“Finnley Hall, slow down!” Heather called as Finn raced across the sand towards a spot on the beach that wasn’t too far away from the water.

Finn grumbled something inaudible, but slowed down and waited for her to catch up to him.

Simon was bringing up the rear, hauling three portable lounge chairs towards them.

“Can I build my sandcastle now?” Finn asked.

She nodded. “Yes, but don’t go too far. Stay where I can see you.”

Her arms were tired from carrying the beach umbrellas, so she set them up while Finn began to unload his beach toys from the beach bag she had been lugging.

There were lifeguards on the mostly deserted beach, and she knew Simon was an excellent swimmer, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her son’s safety.

Simon approached them and started setting up the chairs.

With everything set up, she sat down on a chair beside Simon and kept an eye on Finn as he started filling up one of his plastic buckets with damp sand.

The water in front of them was absolutely breathtaking—a striking blue hue she had never actually seen in real life. She whipped out her cell phone from the beach bag and started snapping photos. Today was their second-to-last day in Florida and she wanted to remember it.

Beside her, Simon was tapping on his tablet, his brows furrowed in concentration.

“Working on something?” she asked.

He lifted his head and looked at her. “Yes. How could you tell?”

“You always get that look when you’re working on a project that excites you,” she said. “I thought you had lost some of the enthusiasm for working on your ideas after Everett stole them from you.”

“Well, I don’t want to jinx anything, but the trip to the aquarium inspired me,” he said. “Blue Naught has been working on improved tracking devices for us to track marine life, but what if there was a way to do more than track sharks or dolphins? What if we could find a way to actually communicate with sharks?”

“You mean like... talk to animals?” She raised an eyebrow. “Simon, that sounds a little out there.”

“Does it?” He put his tablet down and looked at her. “What if we could come up with some kind of computer system that could communicate with sharks? I’m not talking about having conversations with animals or anything crazy like that, but what if something toxic got into the water? A way to let sharks and other animals know not to go to a certain part of the ocean?”

“Like some kind of communication system to protect them from danger?”

He nodded. “Sure, keep them out of harm’s way if human activity caused some kind of disaster the animals couldn’t perceive.”

“Okay, I take it back. That’s not crazy. That’s actually incredible.” She sat up. “You liked going to the aquarium, didn’t you?”

“Of course, I did,” he said. “You and Finn were there.”

“Finn likes you.” She smiled. “And you like him.”

He nodded. “I do. Seeing how much he loves science has been really inspiring. I never thought I’d ever get along with a child, but he reminds me a little bit of myself at that age.”

“The enthusiasm, the intelligence. Yeah, I can see it.” She nodded. “Truth is, I think he’s more like you than he is like Gary.” Her mouth fell open when she realized what she had said. Heather had never ever wanted to replace Finn’s father. As angry and hurt as she was by Gary’s actions, his role as Finn’s dad meant so much to her. If only it meant as much to Gary as it did to her and Finn. Her ex-husband hadn’t been a stable presence in Finn’s life. Frankly, there were moments when she actually wondered if Gary cared about Finn at all. It was a horrible thing to wonder, and she would never reveal her fears to her son, but that nagging fear had always been there. Just below the surface.

So while she didn’t want to replace Gary, Simon was making far more of an effort to be there for a child he barely knew. That touched her so much that a lump formed in her throat. “I didn’t mean—”

“I understand what you meant,” he said. “But without Gary’s presence, Finn won’t get the chance to be influenced by him. That isn’t your fault. I think it’s a damn shame that Gary is missing out on getting to know Finn. It just makes his attempt at full custody look hypocritical.”

“I wonder if I should just cut him out of our lives entirely,” she said. “When the custody battle is over, I’m terrified that things will go right back to the way they were. With Gary never bothering to spend time with Finn.”

“Do you think getting full custody is the solution?” Simon asked. “You’ve been adamant about sharing custody with Gary despite him trying to take Finn away from you. But if Gary’s unstable behavior continues, it’s going to affect Finn. Maybe you getting full custody is the right solution for everyone involved.”

“Maybe.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll have a better sense of things after I talk to the lawyer you’re putting me in touch with. Right now, I think it’s best we enjoy the rest of our vacation.”

He nodded. “You’re right. Let’s not dwell on that stuff for now. Whatever happens, though, I’m here to support you.”

Her hand went up to touch the starfish pendant she was wearing. Holding the delicate pendant reminded her of how much he loved her. When they had been in the aquarium gift shop, he had told her that her happiness was a gift to him. Nobody had ever said anything that kind to her before. In that moment, she had fallen in love with him even more.

Knowing that he had her back gave her a strength she didn’t know she had. For months she had been dealing with Gary on her own. Raising Finn on her own. She didn’t expect Simon to step in and take on being a father, but the effort he had put into getting to know her son touched her deeply.

Before coming on this trip, she had worried that Simon would regret dating a single mother. Or worse, wouldn’t get along with Finn at all. But now she knew that she didn’t have to worry. They had managed to bond, which meant that the trip had been more than worth it. The two most important people in her life were getting along, and that was more than she had ever dreamed of.

Simon got up and unbuttoned his shirt. Days spent by the pool had tanned his skin. Getting an eyeful of the muscles of his chest was making her mouth water. They hadn’t been intimate on the trip since the first night, and each day it got harder and harder to resist him. “How about we go help Finn with this sand castle?” he said, seemingly oblivious to the affect he was having on her.

“Okay.” She grabbed a sarong from the beach bag, tied it around her waist, and followed Simon across the sand.

Finn was packing wet sand, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he sculpted a lopsided sandcastle.

Simon crouched down beside him. “Need help, buddy?”

“Yes please,” Finn replied. “Can you guys help me make a moat for the castle?”

