Free Cardinal by Sara Mack

me,”
Latson says against the top of his head.
    “I know,” I hear Oliver say, “but I was bored
at the river stuff.”
    Latson closes his eyes and hugs his nephew. Tension
leaves his body and relief takes its place. As I watch the two of them, my
heart melts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so sweet.
    When Latson opens his eyes, his brow furrows. He
sets Oliver on the ground and crouches in front of him. “You scared me, O. You
have to tell me when you want to see something else. If you run off again we’re
not coming back. Understand?”
    Oliver looks at his shoes. “Yes.”
    Latson waits for his admonishment to sink in,
then holds his fist out to Oliver. “Hey,” he says.
    Oliver looks up. He bumps his uncle’s fist with
his own, and all seems right again.
    When Latson stands, he notices me. He does a double
take and smiles. “Who’s your friend?” he asks his nephew.
    “That’s Jen. She helped me. I told her I would
take her to see the sharks. She has to like them better than everything
else.”
    “She does?”
    “Yes!”
    “The kid is adamant when it comes to his
favorite,” I say.
    Latson takes Oliver’s hand and walks over to
where I’m standing. “It sounds like you have a date with my nephew.”
    I smile. “I guess I do.”
    “How is that possible?”
    “He’s passionate about sharks. Besides, who
could say no to that face?”
    He chuckles. “I meant, how did he find you?”
    I shrug. “Coincidence?”
    “She looked nice,” Oliver says. “That’s why I
picked her.”
    Latson tips his head and studies me. Then, he confers
with Oliver. “I agree. She looks very nice. Not like a kidnapper at
all.”
    I roll my eyes.
    Latson steps toward me and asks, “Are you here
alone?”
    “Yeah. I figured I should see the city. You
know, before I start my new job.”
    He gives me half a smile. “You’d better not be
late.”
    Oliver pulls on his uncle’s hand. “Can we go
now?”
    “Sure.” Latson looks at me. “You ready?”
    “Yep. I’m ready to be scared by Jaws .”
    The two of them lead the way and I follow. As I
walk behind them, I can’t help but notice how similar they look. They have the
same hair color, almost the same style, and they hold themselves in the same
way. Their family genes are strong. An image of the kid’s room I accidentally
found at the party least week flashes in my mind. They obviously spend a lot of
time together.
    Latson looks over his shoulder. “Are you
coming?”
    “Absolutely.” I catch up and ruffle Oliver’s
hair. “I don’t make a habit of letting handsome men down.”
    “Really?” Latson grins. “I’ll keep that in
mind.”
    I shoot him an annoyed look. “I was referring
to Oliver.”
    He covers his heart with his free hand. “That
hurts.”
    Oliver laughs.
    We make it to a set of elevator doors and stop
walking. Oliver pushes the down button, and while we wait, Latson takes the opportunity
to lean close to me. “Am I not handsome enough for you?” he whispers.
    His breath warms my ear, and I try not to react.
I refuse to swoon over his voice, his body, or his scent … which happens to be
amazing. It’s crisp and woodsy, with a little citrus thrown in. What cologne is
that?
    Focus, Jen.
    “You know you’re covered in the looks
department,” I admit.
    “Then what’s the problem?”
    He can’t be serious. “Does the name Heidi ring
a bell?”
    “Yes,” Oliver pipes up. “She’s Uncle Gunnar’s
friend.”
    Whoops. Apparently I said that a little too
loud.
    “Thank you, Oliver,” I say, satisfied. “Uncle Gunnar seems to have forgotten.” It dawns on me that I now know Latson’s first name.
    More people join us to wait for the elevator,
and Latson moves Oliver closer to us. He leans over again and says, “Why do you
keep bringing up Heidi?”
    I glance at him. “Because you’re together.”
    “Who told you that?”
    “No one. I saw the proof at your party.”
    Latson’s confusion turns into a cocky grin.