Page 11 of The Perfect Distraction

Chapter Five

Beth and Joey arrived at the restaurant first since they were only a couple blocks away. The hostess sat them at a table overlooking the harbor, and Beth scanned the menu while they waited for Colton to arrive. Joey took a quick glance at the kid’s menu and set it down, turning his attention out the window to the boats sailing by.

“Do you come here a lot?” she asked, wondering if he felt uncomfortable sitting there with her.

He shrugged. “Not really. Dad mostly cooks for us or we make sandwiches.”

“Your dad seems like a pretty good cook,” she said, recalling the spaghetti and strawberry shortcake he’d served the other night.

“He is, but my mom’s not,” Joey said, wrinkling up his nose.

She laughed because she was also culinary-challenged. “I’m not very good at it either, but my sister is.”

“You have a sister?”

“Two of them.”

“Older or younger?”

“Both younger.”

“I wish I had a brother, but not a sister,” he said, glancing out the window again.

She was laughing when Colton came up and joined them.

“Hey, buddy. Hi, Beth. What’d I miss?” he asked, slipping into the chair next to Joey and across from Beth.

“I was just telling Joey about my two sisters,” she said, “and he said he’d rather have brothers.”

A pained expression crossed Colton’s face, but he quickly recovered. “Ah, yes. We’ve had this conversation before,” he said, picking up his menu.

There was an awkward moment where nobody spoke, but then the waitress approached to take their orders.

“Will this be on one check?” the waitress asked, getting out her pen and notepad.

“No,” Beth replied.

“Yes,” Colton said at the same time.

Eyebrows raised, she stared at him, or it might have been more of a glare.

“Since you’re tutoring Joey, I’m paying,” Colton said firmly, and then looking at the waitress, he proceeded to place his and Joey’s order.

Beth fought down a moment of discomfort. In no way did she want him to feel indebted to her or vice versa. She was simply doing what she loved to do and hadn’t expected payment for it—of any kind. But instead of arguing the point in front of Joey, she decided to take it up with Colton later.

After she’d placed her order for a grilled chicken sandwich and a soda, the waitress walked away, swinging her hips as she went. Beth might not have noticed if she hadn’t seen Colton staring. Then, as if he’d felt her eyes upon him, he shifted his attention back to the table.

“So, how did your first day of tutoring go?” he asked Joey, ruffling his hair.

Joey looked like he wasn’t thrilled with the question or the hair mussing, but he answered, “It went okay.”

“It went better than that,” Beth piped in. “We worked on a couple of reading strategies that I think will make a big difference. If he practices throughout the summer, he’ll be in great shape for fourth grade.”

She thought she was being helpful, but Joey frowned.

“Do I really have to do this all summer?” he whined, looking up at his dad.

“You can either work with Beth or take a summer class. Take your pick,” Colton said, his voice steady yet firm.