“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Of course it was. I was always misbehaving. If I hadn’t taken him where I shouldn’t, it would never have happened. Oh, I know it was an accident, but accidents usually have a reason. Look at that stupid woman—taking her daughter out on a boat when neither of them could swim.”
“You were a kid.”
“I know. Don’t worry, I’ve come to terms with it. But back then, it was like the end of the world. Mom was the worst. I’d see her staring at me and know she wished it were me who was dead. In the end, she couldn’t stand the memories, and she left us.”
“Bitch.”
“And my dad withdrew inside himself. Most of the time, I think he forgot I even existed. I went off the rails a little. He’d sort of look right through me, and I just wanted him to see me.” She shrugged. “So I…misbehaved.”
“And ended up in the army.”
“Yeah, and right from the start I loved it. I loved the order and the discipline.” She grinned. “And the three meals a day.”
She was breaking his heart, and he hadn’t even known he had one or that it was so fragile.
“The army’s my home,” she said. “Where I belong. The first place I felt like I belonged since Sam died.”
He wanted to argue with her, tell her it might be the first but it didn’t have to be the last, but he knew right now wasn’t the time. He needed to get his head sorted, come to terms with the thoughts and feelings coursing through him. He was scared. And it wasn’t something he was used to.
What if he let her down?
One more person who claimed to care for her and then never came through. He was hardly a good bet.
“Do you keep in touch?”
“With my parents? No, not really. I send Dad a card at Christmas, but I’ve never gotten one from him. Once or twice, I’ve thought about going to see him, but something always holds me back. One day, maybe. Perhaps it will be good for both of us.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s good for him. He let you down. They both did.” He got to his feet and held out a hand to her. He wanted to take her home, where he could hold her, kiss away the pain, tell her he would be there for her whatever happened between them. He could do that much.
She put her hand in his, and he drew her to her feet, and then nodded to Gary, who was sitting a few feet away.
“I just need to use the bathroom,” Dani said and disappeared into the café.
Gary wandered over. “She okay? You looked sort of serious over here.”
“I don’t know.”
“You like her, don’t you?”
Zach nodded absently, his gaze straying to the restaurant where Dani would appear.
“I mean more than all those other women you’ve had?”
Gary clearly had something he wanted to say and Zach turned to face him. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah. Look, maybe I was wrong. I wasn’t happy about you and her. I thought she’d get hurt.”
“You care about her, that’s all.”
“We all do. There’s something…” Gary rubbed the back of his neck and gazed after where she had disappeared. “Anyway, I wanted to say that maybe you’re good for her after all.”
“Thanks. I think.”
Gary’s phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket and listened for a moment. He glanced across at Zach, then held out the phone. “It’s Simon. Apparently you have guests at the gate waiting to get in.”
He didn’t want guests. “Who is it?”
“He says he’s your agent and a few friends by the look of it.”
“Shit.”
“Should I tell them to go away?”
He wished he could. But Julian was a friend as well as his agent, and he’d come a long way. Maybe he’d come to cheer Zach up. They hadn’t been in contact for a couple of weeks—since before Jake’s wedding in fact, but he’d probably sounded pissed off the last time they’d talked.
He sighed. “Let them in.”
Suddenly, he wasn’t too eager to get back to the villa. Dani appeared at that moment and glanced at the phone still in his hand. “Problems?”
“We have visitors,” Zach said. “My agent and a few hangers-on.”
“I think you mean you have visitors.”
“No. From now on, my friends are your friends. You can help me entertain them.”
She pursed her lips. “I think I’d rather entertain a gang of armed terrorists all intent on butchering you.”
“I imagine you would.” He smiled as he tucked her hand under his arm—just in case she decided to bolt. “But tough luck.”