Page 20 of Fiery Romance

“But—”

I hang up and welcome Regan into my arms. “Want to help me cook, sweet pea?”

She nods.

Together, we make dinner. I call Abe down and, as usual, he doesn’t speak much while Regan prattles on incessantly.

After dinner, I help Regan take a bath, brush her teeth and put her to bed.

“Daddy,” she calls me back when I’m about to leave, “I want mommy.”

The knife is back in my gut. “Yeah, sweet pea. So do I. But she’s still in heaven and she’s… uh… not coming back.”

Regan doesn’t flinch. In fact, she nods as if my words decided something for her.

“If I can’t have mommy, can I have Island?”

“What island?” I tilt my head to the side. This is new. Maybe she saw a video about a herd of giraffes on an island? “I’ll take you to whatever island you want. In the Caribbean, in Asia. You just let me know.”

“No.” She turns on her side. “The one who likes my hair.”

Hair?

Island?

My heart stops beating. My lungs stop working. “You mean Island Hayes? The owner of the salon?”

“She said I can come watch her braid hair any time I wanted. She said we could be friends and that she’ll beat up anyone who says bad things to me.”

“She… said that?” I wheeze.

“I like her. She’s pretty. And she told me my hair was pretty. She was kind of scary at first, but now I think she’s like you. A superhero. Scary on the outside but squishy on the inside.”

My fingers move absently over my beard. I blink once. Twice. “Island… squishy?”

“Yes.”

Something clicks in my brain.

I stalk over to Regan’s bed, give her a big kiss on the forehead and motion to her. “Go to sleep, sweet pea.”

“Can I see Island, dad?”

“Yeah, I think you can,” I murmur to myself. “I think you’ll see her real soon.”

The moment I leave Regan’s room, I pull out my cell phone and call Andre, my IT genius at the company.

“Boss?”

“Andre,” I move to my office and turn on my laptop, “I need every scrap of information you can find on Island Hayes.”

There’s no chance in hell that Miss Hayes will agree to any request I make, especially after our first meeting.

But that’s not a problem.

I just have to make her an offer she can’t refuse.

CHAPTER3

---