Chapter 29
The next morning, the wind carried the sound of waves crashing against the reef to the beach café where Dan was having coffee with his mum. It was the same café he’d taken Libby and Karim to for lunch that day when Mum had arrived with Malek.
A full circle completed. Mum and Malek were flying back home tonight.
Dan glanced out to sea. A line of white waves pounded against the outer reef, as if the ocean was banging on the door, trying to get in.
So much had happened since Mum had arrived.
So much change inside him. He glanced back inland.
Palm trees swayed out by the empty road that eventually led to Tia Rosa’s hut.
No sign of Libby and Karim. Dan’s gaze dipped to his coffee cup.
“How was Libby this morning?” Mum asked.
“I haven’t seen her yet.” Dan stretched his leg to the side of the table, staring at his scars.
Last night after Libby had run off, he’d stayed on the beach, watching her push Karim away through the restaurant after she’d said goodnight to his mother and Malek.
He’d wanted to walk back to Tia Rosa’s with her, but he’d stayed put, respecting that Libby didn’t want him near her.
When he’d eventually got back to Tia Rosa’s, Libby had already been in her room. He’d been about to knock on her door but lowered his hand when he saw her note on the kitchen counter.
I’ve set up Part Two to drop in the morning so I can take Karim straight to the beach. PS: I’m sorry.
But it was he who should have been apologizing.
The way he’d walked off after she’d asked him about Isabella and those damn rumors had been playing on his mind.
If only he’d stayed then, they’d have talked some more.
About that awful gossip site she used to work for and what her old boss was asking her to do.
Instead, any mention of Isabella had him running off, like he hadn’t wanted her to enter this new world he and Libby had created, full of tropical sunshine and beach walks.
“Last night, Libby seemed anxious,” Mum was saying, which didn’t make him feel any better. “You said it was because she wasn’t used to leaving Karim with other people, but you’re not looking too happy yourself this morning.”
“I’m never happy.”
“That’s not quite true. You’ve been happy with Libby. I’ve seen it. Are you two more than…?”
“C’mon, Mum.” Dan stiffened at the million-dollar question. “You know I’m not like Femi and Gabi, always on the phone to you discussing relationships.” He’d much rather retreat into a cave to stew and deal with things in his own time.
Mum pursed her lips. “You grew up in a houseful of women.”
“Like I need reminding.”
“So, you should be able to understand women better than you’re pretending to right now.” Mum kept her eyes on him as she took a sip of coffee. “Are you and Libby dating?”
“Nope.” And that was the truth. Out of all the things he and Libby had done together, going on a date wasn’t one of them.
The closest thing they’d got to it was last night’s beach walk, and look how that had ended.
He’d been about to bring up Isabella and the rumors but couldn’t bear all that shit creeping in between them, and Libby’s lush lips had been so tempting.
Like their steamy stressbuster the other night, kissing under the stars would soothe the tension.
But so much for his smooth romantic moves. “We’re just friends, Mum. That’s it.”
With a tight nod, Mum let the subject drop.
“Have you heard from Isabella?” she asked.
Dan sighed. If he hadn’t wanted to talk about Isabella with Libby last night, he really, really didn’t want to talk about her with his mother now.
And there wasn’t much he could say, anyway.
He couldn’t tell Mum about Isabella’s new man, nor the fact that she was quite likely on the verge of a Hollywood scandal.
“We’ve exchanged a few messages. That’s all. ”
After his swim yesterday, he’d texted Isabella to let her know she was in Hot Gossip’s crosshairs. He’d also told her about Alicia possibly being on her way to London today. Issy had asked how he knew. That’s not important now, he’d told her. Just make sure you’re ready for what’s about to come.
“Are you still in love with her?” Mum asked.
“Uh? With Isabella?” Dan shook his head. “I still care about her.”
“I know,” Mum said. “I would expect that of you, but what if she came back? Would you want to give her another chance?”
Dan scoffed. “She won’t come back.”
