“Sure, Squirt.”
“Yay!” She scurried off toward Camilla, bouncing excitedly on her toes, no doubt relaying I agreed to go in the pool. She looked just like her mother in similar clothes and hair styles, except for those piercing blue eyes of hers.
When I finally did turn back to the guys, all four of them gave me a wide-eyed look. “What?”
“You’re whipped.” I quirked my mouth to the side, pretending boredom. “We’ve never seen you in anything other than jeans and a T-shirt. That girl already has you wrapped around her little pinky.”
“Does she know?” Scott asked. At my continued silence, he elaborated. “That you’re her father.”
“No, of course not.”
“She knows.” Hunter nodded with a smirk. “Maybe not consciously, but in her gut, she knows. She probably hasn’t had a father figure in her life. Kind of like the way Shane immediately connected with Leila when he lost his mom, well before he had with Jack.”
“That’s the first logical thing you’ve said all weekend,” Scott said.
I thought about that, and I’d be lying if I denied that joy flooded my chest from that possibility.
Maybe my daughter was ready to accept me as her father without issue.
Chapter 16
Camilla
My daughter was having a ball. We hadn’t been there an hour, and I could already tell this weekend would be one she’d chat about for months to come.
Playing with this group in such an impressive setting would undoubtedly influence her. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if it were to suddenly disappear, how would it affect my baby?
While sand was washed off, inflatable swimming wings secured, and splashing ceremoniously commenced, I surrendered to my begging child. “Okay, let’s go put our bathing suits on.”
“Yay!” Alivia exclaimed again, clapping her hands. She turned toward Leila and boasted. “I know how to swim.”
“That’s amazing,” Leila said, squatting before her. “You’re a big girl. Maybe you and Shane can help us watch over the little ones.” Besides Leila’s four-year-old twins, and her toddler, there were four other kids ranging between three and five.
“I can do that,” she replied with a firm nod, as if her six-year-old self had a ton of experience in watching over others. Leila’s eyes caught mine, and we both suppressed our smiles.
“Perfect.” Leila stood just as her baby, Drex, chose that moment to waddle away, stub his tiny foot, and begin to wail.
“Uh-oh,” Alivia announced. “I think he has a boo-boo now.”
“I think you’re right.” Leila hoisted the hysterical toddler in her arms and asked, “Liz, would you mind showing them to their room for me?”
“Not at all.” Lizzy checked to be sure her two were okay with Beverly before offering her hand to Alivia, who willingly accepted it. “Let’s go get you changed.” Lizzy then glanced at me with a dimpled smile that looked so much like her brother Jack’s.
I should’ve been intimidated by these beautiful, kind, ridiculously rich people… but I wasn’t. In the short time we’d been there, it was obvious that they were all normal. They laughed, busted on each other, gossiped like any group of friends would. If my friend Debbie were here, she’d be shamelessly wiggling her way into their circle.
Especially after seeing this magnificent beach house, which looked more like a resort than a weekend getaway.
The sprawling estate had a main deck that stretched from one side of their mansion to the other. Besides the impressive pool, the deck sported a dining area, an outdoor kitchen, and a lounging area. It also held a small change house equipped with a bathroom and a separate hot tub. A secondary lower deck provided more seating options, with stairs that led down to their private beach. It didn’t end there, with a huge jungle gym that could accommodate a dozen kids at the same time. There was even a staffed lifeguard chair for ocean safety.
From across the deck, Trey spotted us heading toward the house and stood to follow. When he caught up, he smirked at Lizzy. “Leila has you doing her dirty work?”
“What do you mean?” I asked as Lizzy laughed.
“She hates bringing attention to all they have,” Trey explained. “It makes her uncomfortable.”
“This time she had a legit excuse. Drex hurt himself,” Lizzy said, defending her. But when we all swung our gazes over to the pool area, there was Drex on his mommy’s lap, laughing without a tear to be found.
“I rest my case,” Trey added, holding open one of the French doors for us.
“That’s ridiculous. She should be proud of…” My words died on my tongue when we stepped into the house. “Oh my God. This is…” Stunning, spectacular, breathtaking. “Unreal.”
“Yeah,” Lizzy said proudly. “My brother made sure it was the house of her dreams.”
Jeez, the house of my dreams couldn’t hold a candle to this one. Regardless of its size, it wasn’t at all pretentious. It was tasteful, homey, and welcoming. The main living area consisted of one big open-concept room that housed a kitchen to die for, sharing space with family room furniture and a huge dining table. The entire wall facing the beach was floor-to-ceiling windows with a set of doors at each end. Pale woods and comfortable navy couches enhanced Mother Nature’s palette.
Trey was absolutely right… as gorgeous as their penthouse was, it didn’t compare to their beach house. Again, the opulence that surrounded us should’ve intimidated me. Yet, inexplicably, it all made me feel right at home.
What I had noticed was the absence of any televisions. In fact, since arriving earlier, I hadn’t seen one cell phone. Then again, they probably had a theater room somewhere in the house equipped with a fully stocked concession stand.
If I didn’t have an anxious little girl who desperately wanted to swim, I would have explored every inch of the Lairs’ beautiful home. Later, I’d have to ask Trey to give me a tour.
“I’ll take them from here,” Trey said to Lizzy. She smiled sweetly and passed Alivia’s hand to his. Wordlessly, Trey led us up the grand staircase and down a long hall that stretched to the left, holding several guest rooms. In fact, I counted six doors as we went. “I’m in this one.” He pointed to door number seven before opening number eight beside it. “You girls are in here.”
Like the rest of the house, modern furniture mixed with traditional touches made the room extremely welcoming. Sitting on an upholstered bench at the foot of the bed were our overnight bags. Upon seeing her Hello Kitty suitcase, Alivia catapulted toward it and began unzipping it to get to her bathing suit.
When she yanked it out with one hand, I pointed to the en suite bathroom. “Go ahead and get changed, sweetie. I’ll be in to help you in a minute.”
I turned to see Trey hovering by the door, staring at me anxiously. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
My admission caused his frown to soften. “I don’t know. You’ve been tense all day, and now I’m worried you regret coming.”
“No, Trey, I’m really glad we came. They’re great people.”