One Hot Daddy

She’s that kind of woman. The one whom you wouldn’t mind being marooned with on an island.

“Can you see land over there?” I ask Lexi half an hour later when we come within sight of the small island.

She puts a hand over her eyes to shade her eyes from the sun. “Yes, I see something.”

As we get closer, the outline of the rocks becomes clear. This little island is uninhabited but is the prettiest spot I’ve ever seen. Lexi leaves the helm to get a better look as we approach land.

A long cliff extends across the sand and beyond it is a wild rugged coastline. I slow down the boat and then kill the engine.

“We’ll anchor here,” I tell Lexi.

She sighs. “Perfect.”

I give her a lesson as I anchor the boat. When it’s secure, I lower the dinghy and make sure to carry with me the lunch Park organized. I owe him one. Ten minutes later, we are jetting through the water headed to the secluded beach.

There’s nothing like the wind whipping against your face and water spraying your face. By the time we get to shore, Lexi’s hair is wet and matted to her scalp. She looks ready to be ravished.

Close to the shore, I hop out into the waist-deep water and pull the dinghy up onto the beach.

“Here,” I tell Lexi and offer her a hand.

She kicks off her sandals and gets off the dinghy barefoot.

“Bliss,” she says as her feet sink into the warm sand.

I grab the picnic basket from the dinghy. “Do you want to eat first or explore?”

Lexi claps her hands together. “Who needs food? Explore.”

“Explore it is.” I walk to a small alcove under the cliff and place the basket there. Not that there’s anyone to see it. We’re alone in this part of the world.

I take Lexi’s hand and we walk along the sandy beach as the water laps at our feet every time a wave comes on.

“This is the best date I’ve ever been on,” Lexi says.

“Me too,” I tell her.

“Now you’re cheating,” she says, her tone playful. “I can’t be the only woman you’ve brought out here on a date. I mean, it’s the ultimate foreplay.”

Her words heat my blood. “You are.”

She glances at me and then looks away.

“If I had Luna with me, I’d be content to stay here forever,” Lexi says. After the words are out of her mouth, her hand stiffens.

It’s an odd thing to say. “You’d want to be with Luna but not her mother?” I ask in a playful tone. I don’t want anything to spoil the mood.

She laughs. “Actually, I mean both of them.”

We walk and chat easily. We go all the way to where the cliff meets the water and then turn back.

“Do your parents still live around these parts?” Lexi asks me.

“Yes,” I tell her. Guilt floods me. I really should call them and go and see them sometime.

The anger I held on to no longer burns bright. My parents were not ideal parents. They were an example of how not to raise children. My brother Declan was always the favorite and they openly favored him.

Declan is easy to love, even now. He’s open and friendly. I’m the opposite of him and tend to be reserved until I get to really know someone. Growing up, my mom was impatient that I wasn’t as outgoing as Declan and my father’s way was to pit us against each other.

Luckily that never drove a wedge between us.

“Do you visit often?” Lexi asks.

“No,” I tell her. “We had some differences before I left for Afghanistan and we never really patched things up.”

“Oh, and I thought it was just Vanessa and me who had issues with a parent,” Lexi says.

“What happened to yours?” I feel comfortable to ask since she brought it up.

She laughs softly. “Mom is an adult with teenage tendencies. She was and still is irresponsible. The last time Lexi and I saw her was close to four years ago. She met a man and they took off. Don’t ask me where.”

I’m so shocked I stop walking to listen. “She just took off?”

“Yes,” Lexi says. “It wasn’t the first time that she’d done that. She’s an alcoholic and when she’s on a binge anything can happen.”

Chapter 14

Lexi

The shocked expression hasn’t left Ace’s face even as we arrange our lunch. We spread out a blanket. He thought of everything we’d need for this picnic lunch. I can’t quite believe that this is happening. I’ve always listened to girls talk about romantic dates they’d been on but I’ve never had a romantic boyfriend and never expected to with my track record.

We sit on the blanket and Ace removes a bottle of wine from the basket and a pair of glasses. I help lay out the lunch, but I know that he’s curious about my childhood. I don’t know what made me tell him about my mom. It’s not something I like talking about. It’s a mood dampener for sure.