Isabella had Hunter now.
“But what if she did? Before you can move on, you need to ask yourself what you’d do if she wanted to get back together.”
“She won’t.”
But if Isabella, by some chance, ever did realize she’d made a huge mistake and came running back to him, could he really forgive her? Could he pick up the pieces of their relationship and continue on that same journey they’d planned?
And what about Libby?
What if she’d said yes to his question last night about being more than friends?
Could he…
Dan shook his head. This was pointless! Because no matter what he was having now with Libby and what he’d once had with Isabella, there was absolutely no point in talking about what ifs? Libby had run away from him last night, and Isabella had her new life with Hunter.
“How I feel about Isabella has nothing to do with how I feel about Libby,” he ended up saying.
Mum sat back in her chair. “I never said it did.”
“Rick! Finally. Where’ve you been?” This phone call was going to cost a fortune, but unusual for Libby’s friend Rick, he hadn’t replied to any of her messages over the past twenty-four hours, and when she’d seen his name flash on her screen just now, she’d been desperate to hear his voice.
“I was getting worried. What’s going on with you? ”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Man, that’s saying something, coming from you.” To anyone who hadn’t known him for ten years, Rick could be an elusive character. Well, he was many characters, really, online and off. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, same old stuff.” Which in Rick’s world could mean anything. “How’s my little dude?”
“He’s good—and currently halfway up a tree.
” Karim was quite safe, of course, and not quite up a tree either.
Holding her phone in one hand, Libby had a good grasp of him by his T-shirt with the other so he could scramble up the fallen-down palm tree.
“He’s probably all of one meter above sea level,” she added.
They were on the sandy beach too, so Karim would have a soft landing if he did fall.
“Congrats on your videos, by the way,” Rick said. “You nailed it, Libs.”
“Thanks. I had the best teacher.” There was more rustling on the line and sirens wailing in the background. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yep, just give me a minute.” Rick was out of breath. Which was odd, seeing as he ran marathons. Yet another of his online personas. There was more rustling, another intake of breath. “You still there, Libs?”
“Yes.” There was a click, a soft thud, and then completely no background noise, like he’d just gotten into a car. “Rick, are you…?”
“It’s all good, Libby. I’m all yours now. You said in your message that you needed a favor. What’s up?”
Cautious not to reveal or imply any details about the Isabella-Hunter affair, Libby told him about the out-of-the-blue email she’d received from Juliana.
“Apparently there were these rumors in Hollywood that Alicia is about to have some sort of showdown with Isabella. Can you find out if there’s any truth in it?
I’ve searched all I can without risking getting on anyone’s radar, but I’ve found nothing. ”
“Sure, but what’s the aim? If Hunter’s wife is on her way to London, so what? What are you going to do?”
Good question. It was none of Libby’s business, but she couldn’t watch the train crash without at least raising an alarm.
“I’m going to tell Isabella, of course. She has a right to know if her career is going up in smoke.”
An hour after she’d disconnected the call with Rick, the strength of the midday sun was already bearing down on Libby’s back, even though it was only a little after eleven.
She’d have to take Karim home so he could play in Tia Rosa’s shady backyard.
“Three more jumps, sweet cheeks, then we’ll go.
” She helped Karim up onto the fallen-down palm tree for the five hundredth time.
He’d been loving jumping off the trunk into the sand.
“We can come back later when it’s not so hot. ”
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Libby whirled around, startled by Dan’s voice.
Karim squealed, delighted to see his favorite playmate. “Dan-Dan!”
“I’ve been searching the beach all morning,” Dan said. “Then I saw the tree. Hey, kid, those were big jumps just now.”
Karim’s little face lit up, and something prickled in Libby’s chest as he stretched out his arms to be picked up by the man who was turning her world upside down.
“Dan-Dan, up high,” Karim said, and those irrational feelings from last night swirled inside her again. Don’t let him in. Don’t let him become a part of our lives…
Last night, he’d asked if she wanted to be more than friends.
