Page 108 of Fake it With Me

“I know. It’s from Daddy. He made it. He just thought I should give it to you because I’m cuter and you might not throw it away if I’m the one giving it to you.”

Despite everything, I felt a smile tug at my lips. “Your dad made this?”

She nodded and scrunched up her little nose. “He’s not very good at crafts. But he tried really hard.”

I looked at the card more closely. The whale shape was lopsided and the glitter was a hot mess. For a billionaire who built luxury yachts, it was impressively terrible.

And somehow, that made it perfect.

Darek had reached us now, standing a few feet away, his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked nervous. Uncertain. Nothing like the confident man I first met in that coffee shop.

“Did you read the card?” he asked quietly.

I opened it carefully, mindful of the glitter situation. Inside, in Darek’s strong handwriting, it said: I’m sorry I was being a little krill-joy. Whale you forgive me?

I stared at it, feeling tears prick at my eyes. It was terrible. The puns were awful. The whole thing was ridiculous.

And it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

“Liza?” Darek took a step closer. “I know a card isn’t enough. I know I hurt you. I didn’t trust you. I pushed you away when you were trying to tell me the truth. But I’m hoping—I’m asking—if you’ll give me a chance to apologize properly. To explain.”

I wanted to say yes. But the hurt from that morning in the boathouse was still raw.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “That was really hard, Darek. What you said. The way you looked at me like I was some hired help you were dismissing.”

“Daddy cries at night,” Daisie announced, clearly tired of the grown-ups talking. “I hear him sometimes.”

“Daisie,” Darek said, his face flushing. “That was supposed to be a secret.”

“But it’s true! You do cry! And you’re sad all the time and you don’t eat your food either and you keep looking at Liza’s room.”

“Okay, okay.” Darek put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “You’ve made your point.”

The image of Darek crying at night broke my heart. Knowing he had been just as miserable as I had been.

“Please,” he said. “Please just come back to the house with us. Let me apologize properly. Let me tell you what I should have told you a week ago. And if after that you want to leave again, if you want nothing to do with me, I’ll accept that. But please give me a chance to make this right.”

I looked at him and saw the dark circles under his eyes. He looked rough. And while that made me sad, it also gave me some satisfaction to know he had been suffering a little.

I looked at Daisie, still holding on to my hand.

I had missed them so much. Both of them. This past week had been the longest of my life, and every day I wondered if I made a mistake by leaving. I kept telling myself I should have fought harder. Clapped my hand over his mouth and made him listen to me.

“Okay,” I heard myself say. “Let’s talk.”

Daisie cheered and hugged me again, and over her head, I saw Darek’s face transform with relief.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

“I haven’t forgiven you yet,” I warned. “We’re just talking.”

“I know. That’s more than I deserve.”

We walked back toward my cabin, Daisie between us, holding both our hands. She chattered the whole way, telling me about everything I had missed in the past week.

Normal kid stuff. The kind of everyday moments I had been missing.

When we got to the cabin, Daisie ran ahead to explore, pushing open the door and looking around with wide eyes.