Chapter Ten
Amiya
“S tep back. And remember, keep your eyes on the ball,” Lennon calls.
Leia nods, and he pulls back and gently throws the football high into the air.
I watch as her little legs jog backward, but her eyes follow the arc of the Nerf football as it sails in her direction. Her face is toward the sky, and her tiny arms are stretched wide as she waits for the spiraling ball to make it to her.
Our day in Raleigh was a success. Avie’s fitting went well. The four of us burst into tears when she walked into the room. The alterations made the gown look as if it had been made just for her. Naomie ordered custom Christian Louboutin heels made using some of the spare lace from the Elie Saab gown, and once Avie tried the heels on with the gown, only a tad bit of the length needed to be removed.
Afterward, we had a great lunch at Croquette Brasserie. It was the most carefree I’d seen Avie since arriving on the island, so when I received a text from Sebastian, asking if I would mind helping Lennon look after Leia tonight so he could surprise Avie with a romantic evening, I was completely on board.
Sabel dropped me off at the cabana about ten minutes ago, and I followed the sound of Leia’s laughter, taking a seat on the deck to watch them playing on the beach.
The sun reflects in her hair, and her expression is full of anticipation as the ball coasts toward her.
It bounces against her shoulder, and she clumsily attempts to wrap her arms around it. It teeters, and she fights to cradle it against her chest.
She did it.
I stand and begin to whistle and cheer as Leia stares down at the bright red foam like she can’t believe she held on to it.
Her mouth drops open, and she starts to dance up and down in the sand.
“I did it, Uncle Lennon. I caught the ball!” she screams in excitement.
“You sure did. Good job, munchkin,” he praises as he runs to her.
Damn, he’s beautiful. All cut and toned and tanned and perfect.
As if he can hear me, he turns, and when his eyes meet mine, he grins. His stare is intense as he scoops Leia up, deposits her on his shoulders, and begins walking in my direction.
Leia’s bubbly, high-spirited laughter is infectious. Her joy at being perched atop her uncle’s hulking shoulders is contagious, and the sound causes my heart to lurch.
Treacherous heart .
“Hey, Legs. How was your day?”
“It was good. How about yours?” I ask.
“We got kites—mine was a pink butterfly and Uncle Lennon’s was a bumblebee—but I let go, and mine flew out to the ocean,” Leia answers for him.
“Oh no.”
“It’s okay. Uncle Lennon let me have his.”
“That was very nice of him,” I say.
“Yeah, he’s so nice. We got ice cream and candy, and he taught me how to play football.”
My eyes fall on Lennon, who is grinning.
“We weren’t supposed to tell anyone about the ice cream,” he mutters up to her from the corner of his mouth.
“Oh, right,” she whispers, covering her mouth as she giggles.
“We were just going for a swim. Why don’t you throw on a bathing suit and join us?” Lennon invites.
I look out at the water and back at him. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there.”
I run inside and dig through my suitcase until I find the new red bikini. I tear the tags off and slip it on, grab one of the beach towels from the linen closet, and head out to find them.
The sun is starting its slow descent, casting a warm golden glow over the ocean. I sit on my towel, my toes buried in the cool sand, as I watch Lennon and Leia play in the water. The waves lap calmly at the shore, their rhythm soothing and constant, a background melody to their muffled chatter that floats through the air.
It’s obvious that Lennon is in his element, knee-deep in the ocean, a broad grin stretching across his face. His dark hair is tousled by the sea breeze and glistening with salt water. There’s a youthful exuberance to him. He doesn’t seem like an uptight soldier—I mean, sailor—at the moment. Right now, he looks no older than Leia, who is splashing beside him, her giggles infectious, and I can imagine this is what he and Sebastian looked like as kids.
“Come on, Uncle Lennon!” Leia shouts, her voice rising above the sound of the waves. “Let’s see who can jump the highest!”
Lennon obliges without hesitation. He bends his knees, lowering himself in preparation, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he looks at her. She mirrors his stance, her little body trembling with excitement. On the count of three, they both leap into the air, water spraying in all directions as they land back in the surf with a loud splash.
Leia’s laughter echoes across the beach, a pure, unfiltered sound that makes my heart swell.
There’s something magical about the way children experience joy—completely and without reservation. It’s a kind of happiness that’s rare in adulthood because we’re all so weighed down with worries and responsibilities and we forget how to savor simple pleasures.
Lennon picks Leia up and spins her around, and her shrieks of delight are carried by the wind. He sets her down gently, her feet sinking into the wet sand, and she immediately runs back into the water, her arms flailing as she tries to catch a particularly large wave.
I jump to my feet when I see her falter for a split second as the wave crashes against her small frame, but Lennon is there in an instant, steadying her with a reassuring hand on her back.
“Are you okay, munchkin?” he asks, crouching down to her level, concern etched across his face.
Leia looks up at him, her face serious for a moment before her mouth breaks into a wide grin. “I’m okay, Uncle Lennon! The wave was just really big!”
Relief washes over him, and he ruffles her wet hair. “You’re a brave girl, aren’t you?”
Leia puffs out her chest proudly, nodding.
I can’t help but chuckle at that. The confidence of a five-year-old.
A seagull cries overhead, drawing my attention to the horizon, where the sky is beginning to fill with shades of pink and orange. I can feel the day slowly slipping away.
“Are you just going to sit there all evening, Legs, or are you going to join us?” Lennon calls out.
I laugh, shaking my head. “Someone has to keep an eye on you two. Who knows what kind of trouble you’ll get into?”
Leia pipes up before Lennon can respond, her eyes wide, “We won’t get in any trouble. Come swim with us.”
“Maybe next time,” I say. “I’m enjoying watching you and Uncle Lennon have fun. Besides, I think it’s time for you two to come dry off so we can go inside and make dinner.”
Leia pouts for a second, but then Lennon whispers something in her ear, and her expression brightens.
Whatever he said must have been funny because she starts snickering, covering her mouth with her hands, as if she’s trying to hold it in.
“What did you tell her?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
Lennon grins, a roguish glint in his eyes. Two seconds later, the two of them are racing up the beach toward me, and before I can defend myself, Lennon scoops me off the towel.
I screech as he tosses me over his shoulder and sprints back toward the shore with Leia on our heels.
“Don’t you dare!” I scream right before I’m sailing through the air and into a wave.
I kick my way back to the surface, sputtering as I blink the salty water from my eyes.
“Oh, you two are going to pay for that,” I cry and lunge toward Lennon.
He catches me with one arm as I wrap both of mine around his shoulders and try to pull him under the surf. Leia launches herself at his legs and starts to tug.
“Are you turning on me, munchkin?” he cries as he loses his balance and starts to topple.
Both of us land on his chest as his back hits the wet sand.
“We got you!” Leia bellows as she buries her face in his neck.
His arm that’s wrapped around my lower back tightens for an instant before it drops to his side. “No fair. You guys ganged up on me.”
“’Cause we’re girls and we have to stick together, right, Auntie Miya?”
“That’s right, kiddo. Now, let’s dry off so we can make dinner.”
I take a moment to appreciate the hard planes of his chest beneath my fingers and bask in the feel of his warmth before I scurry to my feet and take Leia’s hand to help her up. Then, we head to the towels while Lennon takes a final dip to wash the sand off his back. Leia lets out a yawn as I rub her down. The exhausting effects of a day in the sun are sinking in.
Lennon joins us and rubs a towel over his wet hair before settling in beside us, and we spend the last few minutes of daylight lying on our backs, pointing out characters in the clouds.