Had he asked because that’s what he’d wanted? Or to make it clear that he didn’t?
What they’d started on the couch in Atiu was never about forever. It was about sexual satisfaction that wouldn’t ruin their friendship.
“Up high,” Karim said again.
Libby glanced up at Dan. He’d been waiting for her go-ahead to pick him up.
“If it’s okay with you,” she said.
“Of course, it is. Come up, kid.” Dan pulled Karim onto his shoulders. And Libby knew that she shouldn’t be afraid that Karim wanted to be with him. Her baby was safe.
But what about her heart?
“The stats on Part Two are great,” Dan said. “But I guess you know that already.”
“I checked briefly thirty minutes ago. You’re a hit, Dan. People want to know everything about you. You should sign with your agent again.”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“No.” She pushed up a smile. “Not until you give me Part Five.”
“Right. Part Five.” Dan pushed up his own smile, joyless like hers. “I’ll brainstorm some ideas later once my mum leaves. Do you still want to say goodbye to her and Malek today?”
“Of course.”
“Their cab to the airport is booked for half two. Shall we head over at two?”
“Sounds great.”
They walked on in silence, questions playing out in Libby’s mind. With Carina and Malek gone, would Dan want to move back to Are Moana? He hadn’t mentioned it yet. There was only one room in the honeymoon bungalow. Only one bed. No doors. It was Couples Without Kids accommodation.
“I got your note,” Dan said. “PS: Apology accepted, although I’d like to know what you’re apologizing for.”
“For the drama of running out on you, of course.” Libby kept her eyes on Karim.
Never again would she leave herself vulnerable to a man and admit her feelings.
“Let’s go home. It’s nearly lunchtime.” She looked back at Dan.
“Afterwards, we can schedule Part Three before we head out to say goodbye to your mom.”
“Or we can talk about last night.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I freaked out about leaving Karim. It’s understandable, considering my lifestyle.”
“But you didn’t answer my question. Stop or carry on? And for what it’s worth, I want to carry on.”
Her heart caught in her throat—but was it joy or fear? Not knowing spiked her irritation.
“A vacation fling is the dream for a man, isn’t it?” she said tightly.
Dan’s jaw flickered. “You make it sound like I’m using you. Is that how you feel?”
“We’re using each other, remember?”
“Using? Not helping?”
“It’s the same difference, isn’t it?” she said. “Come on, keep moving. I need to get Karim out of the sun.”
They walked on, Karim’s singsong chatter the only words between them. Her baby was enjoying the view up there on Dan’s shoulders, but when they reached the road, she told him to get into the stroller. He refused.
“I’m fine to carry him,” Dan said, and Libby kept the lid on those irrational feelings that were itching to escape.
To anyone passing by, they looked like Mom, Dad, and baby. But the reality was that she and Dan were just friends who’d had sex a few times, and her baby would be all hers again the minute her lover stepped on a flight back to the UK.
“What’s wrong, really, Libby? Am I making you unhappy?”
Helpless against the concern in his voice, she shook her head. “I wasn’t prepared to let anyone else into our lives, and yet, here you are, carrying my child like he’s your…like we’re a…a…”
Family.
Good god, she’d almost said the F-word! Part of her wished she had, because surely that was one way to make a guy she’d only known for a month freak out and run. At least she’d know then what he was made of. Or not.
“I’m just hot and tired,” she added quickly. “We’re working together really well, and I don’t want our friendship to suffer just because we decided to fool around. We went off the rails with that. It’s not what we planned.”
“Is that all that’s bothering you about us, Libby?” They reached Tia Rosa’s gate. “The fact that we didn’t plan to sleep together?”
“Yes.” There was no point in revealing all the insecure garbage in her head now. Not until she sifted through it herself.
“Well, things just happen sometimes,” he said, “and this isn’t how I planned my stay in the Cook Islands either.”
“That’s right. You planned your honeymoon here.”
And she shouldn’t forget that.