Water clung to his skin, tracing the broad lines of his shoulders and the defined planes of his chest before sliding down the ridges of his stomach. His back flexed as he stretched the shirt out, the easystrength in his arms unmistakable. Sunlight caught the droplets still clinging to his skin.
My gaze lingered a second too long. Elle followed my line of sight, then looked back at me with a knowing grin. Chuckling, she wagged her finger in the air.Busted.
Under the shade of the big tree, we spread blankets out so everyone could nap for an hour or so. Lucas curled against Caleb, a picture-perfect moment I quietly captured on my phone. I read for a while before exhaustion pulled me under, my glasses still on.
When I woke, my glasses were gone, and Lucas was tucked against my side.
Caleb wasn’t there.
A small flicker of disappointment stirred. Had he left without saying goodbye?
Just as the thought settled in, I spotted him and Karl heading back toward us, coffees in their hands. Caleb dropped down beside me again as the movie flickered to life on the giant white screen.
“Mama,” Lucas whispered in my ear while he munched on a cheesecake bite, “I like Caleb, and I think he likes me, too.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sure he does, honey. Wait here while I talk with Donna for a minute.”
I skipped over to Donna and discreetly handed her the envelope containing the cheque I’d written out in her name.Donna’s tears brought unwanted attention, so I suggested a quick walk around the park to help calm her down.
“I’ll pay you back, I promise.”Donna hugged me and placed the envelope safely in her handbag.“I don’t know what we’d do if you hadn’t been able to help.”
The movie had begun by the time I sat back down next to Caleb, who had Lucas on his lap.
“Mama, it’s E.T., my favourite.”
Karl handed out popcorn, candy, and colas.And most of the children even stayed awake until the end of the film.
It was a perfect way to end the weekend.Perfect because it asked for nothing and promised everything.
22
CALEB
“Hey, you free tonight?” Nyah asked over the phone one afternoon.
It had started in September, when Lucas insisted I come for dinner after work. Since then, the invitations came every so often—me staying for dinner and spending time long after Lucas had been tucked into bed.
When I had learned Lucas was her son, not her boyfriend, a weight lifted from my chest. I still couldn’t understand how I had missed something that big. Then again, she rarely spoke about him. There were no photos of Lucas in her apartment or at the office, and even my father had never mentioned him. It felt like a part of her life had been carefully folded away—and realizing that only made me want to know her more.
After dinner, we often sat talking.“Work is non-stop,” I told her one evening, cutting into the grilled chicken. “I’m using the same strategy there that I used at the hotel.” I glanced at her. “What you suggested—shadowing the staff.”
She listened with genuine interest, smiling in that quiet way she had. Every time she did, I felt oddly proud of myself. Not because Ineeded praise, but because her approval mattered. Somewhere along the way, she had become my benchmark.
The truth was, I enjoyed being with her and Lucas more than anything else in my life.
Going to church with them had felt unfamiliar but comforting. Walking into her old apartment had stirred questions about her past—how much she had endured, how much she still carried quietly. And every answer only seemed to lead to another question.
Although I was now working mostly at headquarters with my siblings, I still found reasons to stop by the hotel. At first, I told myself it was to check on operations. I didn’t fool myself for long.
I went to seeher.
And the more time I spent with Nyah, the more I realized how different she was from anyone I had dated before. Being around her didn’t just make me feel good—it made me feel better about the man I was becoming.
I hadn’t dated seriously in years. My last relationship had ended five years earlier with Caroline, and even that had felt more like a family-approved arrangement than something real. We partied, we spent money, we moved through the same circles—but I had never felt anchored.
With Nyah, it was the opposite. I felt grounded.
The simple knowledge that she was single changed something fundamental inside me. Suddenly, the idea of asking her out—on a real date—felt both thrilling and terrifying.
