A life she fought to build. A life she wanted.
But he hadn’t.
And here he was, lingering at the edges of her world, unable to look away. Because she was it for him. The one thing real enough to make everything else fade to nothing.
The question gnawed at him: was he selfish enough to reach for that happiness, knowing exactly what it might cost her?
“Treat her with care, mister movie man. If you don’t …”
His attention snapped sideways as Miem moved in beside him.
“You’ll chop me up and feed my body to the sharks,” he quipped, repeating the threat she’d tossed at him that morning they worked in the kitchen.
Her smile tipped toward wicked. “Net so.”
Suzette’s lilting laugh drifted on the breeze, music to his ears. The thought of not hearing that every day tore straight into him, tightening his throat.
“Suzette told me about what happened yesterday,” Miem murmured. “You’ve really complicated her life.”
Guilt settled like a stone in his chest. “I know.” Soft light flickered across Suzette’s face, catching in her hair. Justin shoved his hands into his pockets, fighting the near-overwhelming urge to move and stand beside her — where he wanted to be.“The thing is … she’s important to me.”
He made a snap decision. Maybe it was time to try and turn the enemy into an ally. After all, the woman beside him had invited him to the Christmas dinner tonight. And if anyone knew Suzette — her heart, her fears — it was Miem.
“Tell me something, Miem,” he said quietly. “Am I being selfish?”
“That depends on your intentions,” she said, her tone cool but not unkind. “So tell me — what exactly are your intentions, mister movie man?”
To make her mine.
That was his first raw, instinctive thought.
But it went deeper than that. Much deeper.
“To make her happy,” he said at last. “To love her like she deserves. Protect her.” He exhaled, the sound more sigh than breath. “And if I need to walk away for that to happen, I will.”
Miem held his gaze for a long moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. “That’s a good answer,” she said, her tone still edged with caution. “I just hope you don’t break her heart.”
Me too, Miem. Me too.
He gave a small smile. “Does that mean I have your blessing?”
Miem snorted, the sound somewhere between amusement and disbelief. “Blessing? Don’t get ahead of yourself, mister movie man. Let’s just say I’m not sharpening my knives.Yet.”
Even after Miem left, Justin remained in the shadows, watching the woman who’d slipped into his life and stolen his heart, indecision warring in his mind.
A gentle sea breeze drifted through the boma, carrying the notes of a live acoustic trio — soft jazz mingling with the steady rhythm of the waves. Attentive staff poured chilled sparkling wine and offered guests delicate seared abalone canapés crowned with a whisper of lemon foam.
Suzette moved with effortless grace among her guests, pausing to chat for a few minutes, removing an empty plate here, topping up a flute there, giving quiet instructions to the hovering waitstaff.
A smile. A laugh. A light touch on a guest’s shoulder.
He watched, enthralled. She was right — she belonged here.
Then, suddenly, she was gone. One moment she stood near the firelight; the next, she’d vanished into the movement of the crowd. A flicker of unease tightened his chest before logic intervened.She’s working. Probably popped into the kitchen.
One minute stretched into two. Then three. Five. Still no sign of her. The unease sharpened, blooming into panic. He reached for his phone, ready to check in with his security—
A light touch on his back made him spin around.
