Favorite Child?

VIVIENNE

As soon as Ezekiel finished rubbing the sunblock onto my back, I finally let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. His touch had lingered a bit longer than necessary, and there was something about the way his hands felt against my skin that made me feel warmer than the sun itself. I wasn’t sure why, but every time he got close, I felt this... heat.

Okay. Get a grip, Vivienne!

I shook the feeling off, reminding myself that this was just Ezekiel. We had done this a thousand times before. But still, something about today felt different.

Before I could think too much about it, Vince caught my attention.

He was walking toward me, holding something in his hand. His face lit up with pride as he stretched his arm out to show me a shell he had picked up from the sand.

“Mom, look what I found,” he said.

I took a closer look and smiled. The shell was beautiful, a rare spiraled one with light pink and white stripes.

“Wow, Vince! That’s a beautiful shell. It’s really rare to fi