Page 65 of Playing for Keeps

Theo perked up. “Can I get one too?

“Are you going to walk the rest of the way back without complaining, like Uncle Luke and Uncle Jonathan?”

Theo nodded eagerly. “Yep.”

“Well, I think you will deserve an ice cream too.”

“Can I get one with nuts sprinkled on top?” Theo asked.

“Don’t you think you’re nutty enough?” Ethan’s voice was playful.

Theo screwed up his face then shook his head.

“Okay, you can get a nutty one if you want.” Ethan offered his hand and Theo’s small hand disappeared into Ethan’s large one.

A warm feeling radiated through my chest as Jonathan and I followed them along the path.

Ethan was such a good dad.

When we reached the café the sun was poking through the clouds, so we decided to sit outside.

Jonathan took Theo inside to get the ice creams while Ethan and I sat down at a picnic table.

“Theo’s such a great kid,” I said.

“Well, he is related to both of us,” Ethan pointed out.

I chuckled. “You’re right, there weren’t many non-great genes for him to inherit.”

Jonathan and Theo emerged from the shop, Theo triumphantly clutching his ice cream cone while Jonathan held a selection of Magnums.

“They didn’t have mint, so I got you a white chocolate one.” Jonathan handed me the Magnum and sat down on the other side of the picnic table.

“Oh, thanks.” I couldn’t help handling the ice cream as if it were a grenade about to go off.

“Here, I’ll swap.” Ethan took the white chocolate ice cream from my hand and passed me his almond Magnum.

Jonathan’s brow furrowed. “I thought you liked white chocolate.”

“He doesn’t like it mixed with ice cream. It’s one of those weird Luke peculiarities you just have to accept.” Ethan crunched into his ice cream. A fleck of white chocolate remained on his lip before his tongue darted out to claim it.

I glanced away, only to meet Jonathan’s gaze studying me from across the table.

Fuck.

“But he likes almonds,” Ethan continued. “But not peanuts unless they’re in peanut butter. And he’s been known to compare Brazil nuts to eating soap, so don’t attempt to feed him those.”

“Thank you for that breakdown of my nut preferences. And I can’t believe you’re hassling me about my weird ice cream peculiarities, Mister pick-every-nugget-of-honeycomb-out-of-hokey-pokey-ice-cream.”

“You need to be suspicious of anything that has honey in it,” Ethan said mildly.

“Honeycomb has no honey in it, you know that right?”

“Why do you have to be suspicious of honey?” Jonathan asked.

I smacked my hand on my forehead. “You had to ask him that!”

Ethan grinned. “You think bees are just buzzing around innocently making you delicious honey and not expecting a payback sometime? One day their true end game will be revealed.”