had him noting that she was still standing by the viewing window, but she was looking at him as though he were an experiment under glass. She kept glancing at his bare forearms, then his socks, then back at his face as if she couldn’t put a picture together.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked to break her concentration, glancing pointedly at her athletic shoes and then at her hip pouch.
She started. “Me? Oh, no, I’m not—”
“Come on, Miss Melodie,” Amber said, abandoning her uncle to run over and grab Melodie’s hand. “You gotta come with us or it won’t be no fun.”
“Any fun.”
“Right,” Amber agreed, the soul of reasonableness.
Trenton had finished the job Amber had begun and had moved over to her side. “You might as well give in. You know you can’t win.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Melodie put her hipsack in the locker and took the rear of the short line headed toward the nautical area. The “gangplank” led to a series of jungle gyms designed as ships. The ball bin had been done in blues and greens, and the climbing vines were thick, knotted ropes.
“Argh, maties, and welcome aboard,” an eye-patched attendant greeted them out of the side of his mouth as they stepped onto the deck. “I’ll be remindin’ ye to have fun, but be careful. The high seas are no place for high jinks, ya’ know.”
Melodie felt a tug at the hem of her shorts. “What are high gins?” Amber asked in a loud whisper.
The attendant went down on one knee and motioned Amber closer. Cautiously, Amber inched forward.
“High jinks, me wee lass, are things such as pushin’ and shovin’ while yer playin’, and running pell-mell without watchin’ where yer goin’.”
“Oh, we won’t do that,” Amber promised solemnly, shaking her head.
“All righty then, that’s a good lass. Now hurry aboard so’s I can get the lines cast off and we can set sail.”
* * *
Melodie didn’t know when she’d had so much fun.
Or been so confused.
She laughed herself silly when Amber and Joey engaged in a “water” fight with their uncle, showering him with brightly colored balls until he was buried to the neck. She clapped dutifully when Amber cried, “Watch me, watch me,” as she “walked the plank” and “splashed” into the “ocean.” Joey climbed the “rigging” like a monkey, taunting his Uncle Trenton to catch him if he could. Of course, Uncle Trenton gave a valiant effort, but was no match for the agile seaman Joey.
She felt the oddest tug in her stomach when Amber decreed that they were a family taken captive by awful pirates and were going to make a desperate escape through the “hold” of the ship. Amber bravely led the way through the plastic tunnels, twisting and turning through the maze. Melodie had a hard time keeping her mind on the game with Trent right behind her. She sighed when they finally reached the “escape hatch” and the foursome slid down the long slide one by one to end up in the “ocean” again.
The successful escapees finally returned to the “dock.” The adults slid into their chairs, and worked at restoring their breathing to normal. Melodie wanted to frown when she noticed that maybe it was just her who was out of breath, and she was in pretty good shape. Trenton was already fixing his cuffs and slipping his jacket back on. She tried to deny it, but she was disappointed. The afternoon had been fun. She didn’t want Trenton to return to being Perfect Man—Defender of Decorum, Protector of Protocol.
The miniature pirates, legs swinging wildly, began chanting, “Pizza! Pizza!”
The magic words brought a waitress to their sides.
“Good afternoon, and welcome to Kidstravaganza. My name is Veronica and I’ll be your hostess.”
Melodie was of the uncharitable opinion that Veronica’s too-sweet smile just might put her in a sugar coma. The thought was immediately followed by a frown. She was rarely catty, so she couldn’t figure out what had made her react that way. It surely couldn’t be the admiring glances being cast in Trenton’s direction. Admittedly, he looked incredibly attractive in his disheveled state, but even if Veronica was flirting with him, what did that matter to Melodie?
It didn’t matter at all, as a matter of fact. If Veronica the bimbo wanted to play goo-goo eyes with Trenton, then she could just knock herself out. Melodie refused to make a fool of herself for any man, especially one as unattainable as this rich lawyer guy. If she was on the hunt, which she most certainly was not, she knew better than to pick someone so completely opposite from her type. And Mr. Perfectly-Pressed-Suitand-Tie was definitely not her style.
Before she realized it, pizza and salad had been ordered without her input and Veronica was sashaying away.
“—hope that’s all right.”
“What?” she asked, trying to focus on Trenton’s words.
“I said, you didn’t say anything while I was ordering so I hope pepperoni pizza and a pitcher of cola is all right with you.”
“Yes, that’s fine. I would rather have had iced tea but that’s okay.”
His forehead furrowed. “I’m sorry. I’ll call her back-”
“No. That’s okay. It’s not worth the hassle.”
“Yes, it is, if that’s what you want. I should have gotten your attention sooner.”
A headache was building behind her right eye. “I said it was all right. We’re talking about a glass of tea here, not a new car.”
“Melodie—”
“For heaven’s sake! Does anyone ever argue with you?” she snapped as she pressed two fingers against her closed eye.
He was obviously taken aback.
“That’s what I thought. Look, Trenton the Valiant, if I was determined to have the stupid drink, I’d let you come to my rescue and reorder. So can we just drop it?”
“Certainly.”
A glance across the table told her she’d just insulted the man again.
She sighed. “I apologize. That was unfair. I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m not usually this grumpy.” In the time it had taken her to argue with him, the pain in her head had gone from a twinge to near agony.
He must have heard the sincerity in her voice for his body language changed immediately. “Please don’t give it another thought. I can see you’re not feeling well.”
“Are you all right, Miss Melodie?”
Melodie forced a smile for Amber’s sake. “I’m fine, sweetheart. My head just hurts a little bit.”
“Do you have a sperin?”
Trenton
