking about it, her body molding to his without a second thought.
“Come on,” Jax said excitedly. “I want to ride the merry-go-round first. Then the roller coaster around the mountain. Then Dumbo.”
“Woah, buddy,” Devon said, laughing. “We’ll start at the beginning and work our way around, all right?”
I walked along with the group, trying hard not to feel out of place. It was strange being in such a public and busy place with a group of people I really didn’t know. Well, besides Jax. I was right, however, about it being crowded. There were people everywhere and a group of six was hard to keep together. When a cluster of teenagers pushed through our little huddle, separating me from the rest, I immediately began to regret my decision to go. It must have been a group from a school because the cluster of students soon turned into a crowd. I tried to make my way through them, but I’d lost track of Devon and the rest of the group.
Suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around mine and I was being pulled forward. Devon’s face finally appeared and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Stay close,” he said gently, his face just inches from mine.
“Okay,” I said quietly. He let my hand go, of course. We couldn’t walk through Disney World holding hands, but it didn’t change the fact that as soon as my hand was free from his, it felt cold and empty. I wiped my palm on my thigh to try and erase the fact that he’d been there, but it didn’t work. I silently followed the group, more confused than ever.
The lines were stupid long, as I’d expected, but it turned out that Devon, the kids, and Evie and Nate had a FASTPASS that got them to the front of the lines. Lots of other people had them as well, so we didn’t automatically get on, but the lines were drastically shorter. I didn’t have the pass, but that was all right with me, as I didn’t plan on riding anything.
“You go ahead,” I said to Devon as they started toward the merry-go-round. “I’ll watch.”
“You’re not going to ride it?”
I shook my head. “I get motion sickness. I don’t like rides.”
He blinked at me and a confused expression crossed his face. “You don’t like rides, but you came to Disney World? What for?”
I shrugged. “I like Disney. There’s plenty to do aside from the rides.” That was true. I did want to go to Disney. Even if I spent the day watching Jax and Ruby have the time of their lives. But the other reason I came—the reason that scared me and wouldn’t hide under the proverbial rug I kept trying to sweep it under—was simply because he’d asked. Because it meant spending a day with him. Because I feared I’d never be able to tell him no.
He looked back to where the others were moving forward in the line, then back to me.