Beach parties with the Hales, Meadows, and Cobalts consist of one massive sandcastle competition, and since I’m with Maximoff, I’ve been recruited onto Team Hale.

And if I look at the water’s edge—which I try not to do all that much—SFO are on-duty and placing bets on this contest.

“Wait, I’m confused,” Xander says. “How do we make the towers pointed?”

“Just pack it in,” Lily replies. “Pack that sand in.” She pats at the base of the structure. Being brutally honest here: it looks like nothing.

We’ve been at this shit for ten minutes, and the furthest we’ve reached is a huge mound of sand that’s supposed to be the mountain beneath the castle. Maximoff shaves the “sculpture” flat with a shovel, and I lean back on my hands. More or less watching.

His movements are tensed like his entire body is sore. Muscles shot. The source: the stair climb from this morning. It’s hard to believe he’s even out here and not resting.

But that’s classic Maximoff Hale. At least he listened to his doctor and soaked in an ice bath before the beach party.

I’m his doctor, by the way.

I catch myself unconsciously smiling before I focus back on my boyfriend.

Maximoff takes a quick glance at the competition, then turns back to the mound of sand. “You know,” he tells us, “we still have time to build something other than Hogwarts.”

My smile widens as Xander, Kinney, Luna, and their parents look at Maximoff like he’s spoken blasphemy.

“Because I love you,” his dad says, “I’m going to forget you said that, bud.”

Maximoff wipes sand off his hands and onto his bathing suit trunks. He’s eagle-eyeing the two other sandcastles-in-the-making.

“Someone’s competitive,” I tease him.

He fixates on my upturning lips and my piercing. “I’m compensating for your slacking,” he rebuts.

“That’s cute.” I just stop there.

His neck almost flushes, and he’s trying to stay on course. But I’m definitely distracting him. When he gets a better look at the competition, he says, “Christ.”

“What?” Lily pops up. “Are we losing?”

“We’re definitely losing,” I answer, not needing to look. Bodyguard Facts: if you’re looking to win a wager, you don’t bet on the Hales. I was the only one who ever did. And right about now, the radio in my ear would be full of nonsensical shit.

I almost roll my eyes at myself. Fuck, I really, really don’t want to reflect on that. Because at the end of the day, I would never trade being a concierge doctor for security. Medicine is a part of me, and I can’t shake that need and that hunger. Being able to help these families with my medical skillset, it’s invaluable to me.

And my father would say, I told you so.

But at least he never gave me a hard time when I quit my residency and decided not to be board-certified. He was just proud I’m still working as a doctor. Because using my talent matters more to him than any prestige.

On top of that, he texted me this morning.

I sleep easy knowing that I chose the Keene legacy the second time around, and my father never forced my hand.

Back on the beach, Loren Hale scours the competition like his son just did. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lo says.

I turn my head and try to peer around all the famous ones and distinguish the sand structures. The Cobalts are going the traditional route and building a huge castle. Complete with four turrets and the structure has motherfucking windows.

“Is that a moat?” Luna asks.

Sure enough, Eliot and Tom dig a hole towards the ocean, and Team Hale watches as the water fills up the tunnel that surrounds the Cobalt’s castle.

“We’re screwed,” Kinney deadpans.

Next to Team Cobalt, the Meadows family compacts sand in the shape of a mermaid. Since they only have four team members, they were given a head start. Winona uses a twig to draw scales on the tail, and Sulli places seaweed as a bikini top. Their parents, Ryke and Daisy, make the mermaid’s hair with seashells.

All the Hales look back at our sandcastle. The mound of sand resembles a mound of sand.

“I kinda like our sand thingie,” Luna muses.

Xander nods. “It’s more like the mountain of Hogwarts without the castle.”

“Hogwarts Mountain,” Kinney says flatly.

Maximoff pats the sand mound. “Better than their muggle castle.” He looks over at me like he knows a word that I don’t know.

He’s always such a fucking dork. And I actually skimmed a few Harry Potter books after his mom gave them to me when I was on her security detail.

I’m about to tell him that he doesn’t know more than me, but his gaze suddenly shifts towards his dad. Lo just stood up, and his attention is cemented onto me.

