"He is," Leo says. "His family and I have business history. They fucked me over back in Florida…" He inhales through his nose, like the memory still pains him. "But all in all, he's a decent guy."
"Why is he still here?"
"Well, Australis Property Group has an office in Cairns?—"
"That's not the only reason he's here," Rove interjects.
Leo rolls his eyes. "Now is not the time to be getting into the private details of Clayton's love life."
Clayton.
I've had a lot of time on my hands, waiting for this to blow over. I hated myself for not remembering more about the stranger I entrusted Mabel to, but I was running so high on adrenaline, all I cared about in that moment was ensuring her safety.
All I've had to go on these past twenty-seven days was a blurry image of a good-looking man, maybe in his mid-thirties, with windblown dark-blond hair, and brown eyes.
Warm, friendly,trustworthybrown eyes.
That's what I kept telling myself, anyway, praying I didn't hand over the most important person in my life to a sick pervert. Mabel is all I have left of Evie.
"I want to meet him," I say, tearing my gaze from her.
"He leaves for work around seven," Rove informs me with a wry smile. "Walks right by the front office where I believe you'll be on your morning shift. You'll be able to meet him then."
"Bold of you to assume I still want to work for you."
Rove smiles. "Cute of you to think we can't see how much you love working here."
I smile back. Mabel. These guys. This place. In the span of a few short months, I feel more at home here than I ever have in my life.
And tomorrow? Tomorrow I'm going to meet the man who saved Mabel's life.
4
Clayton
I step onto the pier with a spring in my step, which is an easy thing to do when you're greeted by a beautiful morning. It's a life full of beautiful mornings up here. The sun is out, the sky is clear, and the water glitters like a liquid blanket of diamonds.
Hard to believe I've been here for almost a month. I feel a million times better than I did back home on the Gold Coast. Interestingly, not because I'm processing things. Quite the opposite, in fact. I work all day, hit the gym after, grab some takeout on the way back, then sit on the upper deck of my yacht to watch the sunset, binge Netflix once it gets dark, shower, sleep, and repeat.
I admit it's sad and pathetic, but it'smysad and pathetic, and it's exactly what I need right now. I know myself. Once I get bored of this routine,thenI'll take the required next steps to heal my heart and get ready to move on. Who knows, I might even be open to finding love again one day. One day very,veryfar into the future…and definitely after I finish bingingNCIS.
I grin as I pass the front office. That sure was some introduction to Leo and Rove. We're all good now. Leo explained I took a turnoff that only he and the marina staff use, not the main entrance. My GPS directed me down it for some strange reason. When he saw an unknown person stepping out of an unknown car carrying Vaughn's child, who he recognized by her distinctive pink blanket, he assumed the worst.
The four of us—me, him, Rove, and Mabel—now have a weekly dinner every Monday on my yacht. I'm enjoying getting to know them, and I'll take any excuse to spend more time with little Mabel. She might very well be the cutest baby ever. We take turns cooking, and since tonight is my turn, I'll be ordering extra takeout. The first and only time I tried to cook, when I was thirteen and felt like making a steak, I burned down half the kitchen. Lesson learned.
I swing my briefcase into my car and am about to get in when I hear a vaguely familiar voice calling out behind me.
"Clayton!"
I turn around, and my breath hitches. There he is. Mabel's father. Vaughn.
"Hi," I say, watching as he crosses the small lot to reach me. He's about as tall as me, slender but defined, and is wearing a pale-blue polo with a Second Chance Bay Marina logo in the top corner. "You're back?"
"Returned yesterday," he answers.
He gets near enough for me to see the finer details of his face I missed in the chaos of our first encounter. I'm treated to gorgeous olive skin, a sharp, elegant nose, and two deep-blue eyes that look a helluva lot less panicked than the first time we met.
I stick my hand out to shake his, but he bypasses that and engulfs me in a bear hug. "Thank you so much for what you did."
