Chapter 24
MAX
TWO WEEKS LATER
L ife aboard the ship was living in a perfect bubble.
Dylan wrapped up his filming schedule, and the book was taking shape, the first draft almost complete. He and I spent every possible moment together.
The nights, though, were my favorite. We’d lie together in the dark and whisper our secrets and dreams to each other.
All those tender feelings that I never experienced with a lover before came to life when I was with Dylan.
The more we explored one another, the closer we became.
I was so in love I hardly recognized myself.
But I knew that our summer in France was coming to a close. What would happen when our bubble finally burst?
Setting my worries aside, I focused on today. Getting ready to greet my daughter. Blake had convinced Dante that she should come two weeks early. I don’t know how she managed to persuade him, but I was pretty sure my daughter would make a great lawyer some day with her knack for negotiation.
I still hadn’t told Dante about me and Dylan. Well, I had mentioned to him that I was involved with someone I met in France, but I didn’t specify who. I wanted to stay in my idyllic world a bit longer.
And how could I describe to Dante what I could barely comprehend myself?
I was in love, and I’d never been happier.
But it didn’t prevent me from seeing the reality of the roadblocks that stood in our way.
Our lives were on different coasts. I had my daughter to consider and co-parenting with Dante, not to mention our custody tug-of-war that erupted every six months.
And Dylan would be under greater scrutiny when he stepped back onto US soil.
I needed to better prepare myself for the inevitable questions and concerns.
Before I said anything to Dante, I wanted to see how Blake interacted with Dylan and vice versa.
I knew what my heart wanted, but if my lover and my daughter didn’t get along, I would have no choice.
As much as it would pain me, Blake always came first, before my own happiness.
If their dynamic was positive, I would talk to Dylan, and we would tell Dante the truth. We would figure out the next step.
I was grateful my daughter was joining us on the yacht. It brought a bit of my real world back to focus. Being on that ship, just me and Dylan, it seemed too good to be true.
The real test of our relationship was yet to come.
So here I stood, waiting for my daughter at the airport in Nice.
Passengers filed into the terminal, and I waved when I noticed Blake’s blonde head appear, her long braid swinging over her shoulder.
She had on her favorite outfit of camo sweatpants and a black tank top, her backpack dragging behind her.
She ran over to me, and I engulfed her in a big hug.
Her face was freckled and her nose sunburnt, her hazel eyes a welcome sight.
“I missed you so much, honey.” Her head now coming up to just under my chin. Another couple of years and she’d be taller than me.
“I missed you too, Dad,” Blake leaned back and smiled at me. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What about your suitcase?” I asked.
“I packed everything in this,” She pointed to her enormous backpack. “Carry-on only. I’m practicing for when I finish high school. I’d like to travel around Europe for a few months.”
“Whoa, that’s a long way off. Can’t you just stay thirteen forever?” I teased her as we walked out of the terminal and towards the car Jana had booked for us.
“Sorry, Dad. So, what’s this Dylan guy like? Did you finish the book yet?”
We walked out into the midday sunshine, and I waved at our driver. He pulled in front of the arrivals lane, and we slid into the back seat.
“I told you on the phone this has to remain private, between us. Dylan Aylmer is a movie?—”
“Duh, Dad, I know who Dylan is. He starred in Nomad . It got nominated for, like, ten awards,” Blake said as she rolled her eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re writing his book!
This is so cool. I might try out for acting club next year.
Do you think he’d be willing to give me advice? He’s sober now, right?”
“Blake,” I said in my warning tone. “What he is, is a very nice man. And yes, he’s sober. Remember that we’re on board as guests. Surely I don’t need to tell you to be kind and courteous.”
“You just did.”
I shook my head. I swear I could feel the gray hairs multiplying.
“You can’t share any pictures of the boat, or take ones of Dylan, or tell anyone…”
“I get it. I know how to keep a secret.” She crossed her arms and huffed.
“I’m sorry, Blake. I know you do. I just want to protect him. I mean, I want to ensure Dylan’s privacy is respected.”
We pulled into the marina and made our way over to the tender.
“How long does it take to get to the ship?” Blake asked as I introduced her to Charlie, who hauled her bag aboard.
“Not even ten minutes. Wait until you see it. It’s something else.”
Charlie gunned the motor and we took off, Blake sitting at the front and stretching her arms out wide like she was re-enacting the scene from Titanic. As Now, Voyager came into view, Blake turned back to me, and I saw the shock on her face.
“It’s like a mini cruise ship!”
“I was blown away when I first saw it myself. It’s stunning, right?”
“Dylan must be loaded.”
“The ship belongs to a friend of his, Rowan Carter. He and his husband Andrew were on board for a visit and left a week ago. Rowan’s brother Rafe is staying on the ship for another few days, then he’s taking off as well.”
Blake took out her cell and started typing away. A moment later, she showed it to me.
“The billionaire Rowan Carter? Is that him?” she asked, pointing to his picture.
“Yes. He and Dylan are best friends.”
“And you said Rowan’s brother is on board? Rafe?” she asked as she typed away, her fingers moving at an alarmingly fast rate.
“That’s right.”
“Oh my God, Dad, he’s a model. Here’s his picture on the Paris runway.
” She showed me her phone again and was swiping through the pictures so fast I could barely see what was on them.
“I can’t wait to meet him. Maybe if acting doesn’t work, I could try modeling?
