Libby hooted and poked him with her foot.“Good one, Cranky.”Then she looked around.“There’s no shade here.You want to go for a you-know-what while you-know-who hopefully has a you-know-what?”
Go for a swim while Karim napped.Amazed that he’d understood everything she’d just said, Dan sat up.“I’d love to.”He got to his feet and steadied himself.There was something else he’d also love to do.“Can I move back in with you?”
Libby gawped at him.“You want to be roomies again?”
“If you don’t mind,” he said.“We’ll be working together every night, and I can help out with Karim.I can cook, clean.Wash clothes.Do anything that allows you to work without you having to stay up all night again.”
“I… You…” She put Karim down so he could run off and play.“I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re stuck for words?Wow, I never thought I’d see the day.”Dan let out a little laugh at Libby’s shocked look.Then she blinked and darted to Karim to stop him climbing into the bushes.
“What about when we return to Rarotonga?”she asked, lifting her child back onto the grass.“You want to share Tia Rosa’s hut with me again, too?”
“If that’s okay?”He hadn’t even thought to look for another room yet, and his bungalow atAre Moanawouldn’t be free until his mum and Malek returned home, two days after Christmas.He’d just assumed he’d be with Libby.After all, she’d been a presence in his life since he’d come to the Cooks, and they were friends again now, which made him very glad.“So, what do you say?”
Chapter 18
Libbyglanceduptheroad.Karim had found a stick and was drawing swirls along the dirt track.The same dirt track they’d been on for nearly an hour, even though they were barely two hundred feet closer to the beach.She could still see the Cabins.
“This is a dog,” Dan was saying.He’d found his own stick and, much to Karim’s delight, had been drawing animals in the dirt.
Obviously, her answer to his moving in again had been a big, fatyes!
Having Dan as a roommate made financial and logistical sense, especially as they’d be working together now.She didn’t quite know what to make of their renewed friendship.Being friends with him was like being on a roller coaster.Full of ups and downs and swirls in her stomach.But she didn’t mind the swirls one bit.They were exciting.Adrenaline pumping.Their work together would really give her channel a massive boost.Ads and sponsorship money would be coming in, and she’d also have some adult company.She liked being friends with Dan and pushed the ugly argument they’d had the other night out of her mind.She’d understood his anger.His vulnerability.And she’d work hard for him in return so that he wasn’t hounded by those reporters who’d so clearly made him miserable.
And if he was serious about doing the cooking and household chores while she worked, then hell yeah, she’d be a fool to turn down his offer.
“We have lots of work to do,” she’d told him earlier.“Don’t think you’ll be slacking off after you’ve done the dishes and I’ve put Karim to bed.”
He’d saluted her.“No, ma’am.”
His silly attempt to sound American had made her giggle.“Let’s go, soldier.We’ve got work to do.”
Although they hadn’t actually expected to start on that work yet.Not while her baby was awake.
Shuffling up the ground now, Karim scrubbed out Dan’s animal etchings with his feet.
“All dirty,” he said, looking at his dusty legs.
“Let’s go for a swim then, honey.That’ll wash it off.”She edged the stroller toward him.But of course, he wanted to push it, although at least they were now heading in the right direction.“He’ll wear himself out eventually,” she side-whispered to Dan.“As soon as he naps, I’ll get my camera out.”
Half an hour later, they were on the tarmacked road that led to the harbor.
In between playing with Karim, Libby went through a social media plan with Dan.He approved of most of what she was saying but was cagey about anything to do with his future, which would make up the bulk of the content for Part Five.
“I’m not ready for that yet,” he said.
Suspecting that he still didn’t know what he’d be doing when he returned to England—and respecting that he was still coming to terms with the injuries that had abruptly ended his career—Libby let the subject drop.
A little farther along, Dan pointed to the side of the road, among the mossy rocks that lined the edge of the forest.“Hey, look, it’s a land crab.And there’s another one.”
“Oh, look, honey.Can you see?”
As their eyes settled on the craggy undergrowth, they pointed out more land crabs, perfectly camouflaged—until they moved.
And with Karim trying to pick one up, they were moving quite a bit.
“Hold it, crab,” he kept saying.“Crab.”
