Chapter 10
In the restaurant overlooking Muri Beach, Libby’s son beamed at his adoring fans. Slicing off another piece of potato, he eyed his audience and worked the crowd with a pause of anticipation before popping his fork into his mouth again.
“Yay!”
Everyone cheered and clapped at Karim’s newfound skill with cutlery. Even the waitresses and the table full of people next to them were cooing and ahhing. The more eyes on him, the more he brimmed with happiness, soaking up the praise with squeals of delight.
And causing the best distraction ever.
Thanks, kid.
Karim had saved this horrendous dinner from being a thousand times more horrendous.
And so had Libby.
Together, they were a double act made in heaven. Everything Karim did entertained Mum, who fussed over him like she fussed over Femi’s and Gabi’s kids, and Libby, looking very pretty in her sundress, engaged Malek in easy conversation that just simply flowed.
And flowed.
Seamlessly, she asked Malek all sorts of questions, from where he grew up—Manchester—to what he did for a living—security work.
By the time the main course had arrived, Dan had discovered that Malek was ex-Army, had two teenage kids from a previous relationship, pushed weights at Mum’s gym—where they’d met—enjoyed watching motorsport, hated soccer, and loved authentic Indian food.
For each of his answers, Libby had five more questions ready to go.
Chipping into the conversation every now and again, Dan smiled in all the right places, but he struggled to shake off his dark mood.
Mum was dating a guy fifteen years younger than her…
As long as she was happy, it was none of Dan’s business who she dated. He was just…sad. Sad that Mum hadn’t told him. Sad that Dad wasn’t here instead. Sad that they’d all had to live so long without him in the first place.
And Dan was sad about Isabella, too.
Heart and soul sad. This was supposed to be their honeymoon! And yeah, he was more than a tad annoyed that she’d cast him aside for a Hollywood superstar.
Dan glanced at his wristwatch.
In about five minutes’ time, the announcement of their permanent split would hit the UK headlines. Maybe it was a good thing not to have a working phone. He’d only be constantly checking the internet. The gossip sites. Social media. Reading whatever crap people conjured up about him.
Hero to Zero. Poor Jones.
Dan sighed and caught his mother watching him.
When they arrived at dinner, he’d apologized again for his rudeness earlier. And to Malek too, but Mum’s eyes were again full of sadness. Sadness and worry and concern… The list of emotions he’d inflicted on her in recent months went on.
She gave him a small smile. Okay, darling?
With a nod, he smiled back. He’d put his family through so much already, but he was far from okay. He was a mess. Anxiety crawled along the back of his neck, and his whole body hurt inside and out—tired, lonely, and pissed off.
Under the table, Libby bumped his thigh.
“Dan? Your mom’s talking to you.”
“Eh? What?” He blinked. Everyone at the table was staring at him. Even Karim in his highchair was watching him, wide-eyed and waiting.
“Femi’s just messaged me,” Mum said. “It’s all over breakfast news at home.”
“What is?” Libby asked, looking at him for the answer.
Dan cleared his throat. “An official statement that Isabella and I are no longer together was given to the press today.”
“Oh.” Libby wiped Karim’s mouth with a napkin. “So, I guess if you were still in England, those reporters you told me about would’ve been after you even more for an interview.”
“Yeah.” Dan toyed with his glass. Despite the long journey, despite the sick bug, despite the awkwardness of finding Mum with a boyfriend, coming out here to avoid those journalists had been the right thing to do. “But they don’t know where I am. No one knows.”
“Do you think…” Mum trailed off, and when Dan looked up, he didn’t like the worry lines on her face. “Do you think that if journalists were to come out here to the Cooks, that…that they’d write something about Malek and me? I don’t want to be called a cougar or a cradle snatcher.”
“Carina.” Malek squeezed her hand. “Don’t even go there.”
“But if—”
“I’m sorry.” Dan covered his face with his hands. Dragging his mum into his mess was the last thing he wanted. “Maybe I should return home.”
“No, you need to rest,” Mum said sharply.
“Then I’ll lie low for a few days. I’ll—”
“Come to Atiu with Karim and me.”
Dan raised his head.
“I’m sure there’ll be places left on the flight,” Libby continued brightly. “My accommodation is two rooms, but Karim will sleep with me anyway, so you can have his.”
“Oh god, Libby, yes!” Dan wanted to kiss her.