” She struck an exaggerated pose by cocking her head to the side and pursing her lips, and I could only laugh.
“Maybe we should stay at a hotel on shore,” I teased even though I couldn’t help but smile at her unbridled enthusiasm. I’d missed her laughter and her energy.
“No way, this is awesome! Our very own floating hotel.”
Charlie smoothly pulled the tender up to the stern and we stepped aboard the ship. Rafe and Dylan walked down the stairs to greet us.
“Dylan, Rafe, this is my daughter, Blake,” I proudly announced.
“Max, you didn’t tell me your daughter was Blake Lively.” Rafe smiled and reached his hand out. Dylan followed suit as Blake shook hands and smiled in return.
“Please don’t encourage her, Rafe. It’s bad enough she’s now considering careers in both modeling and acting.”
“Dad, don’t embarrass me!” Blake hissed as she dropped her backpack on the deck and looked around.
“Can I take your bag up for you?” Dylan asked and Blake nodded. Dylan hauled it over his shoulder. We headed up to the main level, and Blake’s excited chatter filled the air. Rafe’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.
“Can we go swimming? Is there a slide? And jet skis?”
“One question at a time, kiddo.” I pulled her against my side and got the teenage eye roll.
“There’s lots of water toys on board, but I’ll let you and your dad catch up first. Plenty of time to do activities later,” Dylan replied.
“Dylan’s right. Blake, maybe you should take a nap since you’ve been traveling all night. We can go swimming tomorrow.”
“I’m not tired, I slept on the plane,” she replied. “Can we have lunch first?”
“Sure.”
“Dylan, do you and Rafe want to join us?” Blake asked.
“We don’t want to intrude…” Dylan made to leave.
“It’s fine. Blake and I will have our own time after lunch. Join us.”
“Okay. I’ll let Rafe know. Meet you guys on the sun deck in a half hour?” Dylan asked and I nodded. As he walked by, he brushed his hand against mine and I quickly squeezed it and turned back to my daughter.
“Come on, let’s get you to your room so you can unpack.”
“Interesting,” she whispered as Dylan headed back down to the lower deck.
“What’s that?” I asked. I was being discreet, and I didn’t think she’d seen anything, but I had forgotten my daughter had eyes like a hawk.
Thankfully, Jana interrupted us and offered to help Blake get settled in. I wandered up to the sun deck and waited. Stretched out on a lounger, I let the sun’s rays seep into my bones and was about to nod off when a familiar scent had me on high alert.
Dylan sat down on the lounger, his body brushing mine. The barest touch and yet it was hotter than the sun beating down on me. Then he reached for my hand. It was entirely too natural for me to take it and give it a kiss.
“You’re so romantic,” he teased as he gave me that mind blowing smile.
I shook my head in response. “Has been said never . It’s you. You bring it out in me.”
I heard footstep on the stairs getting closer. Dylan casually got up and walked over to the railing, giving us much needed distance. Jana appeared with a tray filled with salads and drinks and set everything up on the table, and a few minutes later Blake joined us.
“Is Rafe having lunch with us?” I asked.
“He’s on another call. He said to go ahead and start without him.”
As we munched on lobster dumplings and mango-cucumber salad, Blake’s teenage curiosity let loose.
“How’s the book coming along?” she asked, taking a bite of her salad. “I can ask about that, right? I know to keep it secret, but it’s just us.” She waved her fork around in the air.
I nodded at her. “We’re almost finished. We’ve gotten a lot of work done in the past few weeks. Being on board has been effective at cutting out distractions and being able to focus.”
“It helps that your dad is very easy to talk to. He’s been patient and understanding of my story.
It touches on some sensitive topics, and I couldn’t imagine working with anyone else,” Dylan explained as he sipped on his tea.
I caught the intense look of happiness in his eyes, and it was all I could do to sit still and not reach for him.
“Have long have you been sober?” Blake asked, setting her fork down.
“Blake, that’s not the way you go about starting that conversation,” I reprimanded her, but Dylan held up his hand.
“It’s fine, Max,” Dylan said as he reached for my hand and then stopped, pulling it back.
He turned his attention to Blake. “You get right to the point, and I admire that. And to answer your question, I’ve been sober for two years and thirty-four days.
But I’ll never be cured. Alcoholism is an addiction I have to deal with for the rest of my life. ”
Blake looked at him and nodded. “My friend Jaclyn’s dad was in rehab for addiction to prescription pain pills.
She told me it took him a year to detox and another year of therapy to finally feel better.
Her parents are divorced now but at least her dad is doing okay.
But for a while she was upset all the time. It was pretty bad.”
“You never told me this,” I said to Blake.
“Jaclyn lives with her mom, who you’ve met, and it just never came up. She didn’t like to talk about her dad much until this past year. I wanted to respect her privacy. And…”
“And…?”
“Our school counselor has talked about this stuff. Remember, there was a kid in my class, he got caught smoking pot before school ended in June. It’s more common than you think, Dad.”
“I know, and we’ve talked about drugs and alcohol already, but still?—”
“I have another question,” Blake interrupted.
“Ask away,” Dylan said to her with a small smile and a raised glass. He took a sip while he waited for her question.
She leaned forward and looked at me then at Dylan. “What’s going on with you and my dad?”
Both Dylan and I spewed our iced tea over the table while Blake threw her head back and laughed.
Busted.