Page 93 of Filthy Rich Temptation

‘It’s hard to believe she’s the same girl,’ Sadie says softly, her eyes still on Lottie.

‘She’s not,’ I say. ‘And neither are you. You’re both… brighter, stronger.’

I thread my fingers through hers and she smiles up at me.

‘Happy?’

Yeah, it catches in my throat as I nod. So much going on within me and I can’t put words to any of it.Can’t or won’t?

‘Though I reckon she’s going to face plant any second,’ she says, shaking her head.

‘She’ll bounce,’ I assure her. ‘She’s built like her mum. Tough.’

‘Oh, cheers!’ She laughs, rolling her eyes. But there’s no edge to it. Just warmth.

The breeze shifts, bringing the scent of salt and seaweed and something else – something old. Childhood, maybe. Probably. It’s the kind of peace I haven’t felt in years. Maybe ever. And the past – memories from before Dad died, before work swallowed everything – it’s still there. But it doesn’t ache like it used to.

‘I took my fair share of tumbles out here when I was her age,’ I say. ‘Didn’t do me any harm.’

She looks at me with that soft, tilted smile. ‘I’d have liked to see that.’

‘You still can,’ I say, tugging her hand. ‘Come on.’

She stumbles into the run with me, laughing again as we chase Lottie down the shoreline, water kicking up around our feet.

Three pairs of prints in the wet sand.

Three voices tangled in the wind.

The happiest of trios… almost like a?—

No, don’t go there.

But it’s hard not to.

Maybe it’s the childhood memories creeping in, or the families scattered up and down the beach.

Or maybe it’s the night we spent together.

Either way, the thought is there.

And I’m not entirely sure I want to quash it.

* * *

Sadie

Lottie falls asleep brushing her teeth.

It’s one of the sweetest, funniest, most endearing sights I’ve ever seen. Though I have to say, when I find Theo asleep on the sofa after tucking her in, I’m a little torn between the two.

Both wiped out after a day at the seaside.

Both wearing the same wind-kissed glow.

Same small smiles.

My heart beats warm and fast beneath my ribs, and I press a palm to my chest, hold onto the moment for a second longer, before my buzzing phone cuts in.