Page 72 of Love Expert

“Sucks for you,” he murmurs, arrogant and shaky at the same time. “Her hugs feel so good, Dad. I can’t even explain it. I think girls must have magic boys don’t, don’t you think? But not all girls.” He pulls back and searches my eyes. “Cos sometimes Molly and I are rolling, which is kindalike a hug.” He wrinkles his nose. “That doesn’t feel as good. And sometimes Alana hugs me if I get hurt at the gym, and it feels okay. It doesn’t feelbad. But it doesn’t feel like when Maggie hugs me.”

“I think you might be right. About the magic, that is. But I think each person has their own kind of magic, special for them and for the people they love. Like, I bet Alana’s hugs feel like the best thing in the world to Franky. But if Maggie hugged Franky, he might not like it. And I bet to Chris, Fox’s hugs are magic. But if Fox hugged me, it wouldn’t feel the same.”

“So Maggie is my special magic?”

Another thunderclap booms in the sky, scaring Jeremy a whole foot off the railing and back down again with a cry of terror. He wraps his arms around my neck, smooshing our cheeks together and breathing sugar-flavored breath straight into my mouth. “I hate these storms,” he growls. “Can we go inside now, Dad? I really,reallywant to go inside.”

I glance across at Maggie’s house again. The lights are out, the doors are locked, and her driveway is empty.

Is she driving in this shit?

“Do you think I have any of the magic, buddy?” I peel him back just far enough to study his face. “I know I’m not Maggie, and I know I’m not your mom, but since we’ve been best friends for eight years now, maybe I have a little bit of it?”

Wary, his glittering eyes water as lightning flashes across the sky. “Why?”

“Well… I just thought, maybe if I had a little of the magic, I could tell you I would keep you safe from the storm. No matter what, no matter how big or loud or mean it gets, as your dad, I can make that promise.”

“Really?”

“Mm. So then I guess I’m wondering if you would believe me? If you’d look right into my soul and see the magic and the truth of my words, then you could believe that I’ll keep you safe. Andifyou believe me, then maybe you could be brave enough to hang with me for just a few more minutes?” I glance across Maggie’s yard, past the furious sway of her lavender as wind shakes them up. “Maggie’s not home yet,” I rasp. “I’m a little worried about her being in the storm, so that’s why I came outside. I was hoping to see her drive in, and if I was extra lucky, I could wave her over and tell her to come sit with us until it blows over.”

“Do you think she crashed in the storm?” His breath catches, his entire body swinging to the side as he wrenches his head around and searches her house. “Dad! What if she crashed?”

“She didn’t crash. Don’t jump to conclusions like that and make yourself worry more than necessary.”

“But you said you were worried! You said?—”

“That I didn’t like her being out in this weather. Ididn’tmention car accidents or her being hurt.” I grab his chin and force his eyes back to mine. “There’s already enough bad stuff in the world without our imaginations adding to it. So don’t do that, okay? Don’t carry that fear for no reason at all.”

He studies me for a long beat, his eyes flickering between mine. His throat bobs, and his entire body jolts in response to another clap of thunder. But then he nods, sniffling and sending his gaze back to Maggie’s front door. “I won’t think those things anymore.” He nervously gulps. “And I can wait five more minutes.”

“See? That’s what makes a man a man.” I press my lips to his temple. “Being afraid, but doing the thing that scares you anyway. Even though youhatestorms, you’ll still sit out here and wait for Maggie to come home. You’re the bravest man I ever met.”

“Am I the best man? Like how you’re the best man for Uncle Ollie?”

I wrap my arms around his torso, holding him to my chest and hugging him extra tight as thunder rolls closer. Louder. “It’s pretty cool that Uncle Ollie picked me to be his best man, huh? He could’ve asked anybody in the entire world, and I haven’t even been very nice to him for the last little while, but hestillpicked me.”

“Would you pick me?”

I pull back and wait for his eyes. “For what?”

“To be your best man. If you get married again.”

I cough out a laugh that takes a chip off the side of my heart. “I won’t be getting married again, buddy. I already did that once.”

“Why not?” He loosens his grip around my neck, allowing me to straighten my back, and drapes his arms around my torso instead. “You’re allowed to do it more than once, ya know? Just not at the same time.”

“This is true.” I chuckle. “I’m allowed to do it more than once. But I think I’m getting a little old for that stuff now. Iwasborn in the nineteen-hundreds, after all.”

His little lips quirk up on the side. “Ollie was born in the nineteen-hundreds, and he’s getting married. Tommy and Alana, too. They only got married a little while ago. And then there’s Maggie.”

My heart jumps and thuds inside my chest. “What about Maggie?”

“Well, she’s old like you, but she’s never been married at all. Doesn’t seem fair that she didn’t even get to try it.”

“That’s Maggie’s business, buddy. Those are her?—”

“If you and Maggie got married, you could plan it real quick.”