Chapter 14
DAREK
The storm had passed by dinner time. Liza had changed once I told her where we were going for dinner. I knew it was out of her element. It made her uncomfortable but she really did fit in. She was beautiful. I was certain that was her problem. She didn’t know how beautiful she was.
The yacht club looked particularly impressive in the golden light of early evening, all the windows reflecting the sunset over the harbor. The clouds from the storm earlier had mostly moved out of the area, leaving the sky filled with pretty pinks and shades of orange.
I pulled into the parking lot and helped Daisie out of the back seat, watching as she immediately grabbed Liza’s hand. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time. I wanted them to be friends, but I also knew when things came to an end, it was going to be so hard on Daisie.
Inside the club, we were seated at one of the better tables overlooking the water.
The dinner crowd was light on Monday nights, mostly regulars and a few families with young kids.
The hostess knew us, smiled warmly at Daisie, and didn’t bat an eye at Liza’s presence.
Good. That meant word was spreading that I was in a relationship, exactly as I’d hoped.
Even if that relationship was making me lose my mind.
I’d spent the last few hours trying not to think about what had almost happened in the boathouse.
I had been milliseconds from kissing her.
Something told me once my lips met hers, there would be no stopping.
It would be a snowball rolling downhill.
I would have fucked her right there on the floor of my boathouse.
Not exactly classy. Or mature.
Liza had been right. We needed to keep things professional and maintain the boundaries we had established. Getting physically involved would only complicate an already complicated situation.
So I was being professional. Polite. Keeping my distance while putting on a show.
Everything was fine.
“Can I get the mac and cheese?” Daisie asked, not even looking at the menu. She always got the mac and cheese.
“You can get whatever you want,” I said.
“Then I want mac and cheese!”
Liza smiled at her. “Is it really good here?”
“It’s the best mac and cheese in the whole world,” Daisie declared with absolute certainty. “They put breadcrumbs on top and it gets all crispy. And bacon.”
“That does sound amazing.”
We ordered mac and cheese for Daisie, fish for Liza and me. Then we settled in to wait for our food. That was when Daisie launched into her interrogation.
“Liza, do crabs know they’re walking sideways?”
Liza blinked, then grinned. “That’s an excellent question. I think they probably don’t think about it the same way we do. For them, that’s just how they walk. It’s normal.”
“But what if a crab wanted to walk forward? Could it?”
“Crabs can actually walk in any direction, including forward. But sideways is more efficient for them because of how their legs are built. It’s like…” She thought for a moment. “It’s like how you’re better at running forward than running backward, even though you can do both.”
“Ohhh.” Daisie processed this. “Do sharks have friends?”
I almost choked on my water. “Some scientists think they do! Sharks have been observed swimming in groups, and some species seem to prefer certain companions. Though we’re not totally sure if they experience friendship the way humans do. They probably don’t have a bestie.”
“What about whales? Do they have friends?”
“Absolutely. Whales form really strong social bonds.”
Liza’s face lit up when she talked. I was going to tell Daisie to back off the litany of questions, but I could see Liza loved talking about this stuff. So, I sat back, shut up, and let myself get educated.
“Some whales have friends they keep for their whole lives,” Liza continued. “They travel together, hunt together, even protect each other from predators.”
Liza wasn’t just humoring Daisie. She was genuinely engaging with her questions, treating them like they mattered. And Daisie was soaking it up, her face bright with curiosity and delight.
“When is your birthday, Daisie?” Liza asked suddenly.
“February twenty-fourth,” Daisie said. “I’ll be eight.”
“February twenty-fourth. I’ll have to remember that.” Liza glanced at me.
“Are you going to get me a present?” Daisie asked.
“Daisie,” I said in a warning tone.
“I think I will,” Liza answered with a bright smile. “When the time gets closer, I’ll ask you what you want.”
I stared at her. What the hell? Did that mean she wanted to keep in touch with Daisie after she left? Was that an option? That might be the best outcome for Daisie. I made a mental note to talk to her about it later.
The conversation flowed easily through dinner, Daisie peppering Liza with questions about sea creatures while Liza answered them in a way Daisie could understand.
Daisie had clearly been thinking a lot about her questions.
Do jellyfish get lonely? Can fish get seasick?
Why do seahorses look like horses if they live in the ocean?
I found myself relaxing. It was what I had wanted.
I needed to be seen in public with Liza and present the image of a stable family unit.
But more than that, I was just enjoying being with them.
Watching Daisie laugh, seeing Liza’s eyes light up when she talked about her research, feeling like we belonged together even though I knew we didn’t.
Even though this was all temporary.
We finished dinner and I paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for our server as usual. Then we headed toward the exit, Daisie holding both our hands, swinging between us.
And walked straight into an ambush.
The second we stepped outside, we were hit with a wall of flashing lights and shouted questions. At least six photographers, maybe more, crowding the entrance to the club. Cameras clicking, voices overlapping, all of them focused on us.
“Mr. Sullivan! Who’s the mystery woman?”
