Page 57 of Late Nights & Love Lines
To my right, Seren is sitting on a large piece of driftwood with three other girls who don’t appear to be troublemakers. If I turn my head slightly, I can see Rowan at a table on the other side of the dance floor surrounded by women. They’ve commandeered her for hours, and if her body language didn’t suggest that shewas actually enjoying herself, I would have stolen her away a long time ago.
Rowan throws her head back, and her laughter barely touches my ears, but it covers me from head to toe as if she’s my missing piece. She’s mesmerizing. The way her throat works when she swallows. How her hair blows wild and free as if it’s a symbol of the personality she’s adopted. Her eyes crinkle when she smiles, and I swear I can see them sparkle from here as if she’s a real-life toothpaste commercial.
“Daddy?” I roll my head to the side to find Seren peering down at me. I guess my time observing my girls hasn’t been split evenly after all. She stands there with the girls she’s befriended but appears nervous.
“Hey, sweet pea. What’s up?”
I scan each of the girls, and they offer a polite wave. Then each of them steps forward and introduces themselves, referring to me as “sir.”
Welcome to the South, I guess. That never would have happened with her old friends in Boston.
“Um, the girls invited me to the beach tomorrow. Marlo’s mom will be with us,” Seren adds quickly. She really wants me to say yes. The silent plea shines in her eyes and shows when she picks at her fingernail.
I’d give anything to say yes, but I haven’t even met Marlo’s mom yet.
“Marlo’s mom, Jenny, grew up here,” Beck calls across the table. “They’re a good family. They all come from good families.”
He’s vouching for them, for Seren.
I nod in thanks and focus on Seren again. The excitement in her pretty green eyes gives me hope that this was the right move for us all.
“Both Rowan and I will need Jenny’s phone number.”
“Yes, sir,” the three new friends say in unison. A little of the weight that’s been sitting on my chest for months dissipates.
“Okay, then. You can go.”
Seren wraps her hands around my neck and hugs me tight. I blink away the wetness that belies my relief. My little girl is still in there buried under all the hurt.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“Love you too,” she whispers back. “Can I show the girls my new room?”
Emotion dances behind my eyes each time a piece of her old self resurfaces.
“Of course. Kade’s sleeping, and maybe Pappy too, so you’ll need to keep it down.”
She grins, and I stare after them as they run toward the house.
“They really do come from great families. I wouldn’t bullshit over safety,” Beck says, pointing his beer at me.
“I appreciate it.”
The firelight is blocked by what I can only assume is a body. Rolling my head along the back of the Adirondack chair, I find Alexei staring down at Miles with a lazy grin. For a man dead set on not having kids of his own, he certainly loves mine.
How long will he continue to lie to himself?
“Why don’t I carry him to bed,” Alexei suggests. “I’m heading that way already. I’m going to walk Maria back to camp.”
It takes a moment for the name to register. Right, Maria DeLuca, the new camp director.
Oh shit! Maria DeLuca, the new camp director. That’s a terrible idea.
“Alexei,” I warn.
He rolls his shoulders, then folds at his hips to take Miles from my lap. “I’m walking her home, Seb. Relax. I’ll put him in bed, and you can finally ask a certain nanny to dance.”
My gaze immediately jumps to Rowan’s last known location, and there she is. Staring at me with an easy smile that’s either from the cocktail the women handed her as soon as she sat down. Or maybe it’s something else, something more rewarding—something like peace.
