Chapter 39
LIZA
Iclimbed out of the Mercedes S-Class Darek insisted on buying me. He claimed I needed a reliable, safe car to get around town, and since I would be doing school pickups, he wanted a car that had the best safety standards.
We both knew there were other far less expensive cars he could have bought, but he liked to spoil me. And not going to lie, the car was amazing. It was so comfortable. It felt like sitting on a cloud with a steering wheel.
I smoothed down my dress, catching it before the skirt could blow up in a real Marilyn Monroe moment.
I had spent an embarrassing amount of time picking out an outfit.
I finally settled on a light blue dress that was elegant without being too formal.
I felt a flutter of nerves as I looked around the parking lot at the other expensive cars.
The last party I had been to here was that disastrous cocktail party where I crashed into a waiter and drenched poor Mrs. Cavendish with champagne. It hadn’t been my finest moment.
But as I walked toward the entrance, I realized how different everything looked.
The whole place felt transformed. Soft lighting illuminated the pathways, warm wood tones had replaced the stark white everywhere, and lanterns were strung along the dock, casting a gentle glow over the water.
It was less pretentious somehow. More welcoming.
Like an actual place where people would want to gather rather than just a status symbol.
Darek had bought the club from Grant Waverly as part of the settlement agreement, one of many ways Grant was paying for his fraud. And in just a few months, Darek had changed it. He put his style on things and I might have been a little biased, but it was so much better than before.
I was still taking it all in when Darek appeared at the entrance.
He was wearing a blazer and blue shirt with khakis, all of it tailored to perfection.
He looked good. Relaxed, confident, and happy.
That was my man. He was the same Darek from four months ago, but so different.
He looked like a man on top of the world and he was damn happy about it.
He walked toward me with that easy stride, and when he reached me, he offered his hand with a soft smile. “Welcome to our club.”
Those words—our club—melted me completely.
“Our club?” I repeated, taking his hand.
“Well, I own it. But you’re the reason I have it. So yes. Ours.” He pulled me close and kissed me softly.
He led me inside. I stopped in the doorway, overwhelmed by the scene in front of me.
The main room was full of people. His ship builders from the company, the crew from his yacht, members of the club.
But these weren’t the stuffy, pretentious people I remembered from that first party.
Or maybe they were the same people, just in a different atmosphere.
Either way, the whole vibe was warm and celebratory.
“There she is!” someone called out. I recognized Darek’s head of design. “Our favorite whale scientist!”
People turned to look at me, smiling and raising glasses. I felt my face heat with embarrassment and pleasure. Scientists weren’t used to getting recognition and flattery. We were the people with our noses in books or highlighted blue by our computer screens.
“Come on, let’s get you a drink,” Darek said.
As we made our way through the crowd, people kept stopping us. The lawyers were already on what looked like their third round, based on their slightly glassy expressions. They each pulled me into hugs and told me they’d never had a more satisfying case to work on.
Mrs. Cavendish was there too, looking elegant in a silk dress, and she caught my eye and waved me over.
“Ms. Jefferies,” she said warmly. “Or should I call you Dr. Jefferies now?”
“Still working on the dissertation,” I said. “Not a doctor yet.”
“I’m happy to report that my dress from that first party finally came clean. Only took three professional cleanings to get all the champagne out.”
I cringed. “I’m so sorry about that. I promise I will stay far away from you tonight.”
“Don’t be. It was the most entertaining party I’ve attended in years.” She patted my hand. “And look how well things turned out. You’re here, Darek’s happy, Daisie has her family. A little spilled champagne was worth it.”
Everywhere I looked, there were people who had become part of my life over these past few months. I had been so worried I wouldn’t fit in with all the wealthy elite, but most of them were pretty nice. I had gotten to know a few and had actually joined one of their book clubs.
And then I saw Sasha.
She was across the room with Daisie, the two of them arranging what looked like hors d’oeuvres on a serving tray. Daisie was clearly in charge, pointing and directing while Sasha was following her daughter’s instructions with a patience I never would have expected from the woman.
Things had changed between Sasha and the rest of us. She’d been spending time with Daisie. Supervised visits at first, then longer periods as Daisie grew more comfortable. And she’d been true to her word about doing better. She was genuinely trying to build a relationship with her daughter.
It wasn’t perfect. There were still awkward moments, still wounds that needed healing. But it was progress. Real, genuine progress.
