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At some point after lunch of cheese, biscuits, and hastily made cucumber sandwiches, Ayla disappeared into the house and appeared in a bathing suit. She begged and begged until Neri changed too and opened the childproof lock on the fence around the pool.
I stood on the sparkly pavers while Ayla dove as deep as she could before shooting for the surface. My heart overflowed as Neri asked me to do something that’d been a nightly ritual for us.
Almost shyly, she’d passed me her old stopwatch and I’d timed her breath hold, giving her a kiss that’d turned into something definitely not suitable for children when she popped up four and a half minutes later.
The metal of my leg glinted in the setting sun, obvious thanks to the pair of shorts I wore, and Jack pulled me aside to check, man to man, how I was doing. The tears in his eyes spoke of guilt and pity, but I had nothing to blame on him, and I definitely didn’t need his pity.
I was the happiest man alive.
I could walk, run, jump, and love.
I hadn’t swum yet, but I’d already had a blade fashioned to fit the socket of my leg by my doctor in Turkey. There were multiple attachments—a fin to swim with, a blade to run on, even one made of high-grade silicone that looked exactly like my own leg—airbrushed and haired to be as natural as possible.
Funny that that didn’t interest me.
I wasn’t trying to hide that I was now an amputee. I’d hidden all my life as a refugee, and I was strangely proud of my carbon replacement. It represented everything I’d overcome and proved that I was virtually unkillable.
By the time we’d all tucked into a reminiscent dinner from Nemo’s and I’d devoured a fish burger and salty fries, Jack and Anna vanished into the bathroom to bathe Ayla, and Teddy, Eddie, and Neri guided me down the road to the beach.
The waves welcomed me back with their ever-constant song and the sun slowly went to bed while the stars slowly woke up. Teddy toasted me with the beers he’d brought for all of us and leaned over to bear hug Neri. “Best. Day. Ever.”
She chuckled and gave me a soft smile from his arms. “Best day ever.”
Eddie raised his bottle to the silver half-moon. “To dreams that do come true.”
We all toasted.
Teddy finally sighed and pulled away from Neri. “So, I...I have a confession to make. I didn’t want to say anything with Aslan’s return, but...now is as good a time as any.” He grinned my way. “Goes without saying that you’re welcome to move in with us, mate. It’s a full house, but Neri is part of our family, so is Ayla. It would mean the world to me and Eddie if you stayed...if only for a little while. We need time to adjust to the idea of no longer sharing our life with our two favourite girls.”
Eddie looked away, trying to hide his sudden sniff, doing his best to camouflage how deep his grief went at me taking Neri and Ayla away.
Fuck, I hadn’t even thought about that.
Neri had found salvation with them.
They’d helped keep my wife alive and my daughter happy. I owed them the biggest debt of gratitude. What right did I have to swoop in and steal them?
The part of me so used to having no money and no ability to put down roots flared. I wanted to do something for them, but what—
You know what.
I stiffened.
I was a Kara now.
I was obscenely fucking wealthy—
“What is it you wanted to tell us?” Neri asked quietly, cutting off my thoughts.
“Ah, yes, well.” Teddy shrugged. “I applied for a job opening at a local architect firm in Brisbane. I can work remotely, so I don’t have to move down there, but...I was offered the job, and I’m gonna take it.”
“Oh.” Neri’s face plummeted.
Eddie flinched. “But what about Lunamare? We’re so close.”
“We’re bankrupt,” Teddy muttered, taking a swig of his beer. “We have all the theory done, but we have no way of building it. Not past leaky prototypes anyway. We don’t even have the money to get planning permission to build on the reef that Jack and Anna have been planting out for us.”
“I understand,” Neri said. “I can’t expect you to work for nothing. We all need money to survive. Bills don’t stop just because we’re trying to change the world on a shoestring.”
“It’s only temporary.” Teddy dug his bare feet into the sand. “I promise. I’ll only work there until we can get another investment injection.”
“I have two podcasts next week.” Neri grinned, optimistic and bright-eyed. “I’m sure the more we get the name and our mission out there, the more people will be intrigued enough to—”
“I’ll invest,” I said, taking a sip of ice-cold beer.