“Farrow, walk with me.” Lo brushes sand off his hands. “The rest of Team Hale can build Hogwarts Mountain.”

I look to my boyfriend, and Maximoff shakes his head like he’s unsure of what this is about. I roll onto my knees, and seamlessly rise to my feet.

Maximoff is about to stand, but his dad quickly tells his son, “I’ll bring him back in one piece. Sit. Relax. Eat a sandwich, you look pale.”

He’s not pale at all.

“Thanks, Dad,” Maximoff says, sarcasm thick, and his brows scrunch at me like, see you later, and you’ll tell me every damn thing?

I will.

But let’s be honest, he’s going to be agonizing over every second when I’m gone. Wondering what the hell his dad is talking to me about.

And truthfully, I don’t have a good guess.

I follow Lo, step-for-step with him, and I rub my palms together, trying to scrape off the wet sand. We pass Team Cobalt, and their ridiculously large castle. Nine people are building this thing.

Lo edges closer and purposefully steps on one of the turrets. Demolishing it flat to the ground.

“Cheater!” most of the Cobalts boo and yell.

“Loren!” Rose yells above her seven kids. “You’ve reached a new level of low. Ruining the children’s sandcastle.”

“So now they’re children?!” he yells back. “Because for two decades, I thought you’ve been calling them gremlins.” She does call her kids gremlins.

It’s widely known.

Rose curses at him, and he walks off, smiling.

At first glance it might look like Rose and Lo hate each other, but they’ve teamed up for most of the yacht trip. They raided the teenagers’ cabins for cigarettes, and they’re planning to toss all that shit into the beach bonfire tonight.

As we pass the sand mermaid, Ryke gives Lo a hard stare. “Don’t even fucking think about it,” Ryke warns his brother.

Lo touches his chest, and we move beyond the mermaid completely. He ends up walking backwards to add, “I’d never.” He flashes a half-smile.

Ryke flips him off with two hands.

Based on Lo’s current mood, I’d say he’s most likely not delivering shit news to me. And if he is, he’s being strangely coy.

We veer towards the water. He keeps walking, and I follow step-for-step beside him. I sink on the damper sand, and water rushes over the inked nautical wheels on my feet.

I glance back at Lo.

He’s quiet. And the more we walk casually along the beach, the more distance we put between the sandcastles and ourselves. Lo’s bodyguard follows us, but he’s too far back to eavesdrop.

As the water rushes forward, I lightly splash with my foot. I’m trying to wrack my mind for any possible topic.

Nate, Maximoff’s stalker—but that was so long ago.

The photo leak.

Maximoff’s physical therapy.

Rowin, which happened just yesterday. Fuck, if it’s about him…

I comb my hand through my hair. “Is this about Rowin?” I just go ahead and ask. “Because the guy I’d known would’ve never done that to Maximoff. If I had any idea…” I trail off, because I’m still pissed and upset about it. It’s fresh, and my throat tries to swell closed.

Truth is, I would never be with a guy who was capable of what Rowin did.

Never.

Not for a day. Definitely not for two fucking years. Yet, I was with him for that long, and it disgusts the fuck out of me.

Lo looks at me with this soul-cutting empathy, his care and understanding usually reserved for family or the broken, fragile people he meets. “This isn’t about Rowin, but how are you?” he asks genuinely. “I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

I frown, taken aback. This is a side of Lo that I haven’t seen in a while. At least not towards me. “I’m pissed,” I say, being honest. I shake my head a few times, and I run my tongue over my molars.

“I hope you’re not blaming yourself,” Lo tells me. “It’s not your fault.”

I nod strongly. I didn’t need to hear those words to believe them, but for Lo to even say them to me—when his son is the one who was in the crossfire—it sits with me for a while. It stings my eyes.

Warm water laps over our feet. I almost smile at a sudden thought. “Maximoff says I have an immunity against remorse.”

Lo snorts. “Jesus. He’s so much like Lily…and my brother.” He laughs lightly, but the sound fades when he looks back at me. “You’re one of those people who say they have no regrets? I hate those people.”

Shit, I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, I’m one of those people. Or…” I tilt my head from side to side. “I try to be.”

