Because I was falling in love with him.
Chapter 26
Hadley
The last day in the Bahamas felt like borrowed time.
Like the universe had given us a pause button and was politely reminding us it would expire soon.
The villa smelled like sunscreen, ocean salt, and fresh coffee drifting from the open kitchen. Every window was open, curtains lifting lazily with the breeze while waves hummed somewhere just beyond the cliffs.
Laughter echoed faintly from the pool where Malcolm was already being used as a jungle gym by the twins.
I sat at the breakfast island picking through mango slices and toast I wasn’t hungry for, one hand resting on my stomach like it had developed a permanent address there.
Cal surprised me when he leaned over my shoulder, stealing a piece of pineapple straight from my plate.
“I’m taking Malcolm shopping in Nassau,” he said casually, chewing.
“Need anything?”
I glanced up at him. Sunglasses pushed into his messy hair, sleep still clinging to his voice, faded band tee hanging loose on his shoulders. He looked… relaxed. Almost human.
I shook my head. “Just come back in one piece.”
Eli sat perfectly straight, headphones resting around his neck, carefully arranging pineapple chunks into a flawless grid pattern across his plate like he was building architecture instead of breakfast.
“Eli. You wanna come? There’s a music store. They’ve got pedals and cables.”
Eli’s fork paused mid-air. He looked up. “Guitar pedals?”
“Yeah. And maybe some Lego sets if you’re into that.”
Eli stared at him, processing. His eyes flicked briefly toward me, then back to Cal. He ran calculations in his head like he always did when faced with social decisions.
Eli considered for three full seconds. “Okay.”
Cal’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. “Cool. Be ready in twenty.”
They left twenty minutes later, Cal in sunglasses and a faded band tee, Eli with his backpack strapped tightly, headphones now around his ears but not turned on yet, his compromise for new environments.
Malcolm drove.
I stood by the front archway watching the SUV disappear through the iron gates.
The moment it vanished, the villa felt… quieter. Bigger. Emptier.
Eleanor found me on the terrace. She carried two mugs of herbal tea. Sat beside me without asking.
“He took Eli,” she said softly.
“Yeah.”
She handed me a mug. “That’s new.”
I sipped. Chamomile. Warm. “He’s trying.”
She stared at the pool. Water rippling in the breeze. “He was such a happy little boy, you know. Always singing. Always laughing. Even when Richard was strict, Cal would sneak into the music room and play piano until his fingers hurt.”
