“It’s great that you’re still friends.”Libby tucked a strand of purple hair behind her ear.“So…um…would you like to have lunch with us?”
“I—what?”
“It’ll be nothing fancy,” she said.“Just a few items from the grocery store that we’ll eat on the beach.”
Where was all the curiosity?The questions?The sympathy?
He scratched his head.“Uh, yeah, okay.A picnic sounds great, but how about I buy you and Karim lunch instead?”
“Oh, well, um—”
“Please.Let’s call it an apology—and a thank-you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Her eyes crinkled as she studied him, and then the corners of her full lips curled into a knowing smile.“Okay, Cranky.You’re on.We’ll eat our picnic for supper.Let’s go get dried off before the bomb goes off.”
“The bomb?”
She nodded to her child.“You think surviving a life-threatening accident makes you a tough guy?Nuh-uh.Come back when you’ve experienced a hungry toddler tantrum, then we’ll talk.”
And with that, she bobbed toward the shore, making siren noises as she pulled her son in the water behind her.
The unusual tug of a grin spread across Dan’s face.Huh.So much for expecting to field a load of questions.Clearly, living under the spotlight all these years had warped his brain, and he’d spent far too much time up his own arse.Libby didn’t give two hoots about his accident, nor his broken engagement to the UK’s hottest popstar.
Why the hell would she?
She wasn’t one of those bloodhounds, grilling him for headlines.She was just a mom traveling with her son.
Stillgoodfriends?Wecare deeply about each other?
In Libby’s world, sleeping with a man while being engaged to another didn’t sound like “caring deeply,” but she’d let Cranky’s well-rehearsed bullshit slide.How could she ever poke at his bruise anyway after seeing him so broken and upset the other night?
“I loved you, Issy.I’ll always love you.”
Libby’s heart twanged for the poor sucker.But would his love for Isabella ever turn to anger and hatred, like hers had for Elliot?Or would he stand by whatever crap his publicity team churned out and act like they were still “good friends” until all the hurt went away?
“So, what looks good to eat?”Libby asked brightly as Dan perused the menu.They were seated at a table on the sand, under a straw canopy at a beach hut café they’d found not far from where they’d swam.Karim was playing at her feet with his toy cars.“If you insist on buying,” she added, “we’ll have the most expensive dish they have.”
Dan scanned the menu again.“That’ll be the yellowfin tuna steak.”
Libby bit back a smile.When he finally looked up, she was treated to an easy smile.
“Right, you were joking,” he said.“But the tuna does sound good if you want to try it.”
“Another time, thank you.We’ll have the salad, some fries, a slice of banana bread, and a banana milkshake.”
“Great.I’ll go and order.”As he stood, his knee knocked the table leg.The corners of his eyes creased, and his breath hitched.Anyone else, and Libby would’ve asked if they were okay, but it was clear by the way he held his pain so discreetly together that he’d hate any attention to his injuries.She looked away, but as soon as he’d walked past her on his way to the counter, she turned back.He wasn’t limping as bad as the other night.The long sleep and the warm lagoon water had obviously helped, but his movements were far from fluid.A stark contrast to the elite athlete he’d once been, shooting down a 100-meter straight.
When Cranky returned, his breath hitched again as he sat.Libby kept her eyes on Karim, who’d been playing quietly for a lot longer than she’d ever imagined he was capable of.
“Our order will take fifteen minutes.That okay for the bomb?”
“Perfect, thank you.”As she gazed at the turquoise sea and the golden sandy beach, she let out a happy sigh.“Isn’t this just so beautiful?”
“It’s unreal.”Dan cast his sad eyes toward the horizon.“I’ve wanted to come here my whole life.My parents traveled here before they were married, and since my father… Well, he died when I was thirteen, so I guess we’ve always considered the Cook Islands to be a special place.See that little island in the lagoon out there?”
Libby turned to where he pointed.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the island in the picture still hanging in my mum’s kitchen.”
