Chapter 22 #2
“No, thank you. That’s it.” Libby handed over some cash, shoved the condoms into the bottom of the stroller, and quickly grabbed the shakes off the counter. “Thank you. Goodbye.”
“You have a pleasant evening, now,” the woman said. “And a wonderful night.”
Lost for words, Libby felt her cheeks warm. She pushed up a quick smile and made a hasty exit.
Outside, she let her breath go. It had been a very long time since she’d bought condoms, and doing so again hadn’t even crossed her mind…until last night with Dan.
“Mommy!”
“Oh, gosh. Sorry, honey. Here.” She handed Karim his shake, made sure he was holding it securely, and then sucked on hers.
The cool sweetness in her mouth helped some to cool her down, but the heat inside her was still ramped up high.
Despite today’s drama, last night on the couch had played on repeat in her mind.
She pressed her cool milkshake against her hot forehead.
“We’d better get washed for dinner, honey.
Hold your drink tight. It’s yummy, isn’t it? ”
Karim babbled to himself as she pushed him toward the hut, and her mind drifted back to Dan.
The last time she’d had sex was the night she’d conceived Karim.
That was way over three years ago!
Not only was her body ready for action, but her heart…
Until she’d met Dan, she hadn’t realized how lonely she’d become.
And his show of solidarity and respect earlier, when his mother had said she hated journalists, had been truly touching.
If only she could shake off this gnawing guilt that she’d once been just the kind of reporter they hated.
But her work with Hot Gossip was firmly in the past. The only way Dan would find out is if she told him.
And there was no need to do that. Especially after Libby had overheard him tell his mom that he thought she was clever, honest, and creative.
And a lot of fun. The walls were paper thin in the hut, and she’d heard everything when she’d taken Karim to the bathroom.
Still smiling over his words about her, she crossed the main island road.
A little farther up, she saw Dan about to step off the island bus, carefully lowering himself to the curb, one hand gripping the rail while the other hugged a large paper sack.
When he saw her, his face lit up with an instant smile, and her stomach dipped and flipped.
Grinning like a foolish teenager, she asked, “Hey, Cranky, where’ve you been?”
“Shopping.” He held the bag closer to his chest. “I bought a new phone, and I had to get more clothes, seeing as I gave most of mine away. Hi, Karim. Did you have fun at the beach?”
Karim was busy sucking on his milkshake.
“Yes, we did,” Libby said, and handed Dan her shake. “Want some?”
“Aw, yeah.” He took a long drag. “Thanks.”
“Up high!” Karim kicked his feet and stretched his arms out to Dan.
“You’ve created a monster,” Libby side-whispered, then told Karim to stay in the stroller. “Dan’s hot and tired, honey.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s a good weight workout.” Dan swapped the paper sack for Karim, whose face beamed as he was lifted onto Dan’s shoulders.
But Libby caught the crinkles of discomfort around Dan’s eyes, his face already shiny with sweat and humidity.
“He’s too heavy for you,” she said.
Dan merely shot her a look that said, How dare you imply such a thing?
She sucked on her milkshake. “The Olympian has returned, I see.”
“Not physically, but mentally? I’m… I’m feeling a little like my old self.”
“That’s great to hear.” Libby grinned at him. “And now you have a new phone, so you’ll be connected to the rest of the world. How are you feeling about everything?”
“Excited. Nervous. A bit scared. You?”
“Same. But just like you figured, the break at the beach has given me some perspective.”
“Same,” he said, grinning back at her. “Buying a shirt for dinner grounded me. I think we need to play it cool and survey the aftermath of the bomb we’ve just dropped—good and bad—before reacting.”
Libby couldn’t agree more. They had to plan their next move carefully.
Trolls would be rife, and conspiracy theories didn’t die overnight, but she hoped their first post had set the tone of their campaign.
Dan Jones was very much alive, and soon, everyone would be able to hear his story—the truth—firsthand, straight from his mouth.
When they got to the hut, Dan set Karim down. As he straightened, his gaze—like hers—went straight to her laptop on the kitchen counter.
Libby glanced back at him. “You ready?”
“Let’s do it.”
They both logged on to their social media—Libby on her phone, and Dan on her laptop.
Dan drummed his fingers on the counter.
Libby held her breath.
“Oh, my…” The number of likes, shares, and comments was well into five figures, and ticking up fast.
“You did it, Libby!” Dan squeezed her hand.
“No.” She squeezed back. “We did it!” They hugged, laughing and whooping. “Daniel Jones is back!”
“And you’ve got enough traction now to attract the sponsors you need?”
“You bet!”
Karim joined their huddle, wanting to be part of the excitement. Libby picked him up and danced around the kitchen with him. “We did it, honey! We did it. Yay!” Her baby had no clue what was going on, except that he loved being bounced around, and she absolutely loved hearing him laugh.
Dan ruffled Karim’s hair. “Your mother is a legend.”
“Not as big a legend as Daniel Jones.”
“Cranky Jones!” Karim shouted with a cheeky grin.
Dan chuckled.
“Sorry.” Libby bit her lip. “I guess I really should stop calling you that now, too.”
“As my dad used to say, You can call me anything except late for my dinner.”
Libby giggled at his silliness. “Speaking of dinner…” She kissed Karim’s forehead. “We’re still covered in sand, baby. We’d better wash and change.” When she looked up at Dan, he was still smiling. Her heart pooled at his feet. “Your mother and Malek will be here soon,” she said.
“It won’t take me long to get ready, so you two go first while I read these reactions. I’ll fill you in at dinner.”
Libby grabbed a change of clothes for herself and Karim, then headed into the bathroom. This feeling of success was intoxicating. Dancing on air, she sang to Karim as she washed sand away from behind his ears.
When they were both dressed, she stepped out and halted at the sight of Dan.
“Wow,” she breathed. He was wearing a light-blue shirt patterned with dark-blue flowers. The thin fabric pulled in all the right ways across his chest and biceps, and he’d left the top three buttons undone. “You look good.”
“You look good yourself.” The slow drift of Dan’s gaze up and down her body had her almost trembling. “I like that dress on you.”
It was her plain yellow sundress again. She’d worn it several times, but he was acting like this was the first. That deep heat in her core ramped up again. “We’d better go meet your mom,” she said. “Karim is getting hungry.”
“He’s not the only one.” Dan’s gaze dipped to her cleavage again, and his jaw flickered with a kind of formal restraint she found insanely sexy. “After you.”
Libby hooked her bag over her shoulder, and Dan took the stroller. When they got to the end of Tia Rosa’s garden, Carina and Malek had just reached the gate too.
“Any news?” Carina asked.
“Yes,” Dan said with a smile. “We’ll tell you all the details at dinner.”
“It’s good news, though,” Libby added. “We made the national headlines in the UK.”
Carina shrieked with delight and clapped her hands. “This is cause for a pre-Christmas celebration, then! Let’s go.”
“Wait. There’s something we need to do first,” Libby said. She picked a pink frangipani from the bush they were standing next to and handed it to Carina. “You put it behind your left ear,” she told her with a wink at Malek, “because you’re spoken for.”
Carina laughed, and Dan looked like he was about to spew. Shooting him an innocent look, Libby tucked her own flower behind her ear—her right one.
Dan’s eyebrows quirked.
“Because I’m not spoken for,” she explained, her gaze steady on his.
His eyes widened—in question or challenge? Libby didn’t know which.
But the heat between her legs told her it would be fun to find out.