“We all need one of those from time to time.”Libby snickered.“Go for it.”
She followed him to the gate.
“The moon’s extra pretty tonight,” he said softly.
Libby looked up.The moon was a crystal-like sphere.A ball of fragile glass.
Something tickled her bare shoulder.It was Dan’s arm brushing against hers.She stepped back, unaware she’d been standing so close.
“I… I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” she said.“We’ll come call for you at the Cabins at ten.”
“Cool.”But he didn’t move.Instead, his gaze flickered to the sky and back again, his lips twitching.
“What?”she asked.
“The moon.I can see it in your eyes.”Then he kissed her cheek.“Goodnight, Libby.Thanks again for dinner.”
Her hand shot to the side of her face.
“You’re welcome,” she managed.But he’d already walked out into the silent, moonlit road, his long shadow trailing behind him.
Chapter 17
Earlythenextmorning,Dan woke with the sheet tangled around his legs and his pillow bunched up against the wall.His breath came quick and his heart beat in his throat, but instead of ending up on the floor after dodging the horse in his nightmare, he remained rooted to the mattress by the bright-blue sky streaming through his window.The glowing daylight told him exactly where he was.His pulse steadied, and in a slow, measured exhale, he let his breath—along with the fear, the pain, the memories—go.
Just a dream.It’s not real.Not anymore.
Rubbing his face, he sat up and took another deep breath as he stared at the sky, waiting for the dread to descend like it always did every morning.
But not today.
The sun.The tips of the palm trees he could see through his window.Libby, holding her camera last night and giggling when she’d asked her questions.It all ran through Dan’s mind, keeping the dread at bay enough to allow something that felt like excitement to flow in.
He swung his legs off the bed as best he could, then loosened his neck and shoulders.Indeed, dread had been replaced with an unexpected awareness that he was looking forward to today.Being friends with Libby again had a lot to do with that.These past couple of days without her had been lonely.Now, he had four hours before she and Karim came to call for him.They’d go to the beach, and after lunch, while Karim napped, Libby would shoot their first proper interview.
Part One.His childhood.Life before fame.His early life had been covered many times before, but he suspected Libby’s questions would make it feel like a whole different experience.She’d put a new spin on things; he knew she would.He just didn’t know how.Which should worry him, but it didn’t.He trusted her, and he was prepared to be guided by whatever style she thought would work best—as long as she kept her promise to keep their content an Isabella-free zone.
Any other journalist he’d had worked with in the past would’ve questioned this request.They’d have made a story out of it.But not Libby.Her easy acceptance was just what he’d needed, because when the shit of Issy’s affair hit the fan—and it was only a matter of time before it did—he didn’t want to be on record saying anything about her.Whatever he said would be taken out of context, and he’d either look naïve and stupid for supposedly not knowing about her affair with Hunter or look like a complete liar for covering up the real reason for their breakup.
Either way, his engagement to Isabella was in the past.So what if his heart still ached a little at all his discarded dreams—it wasn’t like he was still in love with her.How could he be, when she’d stopped loving him?When, quite possibly, she’d never been in love with him in the first place.Because if she had been, she wouldn’t have fallen in love with someone else so easily.
Dan dressed, cleaned his teeth, and headed outside to work out in the colonel’s garden, like he’d done every morning for the past three days.Barely 6:30 a.m., and the humidity was already rising.
A cockerel crowed nearby.Somewhere in the bushes, chickens clucked and scratched.The garden was surrounded by unruly ancient forest and palm trees, but right in the middle, there was a lawn.It looked like it had been plucked out of the Home Counties of England.Out of place.Not quite fitting.
Just like him.Plucked out of his old life and dumped into his new one.
Dan rubbed his chest where Libby had poked him yesterday.You’re alive, you idiot.You’re alive.It was time to crack on with the new life.Easy to say; difficult to do.
But as he began to ease his stiff body into his exercise routine, instead of dwelling on his loss, he focused on the plans he’d loosely made for post-retirement.Plans that had been brought a few years forward thanks to his accident, but decent plans, nonetheless.He glimpsed a future filled with training other athletes.Helping them to be the best that they could be.Or coaching them back to recovery after injury.
Dan studied the grass under his bare feet.It was emerald green, lush, and soft.The lawn might look out of place, but it was thriving.
And one day, he’d thrive again, too.
Afterhisworkoutandbreakfast, Dan stood outside the Cabin’s main entrance to wait for Libby and Karim.They were late, not that it mattered, but he headed down the road toward the village anyway to meet them.He heard them a few minutes before he saw them turn the corner.Karim was pushing the stroller at a snail’s pace and objecting with a frustrated squeal every time Libby tried to steer him away from a bush.She looked frazzled, like she’d been striving for patience all morning.Hiding a smile, Dan walked up to them.
“Everything okay, kiddo?”he asked.