She sat down on the sand and reached for one of his plastic shovels. “Sure. How about we decorate it with seashells afterwards?”

Finn grinned. “Yeah, great idea, Mommy.”

They spent the rest of the day helping Finn build sandcastles on the beach. When the sun began to set, they gathered their things and headed back to the bungalow for dinner.

After she tucked Finn into bed, she started packing for the trip back to Seattle while Simon worked on some of his ideas on a laptop on the living room. There was something so peaceful and tranquil about working together in silence. Even though their vacation was coming to an end, her heart felt lighter. Because the vacation wasn’t the end of their time together. They were still getting to know each other, and maybe that meant there was a chance that their happiness could last.

~~*~~

THE FLIGHT BACK TO Seattle was long but uneventful. Simon drove Heather and Finn to Heather’s place.

When Simon leaned down to gently kiss her goodbye, Finn let out loud, frustrated sigh.

He chuckled as he pulled away from her. “Guess I’ll be going now. See you later, buddy.”

Finn smiled. “Are we going to hang out some more soon?”

Simon glanced at Heather. “If it’s okay with your mom.”

She nodded. “It’s definitely okay. How about we invite Simon to have dinner with us and your grandparents?”

“That would be awesome,” Finn said. “Did you hear that, Simon? We’re having a family dinner! Maybe we can play board games.”

Simon smiled and patted Finn’s head. “Sounds like a plan.”

Finn cheered and raced into the house.

Heather laughed. “Where does he get the energy?”

“I guess the prospect of us spending more time together has gotten him all worked up,” he said with a smile. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

“It’s a good chance for you and my parents to catch up,” she said.

“I’d like that,” he said. “I’ve missed your parents.”

“And they’ve missed you.”

He leaned closer to give her another quick kiss. “Thank you for coming on this trip, Heather. I’ll never forget it. And thank you for letting me get to know Finn. He’s a terrific kid.”

She smiled. “I guess this is goodbye.”

Simon nodded. “You need a chance to rest from the flight. But I’ll message you as soon as I get home.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Simon.” She paused. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” He watched her as she slowly closed her front door, missing her already.

When she shut the door he got back into his car and started the ignition. A vibration of his phone interrupted him and he reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve it, hoping that Heather had already sent him a message.

He frowned when he realized the message was from Gary.

“We need to talk. It’s obvious Heather isn’t going to listen to reason, so it’s up to you and me to settle this disagreement. Let’s meet today.”

The cryptic text was making him uneasy, but if there was a chance for Simon to help Heather get past her issues with Gary then he was willing to hear the guy out. He quickly sent off a text instructing Gary to meet him in an hour at his apartment, then headed home.

An hour later, Simon opened his front door for Gary.

“Glad you could make it,” Simon said tightly.

Gary’s eyes narrowed. “You gonna let me in or what?”

His tone was already pissing Simon off, but he reminded himself that he was doing this to help Heather and Finn. Simon motioned for Gary to come in and led him to the living room.

“What’s this about?” Simon said warily as he took a seat on the sofa.

Gary sat opposite him. “I hear you and Heather went on a trip with my son.”

Simon nodded. “Your lawyer was made aware of that. Heather is perfectly within her rights to take a short vacation with Finn.”

“Yeah, but she went with you,” Gary muttered. “Doesn’t seem fair. You aren’t the boy’s father.”

“I’m not. But Heather and I are together now,” Simon said. “We’ve all been trying to get to know each other.”

“The only reason I know you’re together is because I found out through my attorney,” Gary muttered.

“Look, Heather respected you enough to inform your lawyer,” Simon said. “I think she deserves credit for telling you about us even though it puts her at risk.”

“Yeah, well, it won’t look good if the press finds out about this,” Gary said.

“I’ve got enough money to bury you under a mountain of legal bills if you pull a stunt like that again,” Simon warned. He didn’t like throwing his power and wealth around if he could help it, but Gary was trying his patience. Putting up with his threats was totally out of the question now that he and Heather were together. They had only just started their relationship, and he wasn’t about to let Gary come between them again.

“What if I could make all your problems go away?” Gary asked.

Simon raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Gary shrugged. “It means whatever you want it to mean. Maybe we could work something out between us. I mean, you’ve got money, right? Why don’t you use it to get what you want?”

“I’m guessing you already know what I want,” Simon said coldly.

“Sure, you want Heather. And Finn comes with Heather,” Gary said. “They’re a package deal. She’ll break up with you the moment she realizes that you’re coming between her keeping custody of Finn.”

“You’re what’s coming between her and Finn,” Simon bit out. “You’re trying to take Finn away from her. Why are you punishing her like this?”

“Because she ruined my life,” Gary growled. “She got pregnant and saddled me with a kid. I was supposed to live my life, but I got stuck with a child and a wife like some chump. But now she gets to be free after all the years she sucked out of me? Screw that. I’m getting what’s mine. If she gets to waste my time, then I’m going to waste hers. A custody battle is the least she deserves after sucking all those years out of me.”

“This is payback for Finn?” Simon was stunned. Gary was an even bigger ass than he had ever realized. He was putting Heather through hell as some kind of sick payback for getting pregnant. Pregnant with his child. How the hell could Gary use his kid to get back at her? “You know she didn’t get pregnant on her own, right?”

“You don’t get to judge me, asshole,” Gary snarled. “If you really want to help, you’ll give me what I want.”

“And what do you want?” Simon demanded.

“If Heather gets to start over with some rich boyfriend, then I want my cut,” Gary said.

“Your cut?” Simon narrowed his eyes at Gary, suddenly understanding what he meant. He wanted money. Money to stop hurting Heather.

“Yeah. I expect a sizeable amount for getting out of the way,” Gary said. “A couple million dollars, if you know what’s good for you.”