“Is this your new girlfriend?”
“How long have you been together?”
“Are you living together?”
“What does your ex-wife think about this?”
I immediately moved to shield Daisie, pulling her against my side while trying to process what the hell was happening. Security should have kept them off the property. This was a private club. How had they gotten past the gate?
Liza looked like a deer in headlights, frozen by the onslaught of attention. I saw panic flash across her face as more questions were shouted at her.
“What’s your name?”
“How did you meet Mr. Sullivan?”
“Are you moving to Maine permanently?”
“Do you have a comment on the custody battle?”
That last question made my blood boil. The custody battle was in the news—I knew that, hated it, but couldn’t stop it. I was well known enough in Maine that my personal life had become public fodder, especially now with Sasha’s lawyers painting me as an unfit father.
But dragging Liza into it, ambushing us at a family dinner, that crossed a line. Daisie didn’t need to know about all of the bullshit Sasha was stirring up. I had shielded her from the drama so far.
“No comment,” I said firmly, steering Liza and Daisie toward the car. “We have no comment.”
“Just a few questions, Mr. Sullivan!”
“I said no comment.” I scooped Daisie into my arms and held her while my other hand went to Liza’s back.
Daisie was clearly scared by the chaos and noise. Liza looked like she was barely holding it together.
We made it to the SUV and I got them both inside, then rounded to the driver’s side while cameras continued to flash through the windows. I started the engine and drove away faster than was probably wise, leaving the photographers behind.
The silence in the SUV was deafening.
“What was that?” Daisie asked in a small voice.
“Just some people who were being rude,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though rage was burning through me. “They shouldn’t have bothered us like that.”
“Were they bad guys?”
“No, sweetheart. Just annoying guys. Don’t worry about it.”
But I was worried about it. More specifically, I was worried about how Liza was handling it. She sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead, her face pale.
We drove back to the estate in silence. Daisie seemed to sense the tension and didn’t ask any more questions. When we got home, I took her straight upstairs for her bedtime routine, giving Liza space to process.
By the time I got Daisie settled and came back downstairs, I found Liza pacing in the living room.
“How did they know?” she asked as soon as she saw me. “How did they know we’d be there?”
“I don’t know. Could have been a tip from someone at the club or they could have been staking out places they know I go. The custody battle has made me newsworthy, apparently.”
“This is insane.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m not sure I can handle this, Darek. That was a lot. I’m not used to people shouting at me. I’m a book nerd. I spend my time studying. That’s too much.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think that would happen. It’s never been like that before.”
“Is this going to follow me around for the rest of my life? Am I going to show up in tabloids? Are people going to Google my name and find articles about being your ex-girlfriend?” She looked at me, genuine fear in her eyes.
“I’m supposed to be building a career as a scientist. What if this affects that?
What if future employers see these photos and make assumptions? ”
I hadn’t considered that angle, how being associated with my custody battle might affect her professionally. I’d been so focused on my own problems that I hadn’t thought through all the ways this arrangement might hurt her.
“I’ll fix this,” I said. “I’ll call the club right now, talk to Grant, find out how those photographers got on the property. This shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did happen. And it could happen again.”
“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
She shook her head, still looking shaken. “I don’t know if I can do this. The yacht club parties are one thing, but being chased by paparazzi? Having strangers shout questions at me? This is way more than I signed up for.”
I could see her pulling away. She was mentally calculating whether the money was worth this level of intrusion into her life. And I couldn’t blame her. It was my mess. She agreed to help me, not to become tabloid fodder.
But I needed her. The evaluation was coming up, and having Liza leave now would look terrible. More than that, I didn’t want her to leave.
“Please,” I said. “Give it a little longer. Just until after the evaluation. I promise I’ll keep you away from situations like tonight. We’ll stay low-key.”
“Darek, I don’t know.”
“I’ll make it worth your while. Tomorrow, I have a surprise for you. Something I think you’ll really like. Just… don’t make any decisions tonight while you’re still upset. Give it until tomorrow, at least.”
She sighed and looked at me. I could see her weighing her options. Leave now and protect herself from further exposure or stay and trust that I could make this better.
“What kind of surprise?” she asked finally.
“You’ll have to wait and see. But I promise it’s good. The kind of thing that will remind you why you came here in the first place.”
“To get paid?”
“To study whales.”
That got a small smile from her. Just a flicker, but it was there.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll give it until tomorrow. But if those photographers show up again, I don’t know if I can deal with it.”
“They won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
“How?”
“I’ll have a very pointed conversation with Grant Waverly about security at his club. And I’ll hire additional security for the estate if I need to. Whatever it takes to keep you and Daisie safe from this kind of harassment.”
She nodded slowly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. For putting up with this.” I took a step closer. “I know this is a lot more than you bargained for.”
“Yeah, it is.” She met my eyes. “But I get why you’re doing it. I want to help, I do. I just… I need to know I’m not going to end up regretting this.”
“You won’t. I promise.”
I hoped I could keep that promise.