“So… since you know Spencer so well,” I started, looking down at my hands instead of at my mom. “What do you think it would take for him, or I guess, even any man like him, to settle down?”
My mom shrugged. “Honestly, Rylee, I’m not really sure. Most men like Spencer spend their lives hopping from bed to bed, but Spencer hasn’t ever been like that. From what I’ve heard about his life from him and other friends, he’s mostly been a bachelor for all these years. Now that he’s come into a lot of money, you’d think he could have anyone he wanted or do anything he wanted. So, I’m not sure if he’ll want to be tied down to anyone or anything.”
I nodded. I understood all too well what she was talking about because it was the same fear I’d had about Spencer ever since he came back into my life. Now that I knew he was filthy rich too, it just made things ten times worse. To Spencer, I must look like an anvil just waiting to tie him down and stop him from living life how he wanted to. If he had Jayden and I to look after, he couldn’t do what he wanted whenever he wanted to do it. He’d have to think about grocery shopping, play dates, parent-teacher conferences. What kind of forty-year-old man wanted that when he could be free to explore the world and fuck any pretty, young thing he could find?
“Well, anyway, I’m going to go out and find the boys,” I said as I pushed away from the kitchen island and stood. “Hopefully, they haven’t gotten themselves into too much trouble.”
“I’ll come along too. I could do with stretching my legs after the plane,” Mom explained as she followed me toward the back door.
I slid open the glass doors and slipped my shoes off before stepping out onto the beach. I could feel the sand falling between my toes and filling the gaps. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. It felt refreshing and comforting in a way that made me relax for the first time in weeks. Before I could enjoy it for too long, however, I heard the excited laugh of my child and my eyes shot open. The sight tugged at my heartstrings.
Jayden and Spencer were successfully making a wonky sandcastle together. Jayden’s face was bright and he was beaming as he looked up at Spencer and listened to whatever he was saying. I couldn’t help but feel grateful to Spencer for giving Jayden this opportunity. It seemed as though they were still getting along great and I wondered if my fears had all been for nothing.
“Hey, Jayden!” I called out as I finally approached them.
“Mama!” Jayden cried excitedly and rushed toward me. He hugged my legs. “Come, come! Come see my castle!”
I smiled down at him before following him. Mom wasn’t far behind and once we reached Spencer, the four of us got lost in conversation. We discussed the resort and the journey and what we wanted to do while we were visiting for a long time. In fact, we watched the waves wash up over the shoreline for hours until the sun began to set. In the dusk, Hawaii looked even more beautiful. The sky was lit up with pink and orange hues spilling out from the horizon. It reminded me of the night Spencer and I shared in the woods after our hike the other day. But before I could let myself indulge in that memory, Jayden was tugging on my dress.
“Mama! Hung’y!” Jayden complained with his bottom lip protruding from his mouth. “Please eat now!”
“Of course, my darling,” I replied and stroked his hair like I always did. “Let’s get you back and see what we can find for you, okay?”
Jayden nodded. All of us headed back to the villa, smiling and happy. It was the most relaxed I’d felt in a very long time and I couldn’t help but let my guard down a little. I’d been so tense all day that I was exhausted from it. It felt nice to be able to loosen up a little.
“How about we order room service?” Spencer suggested when we got back inside.
We all nodded and began to look through the menu together. Once we all found something we wanted, Spencer ordered it for us and I took Jayden for a quick bath before bed. Afterward, I dressed him in his space pajamas and brought him back out to the kitchen. He was already rubbing his eyes and looking tired, but the food had arrived, so we made quick work of having a small family dinner together.
It was nice to sit down together and talk about everything and nothing. I’d thought having my mom and Spencer in the same room would just make me paranoid, but instead, it made me yearn for more. I wanted my life to be filled with fun family dinners like these. I let myself be happy for a change as we made jokes together, laughed together, and spoke about all the things we wanted to do while we were in Hawaii.