As if sensing my gaze, Sasha looked up and saw me. She said something to Daisie, then walked over, and I braced myself even though our interactions had been cordial lately. Not friendly, but we weren’t in a verbal sparring match.
“Liza,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously.
“I just—” She took a breath. “I wanted to thank you. You fought for Darek and Daisie. You saved my family. I almost made a huge mistake, taking Daisie’s father away from her. And you stopped that from happening.”
“Sasha—”
“No, please let me finish. I know I was terrible to you. At the science fair, here at the yacht club that first time. I was jealous and angry and I took it out on you. But you were exactly what they needed. What Daisie needed.” She paused.
“What I needed, actually. Because watching you with Daisie and seeing how you mothered her, it showed me what I should have been doing all along. You were so fierce in your protection over her. It made me want to do better.”
Then she pulled me into a hug, and I was so surprised I just stood there for a second before hugging her back.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For loving them. For being the mother I couldn’t be.”
“You’re being that mother now,” I said quietly. “I see you trying. Daisie sees it too.”
When she pulled back, there were tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to mess this up again.”
“Then don’t. Keep showing up. Keep trying. That’s all any of us can do.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes, then smiled. “Darek’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him too.”
After she walked away, I felt Darek’s hand on my back.
“That looked intense,” he said.
“It was good. She’s really trying, Darek.”
“I know. I’m glad.” He squeezed my waist. “Come on. There’s something I need to do.”
He led me to the center of the room and called for everyone’s attention. The conversations died down, and people turned to look at us.
“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Darek said, his voice carrying across the room. “As most of you know, I recently acquired this yacht club. And I want to start this new chapter by acknowledging something important.”
He looked around at the gathered crowd.
“This place used to be called Waverly Yacht Club. But Grant Waverly is gone. He is no longer part of this community. So it’s time for a new name. A name that represents what this club is going to be going forward.”
I saw people leaning in, curious.
“This club will be a place where we celebrate not just yachts and sailing, but the ocean itself. The creatures that live in it, the beauty of it, the importance of protecting it.” He looked directly at me, and my heart started pounding.
“And I can’t think of a better way to honor that than to name this club after the person who taught me to appreciate all of that. ”
I stared at him, wondering what he was doing.
“From this day forward, this will be known as Whale Watcher’s Yacht Club.”
The room erupted in cheers and applause. People raised their glasses, toasting the new name, and I just stood there in shock.
Darek turned to me and grinned. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s perfect. I love it. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed me, right there in front of everyone, and the applause got louder.
When we pulled apart, people were crowding around us, offering congratulations and asking questions about the rebranding. Daisie pushed through the crowd and threw herself at both of us.
“This is the best party ever!” she announced. “Can we put pictures of whales everywhere?”
“We can definitely put pictures of whales somewhere,” Darek said, laughing.
The party continued around us, people celebrating the new name and the new direction for the club.
While Daisie was safe with Sasha, Darek and I walked out onto the deck that had been completely redone.
There were a few other couples taking advantage of the warm evening air.
I leaned my head against Darek’s shoulder with his arm around me.
“Ever think you’d be here?” he asked in a soft voice.
“No.”
His body moved with his light laugh. “Honest.”
“Did you?”
“Nope.”
We stood there watching the boats in the distance and simply enjoyed the quiet.
We spent a lot of nights like that. We didn’t have to fill the silence with conversation.
I thought ahead to the coming winter. I knew it was going to be cold, but I was actually looking forward to seeing the beach covered with snow.
I had never seen it before. Back in Oregon, it rarely happened.
“Ready to go home?” Darek asked eventually.
“Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Home. Where my clothes hung in Darek’s closet. Where Daisie’s artwork covered the fridge and her whale sounds echoed through the halls.
Home. Where I belonged.
We collected Daisie, who protested leaving even though she could barely keep her eyes open, and drove back to the estate together. We would pick up my car in the morning. Daisie fell asleep about three seconds into the drive.
After Daisie was tucked in bed, we stood in her doorway for a moment, watching her sleep.
“She’s happy,” I said quietly.
“She is. We all are.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles.
We went to bed, our bed, and climbed in. I drifted off to sleep in his arms almost as quickly as Daisie had fallen asleep. I smiled thinking about how far we had come.
From a fake relationship to the beautiful family we were building together.
I couldn’t wait to see what came next.