“That’s a brilliant idea.” He turned back to Mum and Malek.
“No one will find you at the bungalow,” he said.
“It’s discreet. It’s a hideaway. And no one will find me on Atiu either.
It’s a tiny island.” As he gazed at Libby, something like hope bloomed in his chest. “And the chances of coming across a journalist there are zero to none.”
After dinner, Dan sat next to his mother on a bench at the back of the restaurant, overlooking the beach. Malek was at the bar, paying the bill—which he’d insisted on doing—and Libby had taken Karim to the bathroom.
“Libby is very nice,” Mum said. “It was a good idea to go to the other island with her.”
“Yeah.” Dan shuffled his toe in the sand. Ten days on a tiny island miles away from everything that was stressing him out was just what he needed to start getting his head straight again, and Mum could enjoy her holiday with Malek without him dragging her down like a punctured third wheel.
“I’m sorry you found out the way you did about Mal,” Mum said, burying her toes in the sand too.
“When Femi and Gabi texted me to say you were in Rarotonga, I sent you a long message, telling you all about him. I was so worried when you didn’t reply.
I thought you were angry or too upset, and then I spoke to Libby and she told me about your phone and that you were sick. ”
The ocean rolled and rumbled in the distance. Moonlight caught on the waves breaking against the outer reef.
Mum sighed. “I should have told you about him months ago.”
Months? They’d been together for months? “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it broke my heart seeing you so destroyed after your accident. And then Isabella… When she postponed the wedding, I didn’t believe the reason that it was because you wanted to walk down the aisle.
I could tell your relationship was in trouble.
But you’d closed yourself off. I understood you had to, that you were dealing with everything your own way.
So, I couldn’t just say, ‘Hey, Danny, guess what? I’ve met someone,’ and then, you know, the age difference.
Those bloody journalists would’ve had a field day about that, and I didn’t want to give them anything else to write about. So, we decided to keep it all quiet.”
“When did you meet?”
“Two weeks before your accident.”
“I see.”
“Obviously, we put things on hold when you…”
“Yeah, I know…” Dan wasn’t upset with his mum—he had no right to be, anyway—but it seemed that all the constants in his life were changing, and he was struggling to keep up.
But that wasn’t Mum’s fault. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said again.
“It’s just… I thought this place meant something to you and Dad. ”
“It does. And Mal knows it, too. He’s sweet and supportive, but it’s been twenty years, Danny.
I’m done grieving. My life will never be completely full without your father in it.
It’s true what people say.” Her voice cracked.
“A piece of me really did die with him that day, but he’s gone, and I can’t be with him until I go, too.
” Then she took a deep breath and sat up straight.
“I can’t let that hurt control my life anymore.
Dad wouldn’t have wanted that. I know he wouldn’t. ”
Knowing it too, Dan kicked at the sand.
“And he wouldn’t want you to still be hurting either, Danny.
” Mum patted his knee. When he’d grown too big for her to squeeze, she’d said that patting his knee was her way of hugging him.
The memory tugged at Dan’s heart, and the sting of tears horrified him.
“You were all so young when we lost him. I don’t think I would’ve survived those years without you, Femi, and Gabi.
And I felt so guilty that you were taking care of your sisters on the days that I struggled to get out of bed. ”
He cleared his throat. “You shouldn’t have felt guilty.”
“That’s easy to say, but mother’s guilt is a bitch.”
Dan smiled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “So, Femi and Gabi have met Malek?”
“Yes. And Zeezee has too.”
“Right.” So everyone but him knew…
“Please be happy for me, Danny.”
“I am happy for you.” He pushed out the words. “As happy as I’ll ever be about anything right now. I don’t feel like I’m ever going to enjoy life again.”
“Oh, darling. It’s natural to feel depressed after what you’ve been through. I wish I could make everything better for you.”
There was that crack in Mum’s voice again. The stress. The worry.
“It’s okay, Mum,” he told her quickly. “I’ll feel better soon. I’ll be fine.”
Mum sniffed and patted his knee again. “What about Isabella? Are you—”
“It’s a long story. She…” Dan caught Libby standing on the decking, and the soft, watery look in her eyes told him she must’ve overheard everything. Thank god he hadn’t said any more about Isabella.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Libby said, rocking the pushchair with one hand. “But I’ve really got to put Karim to bed, or he’ll be a horror show tomorrow. Should I leave the door unlocked?”