Page 51 of Mark

“And what’s that?” Dad questions, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“He’s only happy when he’s with her. He’s just as content in their little bubble as she is. I’ll talk to her tomorrow to make sure she can see it too.”

“I don’t think being confined to this boat is helping,” I point out. “I think she’ll do better when we dock tomorrow.”

Mum takes her drink from the counter. “She’s also worried for Rose in the heat. And at least inside she has air-con.”

“Maybe us coming wasn’t such a good idea. We should have stayed at home with her,” Dad mumbles. “There’s still time for us to leave. There’s an airport at the next island we dock at.”

Mum places her hand on his arm. “She needed this time away as much as everyone else. She has excluded herself from most things all her life. She wanted to take this step, Maverick, and we can’t coddle her any longer. As much as we hate it, she’s not a little girl anymore. She’s a mother now, and I know she’s working to make sure Rose doesn’t inherit her insecurities. She will only be mad at us if we offer to go home with her.”

“I’ll pop by in a bit and see if she’s okay,” I offer. “If you two go, she’ll take on guilt from pulling you away from the fun.”

“He’s right,” Mum agrees, letting out a breath. “Let’s go and join Faith. Her and Beau just arrived.” She leans up, kissing my cheek. “You are a good brother, Mark.”

“I’ll be over in a bit,” I promise before they walk away.

I take a seat at the bar and notice my neighbour is in the chair next to me. She lifts up her glass. “I was here first,” she greets.

I swing around on the bar stool. Tonight, she’s wearing beige shorts with a short white crop top, the buttons on the front beige. A brown beaded necklace hangs between her breasts and her hair is loose, curling down her back. Her skin has a bronze tone to it, but in certain places, her flesh is pink from too much sun.

“Never stated otherwise,” I reply, leaning in. She smells fucking amazing. It’s a floral scent; sweet and alluring. “You aren’t with your nan tonight?”

She grimaces. “Your cousin wasn’t lying when they said they were claiming her. She’s leading the conga line right now. Your uncle Max and Hayden are next in the line.”

I pull my gaze away, and sure enough, Maya is leading the line around the small space whilst Mamma Mia blasts from the speakers.

“Sorry,” I reply sheepishly. “We all miss our great grandparents a lot. Being around her feels like we have a part of her back.”

“Do you not have grandparents?”

My jaw clenches as I think about them. None of us have met our grandparents, which is fortunate since there isn’t one grandchild who doesn’t wish they could bring them back to life to kill them. My dad and uncles’ dad died before they went to live with their granddad. By that point, their mum had run off and had been gone for years. Years later, and unbeknown to them, she had another child who suffered the same fate as my dad and his siblings. Lily. Only my parents and Faith know more of what she went through. Aiden and I didn’t need to know. We heard the nightmares and saw the fear when she was triggered. Their mum died in prison, and in my eyes, she didn’t suffer enough for her crimes.

“No,” I bite out.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise it was a sore subject,” she mutters, then goes back to her drink, dismissing me.

“I’m sorry. They weren’t good people and I don’t like thinking of them. Our great grandparents were our nan and granddad.”

“It’s okay,” she replies softly. “I bet that confused a lot of people.”

I grin because it did. “Only the people who didn’t know our situation.” She dismisses me again, and I find myself not liking it. I should be glad she’s not fawning all over me. Yet I’m not. A thought occurs to me as I lift up my pint. “Did you just hear my conversation with my parents?”

She pulls her gaze away from her drink. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. You were kind of there so it was impossible not to.”

“You can’t repeat it to anyone,” I warn. Lily wouldn’t like someone knowing her business, but more, she wouldn’t like being talked about. Not in that way.

“I won’t,” she swears. “You were talking about the pretty blonde with the baby, right?”

“Yes.”

“You should take a video after the conga line stops. Show her how relaxed it is in here. I was talking with her earlier and she doesn’t seem to like crowded spaces.”

My eyes widen at the suggestion. “I didn’t think of doing that. Thank you. And no, she doesn’t.”

“Upstairs is quiet too. They have the bar open and music playing softly in the background. That would be a good place for her to go. I would definitely avoid the club rooms. They have one adult-only club and one for families. They were rammed to the max when I walked by earlier.”

I notice a group of people heading towards us, their eyes filled with annoyance when they land on Freya. “You weren’t planning to come here tonight then?”