Chapter 167

Agnes

The rental car that was waiting for us outside the airport was a sleek silver convertible, and after about thirty minutes of driving along coastal roads with the wind kissing our hair and faces, Elijah turned onto a private driveway that wound up a small hill. As we crested the top, I gasped.

The villa that came into view was breathtaking. Two stories of white stucco with a red-tiled roof, surrounded by flowering plants and palm trees. Floor-to-ceiling windows faced the ocean, and a sprawling deck wrapped around the entire structure. Beyond it, I could see steps leading down to what appeared to be a private stretch of beach.

“Elijah,” I breathed. “This is... wow.”

“Do we get to stay here?” Thea asked. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. “The whole place is ours?”

Elijah nodded, looking utterly pleased with himself. “For the next two weeks, yes. It’s all ours.”

He pulled the car to a stop in the circular driveway, and we all piled out. After a few minutes of fumbling with keys and luggage, we headed inside. The interior was just as impressive as the exterior—open and airy, with comfortable furniture, high ceilings, and that stunning ocean view visible from almost every room.

The master bedroom was on the upper floor, with its own balcony overlooking the water. Thea’s room was nearby, decorated in cheerful yellows and blues, with a small reading nook built into the window seat.

“There’s even a hot tub!” Thea shouted, having raced ahead to the back deck. “Daddy, can we go swimming right now?”

“Let’s get settled first,” Elijah said. “Then we can head down to the beach. The hot tub will still be here tomorrow.”

As Thea ran back to her room to unpack (or more likely, to scatter her clothes everywhere while looking for her swimsuit), I turned to Elijah with a question in my eyes.

“This must have cost a fortune,” I said quietly. “You know you didn’t have to go to all this trouble, right?”

Elijah cut me off with a kiss. “Don’t worry about the cost,” he murmured against my lips. “This is our honeymoon, and I wanted it to be special.”

“But—”

“No buts.” He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. “You’re the wife of an Alpha now, and we can afford all this and more without even scraping our savings. Just let yourself enjoy being spoiled for once, okay?”

My cheeks flushed. After all my years of just barely scraping by while I was searching for my daughter, disowned and alone, I still wasn’t used to having money. Especially not the type of money that allowed me to spend frivolously without a care in the world.

I wasn’t sure if I could get used to it. Or if I even really wanted to.

Still, I nodded. “Okay,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “In that case, this place is amazing, and I can’t wait to spend the next two weeks here with you and Thea.”

His answering smile was worth every penny he had spent.

After changing into our swimwear, we made our way down the wooden stairs that led from the villa’s deck directly to the beach. The sand was soft and white, hot beneath our bare feet, and the water stretched to the horizon like a sheet of blue glass.

“Last one in is a rotten egg!” Thea shouted, breaking away from us to race toward the waves.

“Careful!” I called after her. “Don’t go in past your knees until we’re there!”

To my surprise, she actually listened, stopping at the water’s edge and waiting impatiently for us to catch up.

The water was perfect—warm and crystal clear, with gentle waves that lapped at our legs. Thea shrieked with delight as Elijah lifted her onto his shoulders, spinning in circles until they were both dizzy and laughing and then falling backwards into the water. I snorted as I watched them surface a moment later, a big tangle of seaweed stuck to the top of Thea’s head.

“Ewww, Dad!” she whined. “It’s slimy!”

Elijah just grinned, plucked the seaweed off her head, then chased her through the water with it like it was some kind of sea monster.

This was what family was supposed to feel like. This warmth, this joy, this sense of belonging. After years of loneliness, of feeling like I was missing essential pieces of myself, I finally felt like I had it all.

So long as I tried not to think about how my missing daughter might never get to experience this with me, I was… happy.

After swimming for a while, we walked along the shoreline, collecting seashells and interesting rocks. Thea insisted on keeping every single one she found, until Elijah gently suggested we only take the very best ones, since we couldn’t possibly fit them all in our suitcases for the trip home.

We spent the rest of the afternoon like that—walking, talking, splashing in the shallows, building a sandcastle. It was simple, unhurried time together, the kind that often got pushed aside in our busy lives back home.

By the time the sun began to sink toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, we were all pleasantly tired and covered in a fine layer of sand.

“We’d better head back and shower for dinner,” Elijah said, helping Thea gather her shell collection.

“What’s for dinner?” Thea asked, skipping ahead of us up the beach toward the stairs.

“That’s a surprise,” Elijah replied with a wink in my direction.

After washing away the salt and sand, I was just finishing braiding Thea’s hair when Elijah appeared in the doorway of her room.

“So,” he said casually, “I have a little surprise for tonight.”

“What kind of surprise?” I asked, securing Thea’s braid with a hair tie.

“I’ve arranged for a babysitter to come stay with Thea for a few hours.”

I raised my eyebrows. “A babysitter? Here?”

“Apparently she’s the property manager’s niece, very responsible. She’ll be here in about thirty minutes.” He smiled. “I thought you and I could go out for dinner, just the two of us.”

My heart fluttered. A date night on our first evening of vacation—it was thoughtful and romantic and so very Elijah.

“What about me?” Thea asked, looking between us. “Where will I eat?”

“The babysitter will make you dinner,” Elijah explained, crouching down to her level. “From what I hear, she makes the best macaroni and cheese on the island.”

Thea’s face lit up. “Mac and cheese?”

“And there’s ice cream in the freezer for dessert,” Elijah added, sealing the deal. “But only if you’re good for the babysitter.”

“I’m always good,” Thea declared.

“Of course you are,” I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. With that, I went to get ready for dinner.

In the master bathroom, I took my time with my hair and makeup, wanting to look special for our date night. I’d packed a specific dress for just such an occasion—an ankle-length silk slip dress in a sky blue color that I’d sewn myself in the weeks leading up to our trip.

The cut was simple but devastating, with thin straps and a cowl neckline that draped just low enough to be enticing without being inappropriate for a nice restaurant. With my hair loose around my shoulders and a pair of delicate gold sandals, I felt beautiful and free, like the ocean itself.

When I emerged from the bedroom, Elijah was waiting in the living room, dressed in a crisp white button-down and dark pants. His eyes widened when he saw me, his lips parting in a silent ‘wow.’

“You look...” he began, then shook his head, apparently at a loss for words. “Did you make that?” he finally asked, his gaze traveling from my face down the length of the dress and back up again.

I nodded. “Do you like it?”

In response, he closed the distance between us, his hands settling on my waist. “I more than like it,” he murmured, his voice low and husky. “You’re stunning. And I want…”

Just then, as he was leaning in to whisper all of the sultry things he planned on doing to me later, there was a knock on the door. The babysitter. She was a sweet eighteen-year-old girl with curly red hair and a bright smile. After quick introductions and instructions, I went to say goodnight to Thea.

“Be good for the babysitter,” I said, kissing her cheek. “We won’t be gone too long.”

“I’ll be good,” Thea replied with a wide grin—revealing the baby molar she’d lost a couple of weeks ago. “But you and Daddy should take your time. I’m just glad you’re married and in love for real now.”

My face heated, and I pinched her cheek between my index and middle fingers. “I’m glad, too,” I murmured. “More than you know.”