Page 16 of Winning the Dad
“What an amazing show,” I said as we vacated our seats after watching the extremely talented acrobats do stunts that defied all human logic.
“I didn’t even know bodies could bend like that, as if they had no bones at all,” Romero said.
“It was mesmerizing,” Jack said.
We walked to the exit, along with the hundreds of people who’d attended the show. I checked my watch. Eleven. “What’s the plan now?” I asked Lucas. “When are you guys leaving for Zion?”
“Tomorrow morning early.”
Hopefully, my face didn’t show the flash of joy that announcement gave me. As horrible as it made me feel as a father, I wanted more time alone with Jack. I needed it. “So I assume you’re done for tonight, then?”
“Yeah, and we’re picking up a rental around seven tomorrow morning so we can get an early start on our first hike.”
“So, no breakfast together? It’s okay, but I wanted to check.”
Lucas met my eyes. “Are you sure it’s okay? Did we spend enough time with you? I don’t want you to feel like?—”
“This was perfect, kiddo. Your wedding, your rules, and I loved hanging out with you. The ceremony was beautiful, the lunch delicious, and the show jaw-dropping. And we had a great time at dinner.”
Throughout dinner, Jack and I had tried not to look at each other, which had been surprisingly hard. My eyes had kept wandering to him. The way he smiled, how his eyes lit up whenever he talked to Romero, his cheesy dad jokes that had all of us groaning… I liked him. I really, really liked him. Jesus, I was in so much trouble with this man. How had that happened so quickly?
“I agree with Sawyer,” Jack said. “It’s time for you two to start your honeymoon. We’ll be fine, I promise.”
“When are you going back home, Dad?” Romero asked.
“Not until Monday. I figured I might as well make it into a whole weekend and have some fun.”
“And you, Dad?” Lucas checked.
“Same. My next trial doesn’t start until Wednesday, so I took a long weekend off as well.”
Great. Jack and I would have a whole day extra together…and two nights. I had to fight to keep a massive grin off my face.
We took an Uber XL back to our hotel and walked to the elevators together. The boys were on the top floor, so Jack had to get off on his floor. He hugged his son tightly. “Have an amazing time, buddy. Love you.”
“You too, Dad. Thank you so much for coming.”
Then he hugged Lucas. “Thank you for everything.”
He extended his hand to me. “It was a pleasure hanging out with you, Sawyer.”
I shook his hand. “Likewise.”
“If you’re both staying here an extra day, you could hang out together tomorrow,” Lucas suggested.
I froze and forced myself to act normal. Why would he suggest that? Did he suspect anything?
“We could definitely play blackjack again,” Jack said. “We had fun with that last night.”
Thank god his brain was functioning because mine wasn’t. “I’d like that,” I said weakly.
“Maybe you should exchange numbers.” Lucas stared at me as if he wanted to say more. He knew something was up, but what was he thinking? I wasn’t about to ask.
“We already did before the ceremony.” Jack once again saved the day. “We figured it would come in handy to coordinate things this weekend.”
Wow, look at him being all cool and easy. “Problem solved,” I said to Lucas. “Now, let the man go to his room.”
After a last wave at Jack, Lucas stepped back so the elevator doors could close. I mentally braced myself, but Lucas didn’t say anything. On my floor, we hugged goodbye, and that was that.