Lo contemplates this silently, and then he slows to a stop, an abandoned umbrella and beach chair nearby. And behind us, everyone is a speck in the distance, the sandcastles shapeless.

He faces me, and I see what most people do. Sharpness. From his defined cheekbones to the sentiments wielded in his amber eyes. Fuck, he’s not a soft man. I imagine it’d feel more comfortable to stare down the pointed end of a sword.

“What I wanted to ask…” Lo glares up at the sky, piecing together his words before saying, “How are you and your dad?”

I let out a short breath. Not excited about where this could potentially be headed. Lo sees the kindness in my father, and I see it too. But… “We’re on speaking terms, but there’s not much there, Lo. It’s not like you and Maximoff. It’s never going to be like that.”

His brows cinch. “Maybe in time, you and him—you’ll patch things up.” A swell of water gushes against our ankles. “Things could get better. I know your father, and he’s a good man.”

I smile wearily. “Lo…” I take a breath. “Good men can be bad fathers.” It’s what I’ve always known. What I’ve always felt.

There’s nothing to salvage or recreate. It’s nonexistent. And I don’t yearn for it. I don’t have it. I don’t want it. And that’s okay.

His face almost twists, letting this sink in. He looks pained for me. “I’m sorry. I wish it weren’t like that.”

“Can’t say the same,” I say easily. “And look, I don’t wish my old man ill will. It is what it is.”

He looks out at the blue sea before turning back to me. “I wanted to ask you something, Farrow.”

It hits me that he didn’t bring me out here to talk about my father. “Okay…” I could lie and say that I’m not nervous, but this is Maximoff Hale’s dad. A huge cog in his entire world. And this uncertainty isn’t that much fun.

And then he asks, “Would you like your job back on security?”

My pulse shoots to my throat. I must’ve heard him wrong. I shake my head. “I don’t follow.”

“Your old job,” he reiterates. “Do you want it back?”

I let out a short laugh. “Okay, right.” I don’t even let myself get roped into the idea. But I find myself glancing back towards the three families and security. If I strain my ears, I can basically hear Donnelly rooting on the Cobalt Empire.

“I get that I’m a sarcastic bastard,” Lo says, pulling my attention back. “But I’m serious.”

I comb another hand through my hair, shaking my head only once. “I love being a concierge doctor to your family. I don’t want that to change.”

“You can do both,” he says those words and it’s like someone has offered me something that makes no sense. Like golden eggs and fairytale bullshit.

“I can’t do both,” I say slowly. “That’s…” Impossible. It’s fucking impossible. But he’s looking at me like I’m the one who’s wrong.

“Your Uncle Trip called me an hour ago,” Lo says, blocking sunlight with his palm. “He’s returning from his sabbatical. We’ll have more hands. You’ll always be on-call for the med team, and when there isn’t an emergency, you can be on Maximoff’s detail. Another bodyguard on SFO will fill in for you when you’re pulled away.” He tilts his head. “So there’s still the question if you want to be on security at all. You can say no.”

What the hell…?

I’m processing…slowly. Security has been the missing piece. The gaping hole. And I didn’t want to ask for it back because I didn’t think I could. There’s no scenario in my head where anyone would allow me to split time between security and medicine.

I accepted what I could not fucking change, and now he’s telling me I can have both.

He’s giving me both?

I shake my head, overwhelmed. I turn my gaze away, my eyes welling. Choked up. He’s giving me both.

“Why?” I ask him. “Why offer me this?”

I don’t understand.

Lo stares up at the sky again, and when his sharp-edged gaze falls to me, he says, “Because I was raised by a bad man who was also a bad father.” He pauses. “And despite whatever feelings I have about it, my son thinks I’m good, and every day I try to prove him right.” He stares into me like he’s reaching into the bottom of a pool. “You want this. I think you do. And I want to give it to you.”

I rub my mouth, trying to collect myself. “So I’ll be…”

“You’ll be his bodyguard again.”

Truth. I never thought I’d hear those words. Because to me, it’s more than just a job. It’s so much more.

“Thank you,” I say, my eyes glassing.

His do, too. “Take care of my son,” he tells me.

I make that promise.

And then he adds, “My son will take care of you.”

I rub my eyes and nod. Feeling those words well up inside of me.