“Check!” Both her and Cora cried out, and Darcy laughed at the faces Helen made beside him.
“Mommy?” I stretched forward and she rolled her eyes at me, though the smile on her face never once wavered as she pulled on the top of her belt.
“Check.”
“Alrighty—”
“Wait you forgot to check you!” Helen leaned forward.
Cora leaned over to me, pulling on the strap across my chest and even unbuckling my seatbelt before clicking it back in place again.
“Daddy, check.” She winked at me.
“This is a reminder to all passengers to keep their hands, feet, and head inside the automobile at all times. Thank you for driving with Declan Callahan tonight, where your comfort and safety are my number one priority. Tonight’s movie, handpicked by none other than beautiful Helen Callahan herself, is Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Our estimated time of arrival is five minutes and twenty seconds —”
Cora couldn’t take it anymore; she laughed so hard she snorted, which only made me laugh back at her.
“Mommy!” Helen sighed.
“Sorry, sorry, I’ll be a good passenger.” She threw her hands up as I started the engine and pulled onto the street.
Helen hummed in the back seat, nodding her head back and forth, staring at the city while I tried not to notice Cora staring only at me, her hand burning a hole through my jeans and driving me completely crazy.
Finally, when we got to the park, I slowed to a stop in front of the large white screen held up by two trees.
“Where’s the movies?” Helen frowned, glancing around.
“The movies are coming to us, sweetheart. It’s called a drive-in movie theater.” Reaching over Cora’s lap, I took out her Twizzlers along with a can of Sprite from the glove compartment.
“Cool!” She reached up, taking them from me.
“What did you say?” Cora asked her as I slid her a mini bottle of wine, her eyes widening as if she were about to break out in tears. Funny enough, when we’d first gotten married, she didn’t drink.
“Thank you!” Helen replied, leaning back into the seat when the lights came on.
Cora said nothing, simply staring at me and drinking her white wine from a bendy straw.
“What?” I finally asked her.
She just shrugged, not answering.
“Cora?”
“I’ve fallen in love with you again twice today, you know that?”
I wanted to kiss her. Damn it.
“You’re finally catching up to me.” I fell in love with her at least twice as often every day.
NEAL
Holding the gun to her chest, she leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath before her eyes focused on me. Stretching my hand out, I told her to wait. Peeking around the mound, everything was silent, but I knew they were out there, just waiting to take the shot…if she got hit, then it was all over.
“NOW!” I yelled, and she bolted as fast as she could toward me.
“FIRE!” Mina hollered from up above as she and Sedric took aim, paintballs flying everywhere, hitting her in the leg, arm, and back.
“I’m hit,” she cried out as I ran toward her. They pummeled me with paintballs over and over again. Lifting my hands in defeat, she and Sedric came out of their hiding spots. Mina blew fake smoke off her gun while Sedric kept his pointed at us.