Chapter 9
Slamming his belongings into his bag, Dan didn’t care that his whole body was shrieking at him to slow down. He needed to rest and lie still, but no way was he staying here with Mum and that…Malek, whoever the hell he was.
How could she bring another man here? To this place that was special to her and Dad—to them as a family?
And why the hell hadn’t Femi and Gabi warned him?
Aw, shit.
Maybe they had, but like a dick, he’d ignored their messages, and now his phone was dead.
Mum appeared in the doorway. “I’m so sorry about this, Danny.”
“It’s fine. Really. I gave you the bungalow. I shouldn’t even be here.”
“I meant about Malek. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
A wave of hurt gripped him. “It’s fine,” he said again without looking at her. “I’ll book us a table for dinner at that place Libby mentioned.”
“Danny, I know how—”
“Forget it, Mum. I don’t want to talk about it.” He zipped his bag shut and threw it over his shoulder. The weight of it had him stumbling. Mum reached out for him, but he caught the edge of the kitchen counter and waved her away.
“Danny, please—”
“Leave it. Just leave it.” He pushed off the counter, but he’d seen the hurt in Mum’s eyes and hated himself for it.
“I’m sorry. I just need some time.” He’d caused her so much worry and pain already.
He didn’t want her to see him like this—so angry and confused and hurt.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, he stopped in the doorway. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
Dragging his bag and his broken body across the little garden, he stopped at Reception to speak to Serita and then lugged himself onto the back seat of Libby’s cab next to Karim.
The little kid clapped his hands and shrieked, but Libby merely raised her eyebrows. “Now, do you mind telling me what you’re doing?”
“Just drive,” he snapped.
The driver looked at Libby, and when she nodded, he pulled away.
“Although I have a pretty good idea already,” Libby said, “where are you planning to sleep tonight?”
“You have two rooms at your new place, don’t you?”
“Sure I do, and that’s fine, you can stay with us, but we’re leaving in the morning, remember?”
“I remember. I’ll find somewhere else tomorrow.”
Libby chewed her cheek. “So, what did you say to your mom? You didn’t upset her, did you?”
“Of course not.”
“But your face of thunder tells me you must’ve done.”
“Well, you’re wrong.” Dan glared out of the window. “I actually booked us a table at that restaurant you mentioned.” He snapped his head back to her. “You’ll come, won’t you?”
“Wha—”
“Please, Libby. You’re the one who was so keen to make friends with my mum, and you’re good at talking.”
“You want me there as a buffer?”
“Yes. No.” Dan huffed. “You’re sociable and likable, and words just come out of your mouth so easily.”
Libby pressed her lips together again, and Dan got the distinct impression that she was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m pathetic,” he said. God, the press would have a field day back home if they ever found out about this. “Please come, Libby.”
“Sure, I’ll come,” she said, flashing one of those smiles that always made him blink. “To be honest, it beats cooking tonight, and I haven’t had this much fun since a mouse in this hostel we were staying at in Wellington caused a stampede out through the kitchen door.”
“See, you always come out with random nonsense like that.”
“Gee, thanks. It’s a special gift.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Of course, Mr. Sunshine,” she drawled. “I’ll need to put Karim to bed by nine.
His usual bedtime is eight, but he had a long nap today, so he should last the distance.
Also, that restaurant I suggested? It looked fancy, so you’ll have to deal with me wearing my sundress. It’s the best thing I have.”
“You’d look good in anything.”
“Ha, thanks. False flattery will get you everywhere.”
Dan rolled his eyes and turned to the window again.
He’d been telling the truth. Libby had a beautiful face, a lush, curvy body, and a sparkling personality.
She knew it. Everyone knew it. And Dan had other things on his mind right now than showering her with compliments she’d heard a thousand times before.
The giggle beside him had him turning back to look at her. “What?”
“Your face when he grabbed your mom’s—”
“Not helping, Libby.”
“His biceps are thicker than my thighs, which is saying a lot. And did you see the size of his pecs? Your mom is one lucky—”
“Yep…still not helping.”
Ten minutes later, the cab stopped outside Tia Rosa’s. Libby unclipped Karim from his seat and got out. The building in front of her, with its white walls and flat roof, wasn’t as pretty or as big as Are Moana, but Tia Rosa—a friend of Mr. Hehu and Serita’s—greeted them with open arms. “Kia Orana!”
“Kia Orana,” Libby said, bouncing Karim on her hip as she returned the woman’s smile. She nodded toward Cranky behind her, who was getting their bags and Karim’s stroller out of the car. “We have an extra person with us. Is that all right?”
“Of course, Serita has already told me. She’s paid for everything for tonight. She told me what happened. Hehu and computers are not a good mix.” Rosa chuckled. “Come with me. I’ll show you to the hut.”
The hut?
Libby shot a glance at Dan just as he shot one at her.
“That doesn’t sound great,” she mumbled.
They followed Rosa around to the back of the main house and into a yard, where a low-roofed hut—like a beach shack, really—was surrounded by tropical plants and flowers.
“Oh, this is gorgeous!” Libby said. “Look, Karim. Pretty petals.”
“Frangipani,” Rosa said as she picked a pink and yellow one. “Are you single or married?”
“Single.” Well and truly.
“In that case, you place the flower behind your right ear,” Rosa said. “That tells men you are available. If you’re spoken for, you place it behind your left ear.”
“That’s so cute.”
Rosa gave a flower to Karim, who twirled it in his little fingers for all of two seconds before losing interest and wriggling free. He tugged on Libby’s hand, pulling her toward the hut.
“Excuse us. He wants to explore.” Libby thanked Rosa and followed Karim into their temporary new home. He kicked off his little sandals and ran around the room.
