Get-Together Summer Read Online Free PDF Page B

behind their arms, Dirk brought her hand up and kissed the
back of her hand, smiling as he did. "You're not going to be too
rich for me, are you, baby?"
    The lights began to come on around them, and Simon
could see Haley's blush. She shifted in her chair, but didn't
actually try to pull her hand away from Dirk's grasp. "If you don't
think I am already," she said with a sniff, projecting all her
dignity, "then I don't think that will be a problem."
    Dirk laughed and stood, pulling her up with him
before he looked down at Simon. He arched an eyebrow, still
grinning. "What about you, pretty boy?"
    Simon fisted his hands against the
side of his chair. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from
actually pouting, using the small flash of pain to scowl instead.
"My name is Simon ."
    "Close enough!" Dirk tugged Haley closer to him, then
began to make his way down the narrow aisle, leaving Simon to
scramble to his feet and follow.
    Once outside, the bright sun made him recoil a
little, instinctively, shielding his eyes with one hand. For a
moment he could only see the vague outlines of both Dirk and Haley,
as if they were briefly too far away to touch. Scowling again, he
shook off the gloomy thought and nearly launched himself forward,
grabbing Haley's other hand as he did. She looked at him
automatically, and he saw an instant of surprise pass across her
face and fade.
    "So," Simon said, drawing himself up again, trying to
radiate as much cool confidence as he could, "what are you going to
make for dinner?"
    "Depends on what we buy," Dirk said. He didn't let go
of Haley's hand either, though he did slow his pace, so that he was
no longer leading, but she was still neatly between them. "It's
summer, so maybe something with vegetables."
    "You should make a steak."
    "Is that a hint? You've got to pay if that's the
case."
    Simon pursed his lips. "If you're the one offering,
you should be able to handle requests."
    "Steaks are expensive," Dirk said. "I was thinking
something simpler, anyway--"
    " I'll pay," Haley cut in, before Simon
could protest again; she squeezed his hand hard. "Though maybe we
could look if there's something that sounds better than steak.
Okay?"
    Dirk paused and half-swung around, kissing Haley's
temple. "If you want, babe," he said, but his eyes were open,
staring straight at Simon.
    "It's better than arguing," she insisted, but there
was a smile in her voice. "Stop that, we're in public."
    "Not in front of the children?" He continued to look
at Simon, waggling his eyebrows suggestively now. Haley tried to
shove him, and when he wouldn't let go of her hand, she stepped on
his foot instead.
    "Not in public period," she said firmly, and then she
began to pick up her own pace, pulling ahead of them both and
dragging them along behind her. Simon was tempted to drag his feet,
sullen at the implied insult, but he glanced at Dirk and found
himself being watched -- outright stared at, really -- and that was
unnerving enough that he found himself walking faster, trying to
keep Haley between them like a shield. She was still familiar no
matter what, and comforting in that familiarity; when he squeezed
her hand himself, testing, she glanced at him with a smile that was
both automatic and genuine. It helped to calm him a little.
    The grocery trip also passed in something of a blur.
Simon didn't like grocery stores that much: they were too cold and
often too crowded, the shelves bursting with things he didn't
recognize and didn't care about. The housekeepers did most of the
shopping for his family, though now and then, his mother was struck
with some bizarre nostalgia for the "simple life" she'd never had,
and she'd make him come with her, to try and pick special things
for the family's meal. Even if her interest lasted through the
whole shopping trip, she never did the cooking herself, so what was
the point in caring? An Oakley didn't have to do anything if he or
she didn't want to. He ended up trailing a few feet behind Dirk