“Bollocks.Your kind are only out for themselves.”
“That’s not true.”
“And I bet you had a good laugh when I came out here to the middle of nowhere with you, didn’t you?And just now, leading me on…” Dan clenched his teeth.“A kiss-and-tell story?”
“No!”
“Bullshit.”He waved the notebook in her face.“Nice headlines.”
“They’re—”
“Mamma!”
“Hey, baby.I’m coming.”Libby went to move past him.
He blocked her.“I swear to god, Libby, if you print one word about me or my family, I’ll come down on you like a fucking ton of bricks.”
“Let me pass.Karim wants me.”
“I mean it, Libby.”He blocked her again.“Print one word, and my lawyers will be all over you.”
“Mamma!”
“Move out of my way.”She shoved his chest just as Karim banged on the door, his cries hitting Dan like a fireball.
He backed off, horrified and disgusted that he’d lost control.But fuck, was there really no escape from people who wanted a piece of him?
He had to get away.Far, far away.He stalked past Libby in the hallway.Karim was in her arms, but he was still crying.
“It’s okay, baby.Mommy only went to the bathroom.”Her soft voice shook, seeping into his room as he packed his bag.“It’s all right, sweetie.No harm done.Let’s read Flumpy Monster now.”
When he stepped back out, they were cuddled on the sofa in front of an open book.
“Dan…”
“Stay away from me.”
Then he stalked out into the night.
Chapter 13
Roostersdidn’tonlycrowat dawn.They crowed all the damned night.Libby shifted the blinds in her room, trying to locate the culprit, but all she could see in the darkness were overgrown shrubs and coconut trees, stark against the pale moonlit sky.
At some point in the night, a storm had rolled in, but now the wind and rain had died down, and only the thunder remained, rumbling away in the distance.
Where was Dan?
She hadn’t heard him return.Was he out on a wet, mosquito-infested beach?Good luck to him if he preferred that to sleeping under the same roof as her.
Miserable, short-tempered jerk.
How dare he judge her like that?How dare he upset her child?The way they lived, Karim was used to having her by his side 24/7.Mom guilt punched her in the gut again.That served her right for leaving her baby.For trusting someone else—even for a minute—to watch over him.
And how dare Dan accuse her of leading him on?She’d only fallen on his lap by accident and then had gotten distracted by that look in his eyes.A look she’d clearly mistaken.
Hurt stabbed her.
There was only one reason why Dan would kiss her.He wanted to soothe his ego after his stupid ex had cheated on him.As if she were foolish enough to make out with a man on the rebound—especially while her son played on the floor next to them.What a joke.