The hut was very basic, containing a small kitchen unit, a table with four chairs, and a door to the left that revealed a small bathroom. The two doors to the right presumably were the two bedrooms. “This is just lovely and all we need, isn’t it, sweet cheeks?”
She sighed happily at how well things had turned out, until a dark shadow loomed behind her.
Cranky Jones.
Blocking the light from the doorway, he dumped their bags and the stroller onto the floor.
“Cheer up,” she said. “The hut’s not that bad.”
But she knew it wasn’t their accommodation that was making him scowl. Nothing was going right for the poor sucker, and to boot, despite what he’d said in the cab, it was obvious he’d had a fight with his mom when he’d gone to collect his things.
“Is it the age gap that bothers you?” Libby asked. “Or the fact you didn’t know?”
“Both.” Cranky massaged his neck and shoulders. “I mean, he’s got to be at least fifteen years younger than her. It can’t last.”
“Does it have to? Doesn’t your mom deserve to just have a little fun?”
“Of course she does.” But the downward curl of Dan’s lips told her he’d never considered his mom having that kind of fun before.
“Hasn’t your mom dated since your dad?”
“Not as far as I know.”
“So she hasn’t had…”
Dan’s hand shot up, and Libby clamped her big mouth shut. Clearly, he didn’t want to think about his mom having sex—not on his honeymoon, anyway. Probably not ever.
With a heavy sigh, Cranky dropped to the bed and hung his head.
“You were right,” he said. “I did upset her. I was angry. I acted like a spoilt brat.”
His head drooped. His shoulders sagged. A puppy left out in the rain. Oh, for Pete’s sake. Where was the Olympian? The Lightning Strike. The guy who’d stood on countless podiums like he’d conquered the world?
“Okay, Cranky,” she said. “It looks to me like you’ve got two choices—sulk, or apologize and make things better.”
Leaving him to his brooding, Libby set about making a snack of fruit and crackers for Karim.
Once she’d found a plate and a knife in the little kitchen, she sat on the floor next to her child, who’d already gotten his toy cars out of her bag and had lined them up, ready for action.
She sliced up a mango, handed him a chunk, and snagged a piece for herself.
“Want some?” She held the plate up to Dan.
“No, thank you.”
He looked so tired and alone, so…helpless. Should she give him a hug or a hard poke with a stick?
Karim scooted one of his cars across the tiled floor. It hit Dan’s foot.
“Crash!”
“Honey, be careful.”
“It’s okay.” Dan picked up the car, something wistful and longing shining in his eyes. “Cool cars, kiddo.” He scooted the car back, and her baby’s face flashed like a neon sign. New playmate!
Karim scooted another car toward him.
Dan stopped it with his foot, then scooted it back.
“You might be here all night now,” Libby said. “Karim loves to play.”
“I’d much rather play cars than do anything else right now.
” Dan looked even sadder and more alone than before, and then he let out another sigh.
“I guess I have this unrealistic idea about everlasting love. That’s what I thought my parents had.
That’s what I thought…” He bit the words back, shaking his head.
That’s what he thought he had with Isabella?
Metal cars skidding across the tiled floor filled the silence.
What could she say to him to cheer him up?
What could she suggest as a solution?
That he should get back out there and show the world that he wasn’t beaten?
But saying anything like that now would make him scurry back into his cave. Instead, Libby sat next to him on the bed and offered the only thing she had to offer—friendship.
“Nothing feels like it used to feel for you, does it, Cranky?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“That horse not only shattered your leg. It shattered your identity.”
His breathing stilled. Had she struck a nerve?
“This isn’t the same thing,” she continued, “but when I found out I was pregnant, it felt like my identity shattered overnight too.”
Elliott had looked at her like she was some stranger living in his apartment.
I don’t want a baby! Never have, never will.
Juliana had bluntly said she’d no longer be able to do her job.
You’ll go soft. And her parents, in their usual pessimistic way, had thought she’d ruined her life.
You can’t have a baby alone. They suck all your energy. You won’t be able to cope.
Libby shook the memories away. They no longer haunted her, but they were still so clear in her mind.
“Thing is, Cranky, you’re grieving for how your life used to be,” she said.
“That’s understandable and natural. I grieved for my past life, too, when Karim was born.
The love I had for that tiny stranger both thrilled and overwhelmed me, but it also scared the living daylights out of me.
I kept thinking, How will I ever be able to do all the things I used to do?
I couldn’t even go to the bathroom! I was sore, exhausted.
Mix in a whole bunch of post-birth hormones, and I thought my life would never be the same again. And it isn’t. Because it’s better.”
“You’re right,” Dan said. “Having a child is not the same thing as being left crippled.”
“Ah, now, you see, that word doesn’t have a good ring to it. How about changed?”
He scoffed. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Words are a powerful thing.” Not that she’d tell him now that, as a journalist, she should know.
“Words carry so much subtext and imagery. So instead of saying crippled, say changed. And you know? I’m thinking one day, it’ll be a change for the better.
The change is already better than being dead, isn’t it? ”
He choked out a laugh. “Yeah.” Then he took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks. “The thing is, Libby, I am grateful to still be alive—so grateful. I just don’t…feel it. All I feel is anger and resentment and this constant self-pity, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed.”
He studied his large hands hanging between his knees. “God, I feel stupid talking like this. I’m sorry you’ve had to listen to it.”
Libby’s mind filled with all the people out there—people like Juliana—who’d sell their grandmas to be listening to this, but then she shook all thoughts of Hot Gossip away.
“Don’t sweat it, Cranky. This is what roomies do.” She nudged his shoulder. “Next time, I’ll paint your nails and braid your hair.”