Chapter 41
Zara always kept some beach gear in the trunk of the Kumquat, which was under the front hood. She didn’t bother to stop by the house and grab a board, though. She didn’t plan to surf, since she couldn’t take a chance on leaving Maureen to her own devices.
They drove to Banyans Beach. Fortunately, the gentle southwest swell wasn’t exciting enough to tempt her.
Maureen had changed into a swimsuit before they left, but Zara ducked behind a clump of dune grasses to change into her bikini.
She spread out the beach blanket on the sand and offered Maureen some sunscreen.
Then, they waited.
A kid came by selling young coconuts. Zara introduced Maureen to the joy of sipping fresh juice from a coconut through a straw.
Maureen spent some time speculating on the cost of the oceanfront condos that lined the beach.
She’d never seen a banyan tree, so she took many photos of the enormous banyan that the beach was named after.
At some point, Maureen waded into the water and nearly got knocked over by a wave.
Odessa appeared and plopped herself onto the blanket to update Zara on her legal case.
Time flowed, carrying them like a wave. Merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream, Zara thought as the sun slid across the sky.
This was her happy place. The fact that she’d brought Maureen here, this uptight, prickly, wary, judgmental woman…
well, that just proved that she really cared about Lincoln.
And then…there he was. She’d placed the blanket at a good vantage point to monitor the spot where they’d hidden the good luck charm, but not close enough for someone to spot them unless they were deliberately searching for them.
From there, she and Maureen were just two babes in bikinis soaking up some sunshine.
She lifted her binoculars, which she always kept in her beach tote in case of whale sightings.
Lincoln stepped barefoot across the sand, limping a bit.
He wore swim trunks that looked like they’d come from a gift shop, and his shirt was open over his bare chest. With his sunglasses and mussed hair, he looked so beautiful to her that tears came to her eyes.
She hadn’t been sure she’d ever see him again. Her theory had been that Lincoln really had only one thing to offer during a negotiation—the trigger chip. That was why she’d parked herself here.
But an equal possibility was that he’d disappear forever.
Now that he was here, she wanted to run to him and leap into his arms and kiss every inch of him.
He’d made a deal, just as Rory had said he would.
Zara understood why. He was trying to protect everyone, including her.
Just as she’d expected, he’d come to Banyans to dig up the good luck charm and hand it over to Tanaka.
She had no idea what exactly they’d negotiated.
According to Rory, Lincoln was an expert negotiator.
But he wasn’t an expert at everything. He’d left out something big, so she was pretty sure she could make him a better offer.
“Come on, Maureen. Let’s go.”
She leaped to her feet and ran across the beach toward Lincoln.