Page 30 of Her Ex's Father
Chapter 10
Benedict
Hugh’s waiting in the drive when I come out, the early morning sun soaking into his dark, tight curls. He’s got that same easy posture he always has before a job—hands in his jacket pockets, gaze scanning the property like it belongs to him too.
“You’ve got his location?” I ask.
“Croatia,” Hugh says. “Some coastal town—Zadar. There’s a music festival. He’s registered with the resort under a friend’s name, but it wasn’t hard to connect the dots.”
I grunt. It’s exactly the kind of thing Derrick would do—run halfway around the world to drink overpriced liquor and forget about the wreckage he left behind.
“When do you leave?”
“Ten minutes. The flight’s already arranged.” Hugh tilts his head, eyes narrowing just slightly, but still kind. “You’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The one you get when you’re turning something over in your head, trying to grind it down until it stops cutting you.”
I glance past him to the line of pines along the edge of the courtyard. “Maddie’s settling in.”
“Is that an update or a warning?” he asks.
I huff out a laugh that doesn’t sound right. “Not sure.” There’s a beat of silence, and then I ask: “When she got here, did she seem… ?” I feel like a teenager again, stomach knotted with anxiety over what a girl might think.
What awomanmight think about this place, so reflective of me.
“She seemed happy to be here,” he answers after musing for a moment, leveling me with a gaze that I know means he’s telling the truth. “Tired, but curious.”
“Mmm… I think she likes…” I gesture around us, at the lush nature just waking to spring. There’s no need to explain further; like me, and apparently Madeline, Hugh also values solitude. When I hired him years ago to help with Georgiana’s care, it wasn’t just because he was organized and ruthless—but because he’d shown an understanding of profound silence. That solace could be found there.
The last thing I needed after her passing was everyone trying to talk to me about it.
Hugh just let me be.
“I never expected to be married again,” I say finally. “Not after…” My throat closes. “And if I did, I sure as hell didn’t think it would be like this.”
“Life’s got a sense of humor.”
“She’s young, Hugh. My son’s fiancée. And I—” I cut myself off before I can finish. Before I can give the thought any more oxygen than it already has.
Hugh’s gaze sharpens, but he doesn’t push.
I exhale hard. “We need to get Derrick back. He marries her, this ends clean. That’s still the plan.”
Hugh nods. “And if he doesn’t come back willing?”
Movement catches my eye up near the balcony that overlooks the drive.
Maddie.
Leaning lightly on the rail, her hair pulled over one shoulder, the pale sleeve of a sweater pushed up her forearm. She’s not looking at me—she’s looking past me, toward the mountains beyond the tree line.
But I can feel her, the same way you feel a change in the weather.
It stalls my answer to Hugh for half a beat. I force myself to look away, to finish the conversation, but the knowledge that she’s there lingers in the space between us.
“He’ll come back.” I meet his eyes. “Especially if you’re the one out looking.” It’s an arrow to the heart, but Derrick has always been more partial to Hugh. “And he’ll face the consequences of disappearing in the first place.”
