Page 72 of Riding the Waves

Damian appeared in the doorway, shaking his head. “What on earth is going on?”

“They don’t hate me,” Amy said, smiling through tears.

“Right. Exactly what I told you about three million times.” He rolled his eyes and went back inside, muttering about needing coffee.

CHAPTER 36

Amy had never felt as relaxed around Damian’s parents as she did that day. After breakfast they hung out at the beach for a couple of hours, then walked up to the restaurant at the golf club where Amy reminisced about her time working there over a delicious lunch.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Wendy and Martin left. Apparently they had plans to celebrate a friend’s sixtieth birthday that evening, so they really weren’t leaving just to get away from Amy.

Marty and Billy stood at the front of the house to wave their grandparents off, then made a dash back into the house as soon as the car pulled away down the road.

“That was nice,” Amy said, then cast a sidelong glance at Damian when he failed to reply. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, propping her hands on her hips.

“Like what?” he asked innocently.

“Like you find something hilarious.”

“It’s funny. You have to admit.”

She shook her head but failed to hide her grin. “I genuinely thought they didn’t like me.”

“You were wrong.” He smirked and stepped into her personal space, slipping his hands casually around her waist.

Amy felt a warm fizz in her stomach as she brought her hands to loop around his shoulders. “I’m okay with being wrong on this occasion.”

“Dad!” Billy shouted, rushing back out to them. “Can we have a water fight in the garden?”

Damian moved quickly away from Amy, looking ridiculously guilty. “Yeah. I don’t see why not.”

“Will you play with us?”

“Yes.” He glanced at his watch. “But not for too long. We need to get the place tidied up before our next visitor arrives.”

“When is Leo bringing Alice over?” Amy asked.

“In a couple of hours.” Damian scrunched his features. “Did I tell you she’s sleeping here?”

“No.” Amy chuckled. “You didn’t mention that.”

* * *

Having Alice to stay meant Damian could continue to avoid the conversation he’d been dodging with Amy. Clearly, she wanted to know how things stood between the two of them. If he had an answer he’d give it to her, but he had no idea what would happen between them. Like he’d told Hugh and Leo the previous evening, if it was just the two of them he wouldn’t need to think at all. He wanted to be with her and that would be all that mattered. There were the boys to consider, though.

Last time he’d messed up, his children were too young to know what was going on. If he did it again now, he’d hurt them, and he couldn’t bear the thought of that. Besides, if he was going to be with Amy he needed to tell her the whole truth.

She was already suspicious about his trusty old VW van, so he may as well just come clean. If she didn’t like what he had to say, that would make things easier. If she didn’t want to be with him, he could stop pondering whether they should give it another go. Problem solved.

Except he’d let himself imagine things working out between them too often now. Any other scenario was going to absolutely gut him. Especially now that they’d been spending time together at his house like some cosy little family.

Quickly, it became clear that adding a baby into that mix only made matters worse. Watching Amy bounce Alice on her lap while Damian grappled with erecting the travel cot in the living room gave him a glow of affection.

“Do you need help?” Amy asked, watching him with amusement.

“No.” He’d already turned down Leo’s offer to help him set it up, declaring it wasn’t rocket science. It turned out to be more hassle than he anticipated, but he got there in the end.

“Did you hear anything from Jack or Max about the house?” he asked, settling himself on the couch beside Amy.

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