“It’s a good deal,” I say.
“More than what the bastard deserves. He tormented me, terrorized me, and he gets rewarded for his behavior. It isn’t fair, not by a long shot. We could tear this up, and the three of us move somewhere warm like Hawaii or the Caribbean. Can’t you work from anywhere? Or we could buy a hotel in one of those exotic destinations and run it ourselves.”
A smile grazes my features. “Amelia is in school, and as delightful as that thought is, I don’t want to chance that this crazy ex-husband of yours chases us around the world.”
“And what about if we move?” Clare asks.
“We can’t forbid him from living where he wants, as long as he’s nowhere near us. If we move, we’ll look into his whereabouts. If he follows us, we’ll fight it, and believe me, I have the best lawyers on staff.”
She squeezes my hand and pulls me against her in a tight embrace. “Thank you.”
I run my hand over her back in soft, soothing circles. “I’d do anything for you. I hope you know that.”
“I do,” she says with a nervous laugh.
“What?” I ask, curious what has her cheeks red.
“I just said I do.” She smiles and pinches her eyes shut. She looks like Amelia, young, carefree, without a concern in the world. I know we have a long, winding road ahead of us, but with Clare, I trust that she won’t break my heart, and I know I’ll never shatter hers.
EPILOGUE
Clare
One Year Later
“Daddy, can I swim with the dolphins?” Amelia asks as we’re camped out on the beach in Hawaii.
The sky is bright and sunny, the air warm but not enough to demand I sink my feet into the water yet. I lounge in a beach chair, a book in my hands, but my attention isn’t on the novel.
I can’t stop staring at Levi.
He stands. His wet swim trunks cling to his body and water drips down his legs. He’s got a tan from the first two weeks of our epic vacation, and we have another two weeks together planned to island hop from Hawaii to Kauai, where it’s more remote and less busy.
I’m not sure how Amelia will do with that, but Levi insists he’s planned hikes and beach days for us.
“Let’s go!” Levi grabs Amelia and lifts her into the air above his head like she’s Supergirl as he playfully runs towards the ocean.
“Don’t let go!” she squeals as the first waves break on his legs.
“Be careful!” I shout from my beach chair. If he drops her, there will be too many tears. She’s not afraid of the water, and I’d hate for that to change.
Levi brings Amelia down to the water level, and she shrieks and giggles, probably from the temperature change. While the water isn’t icy cold, it still takes a few seconds to get used to. It’s not bathwater.
A few months before our trip, Levi signed Amelia up for swim lessons. She’d already had basic lessons in the past; she could tread water, but she wasn’t comfortable getting her face wet. It gave the instructor a good starting point.
Now, the girl wants to swim with dolphins. I glance at my book and realize I’m not going to get another word in while the two of them are swimming in the Pacific.
Standing, I remove my sunglasses and abandon them on the beach chair with my book, while I head down to the water.
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started working as Amelia’s nanny. She’s grown a lot, barely recognizable as she’s come into her own self.
We’ve all changed.
And there have been changes all around us.
Connor got axed from running the Luxenberg. He still works for the company; Levi insists that if he’s getting a paycheck, he’s making him work. Instead, Connor is in the office, working under Levi and handling hotel chain orders for guest products like shampoos, conditioners, soaps. It’s not nearly as luxurious as it sounds.
“Clare Bear!” Amelia shouts and waves to me as she sees me coming down to join them. I hurry into the water, diving between the waves, letting the droplets soak me to get used to the chill.