by Cassie Rocca
“Ok sweetheart, that’s enough!” he exclaimed, an amused and somewhat embarrassed expression on his face.
For a few moments, Liberty stared at the pair of them in confusion.
The girl ran towards her father and said happily, “She ate it! She ate it! And she said it was really good! I did it, Daddy, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did! You’re a fantastic actress, and as a reward, I’m going to make you an Oscar shaped cake!” said Zack, laughing and high fiving his daughter. He then looked at Liberty and smiled, because he knew he had won a battle.
Liberty was speechless, but when Candice had left the room, she said, “I can’t believe it… Did you really tell your daughter to trick me into eating a freaking macaron?”
“I only asked her to be persuasive, but I honestly wasn’t expecting her to be that good. I guess she’s going to be able to fool me just as easily even before she turns sixteen!”
Liberty couldn’t believe what had just happened. She leaned back on the sofa and said, “God, you two are a dangerous pair!”
“You bet,” he replied, taking a seat next to her, his beautifully tanned face glowing with paternal pride. “So, how are you feeling now?”
“Much better, thanks, I guess I needed a good sleep.”
“Cool,” he said. “I’m happy that you liked my macarons.”
Liberty glared at him with her green eyes and muttered threateningly, “You only managed to make me eat one of them because you cheated… I wouldn’t be so proud of myself, if I were you.”
“You’re right, I’m not completely satisfied. I will only be happy when I see you eating something because you want to, and with me there watching. But anyway, it’s not a bad start,” he said absently putting a lock of her hair behind her ear. Liberty thought she must look very untidy in her pyjamas but, to judge from the way he was looking at her, he actually must like her appearance.
“So this is how you look when you’re not playing at being the ice-cold career woman,” he murmured. “I like it – you’re very sexy when you’re a little messy!”
Liberty could feel a lump in her throat and looked away. “I guess I should join the others.”
“It’s not worth it, they’re going to be home in a couple of hours anyway. Clover called not long ago to ask how you were feeling.”
“Ok. Well, in that case, I’ll go have a shower and pack my bag,” she said standing up. Zack was looking at her thoughtfully, and she could feel his dark eyes on her. It felt as though she were being covered in liquid chocolate… “What’s up?” she asked, somehow managing to resist the impulse to take off her t-shirt and reveal her taught belly.a
“Nothing,” replied Zack, his elbows resting on his knees while he continued to stare at her. “I was just thinking.”
“And do you usually stare at people when you think?”
“If I like them, why not?”
Liberty pretended to be bored and headed towards the door. “We’ve played enough games for today. I’ll see you later…”
“I was thinking that your fiancé isn’t up to much…”
Liberty turned to look at him. “Who are you talking about?”
“Justin, of course,” he replied, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. “Come on – your girlfriend is ill and what do you do? You go out with your friends anyway?”
“I told him to go,” she broke in, crossing her arms over her chest. “We came to Cape May to check the place out and decide if we want to buy a house here. What use would it be for both of us to stay home?”
“Okay, but he didn’t even call to check on you! Only Clover called. I told her that you’d passed out and that now you were feeling better and sleeping. I’m willing to bet she told your boyfriend about it, and I was expecting him to rush back here to make sure that you were really ok. But he didn’t.”
Zack’s intense look was upsetting her. “If Clover told him that I was feeling better and was sleeping, why on earth would he need to come back to check on me?”
Zack shook his head. “A caring boyfriend wouldn’t have left you alone in the first place. One look at your face in the morning was enough to tell anyone that something was wrong with you. If he really loved you, he would have insisted that you ate something, instead of just shrugging it off and saying that you’re never hungry.”
“Justin isn’t some over anxious kid, and he knows me very well,” Liberty burst out. “He knows that I don’t eat much and that I often suffer from migraines. If I tell him to leave me alone he does, because he realizes that I don’t need his help. How dare you talk like that about my boyfriend anyway?”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said, although he clearly didn’t regret what he had said. He continued observing her, and it was starting to get on her nerves. “If that’s the type of person you want by your side then I’m happy for you. But I remember how romantic you once were, and how much you loved reading love stories… I’d have thought you would have chosen some sort of Prince Charming type when you grew up.”
“Prince Charming doesn’t exist,” she said brusquely. “And you should probably stop thinking that I’m the same teenager you used to know fifteen years ago, because I’m not. I’ve changed, and not just physically.”
Zack said nothing for a few moments, but continued to observe her. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Liberty didn’t reply, but turned towards the door and was about to leave the room, when Candice appeared. “Can we go play on the beach, Daddy?” she said, jumping around them energetically.
“Of course, sweetheart, but no swimming – it’s not warm enough yet,” replied Zack, while he lifted her up into his arms. The little girl shouted in joy and looked over at Liberty, who was observing the scene and, against her wishes, feeling quite touched by it.
“Are you coming with us?”
Do you want me to come and sit on the beach with your father and pretend that we’re a happy family? She thought. No, thanks! But she managed to smile instead. “Thanks, Candice, but I can’t come right now.”
“Why not?”
“Can’t anyone in your family just take no for an answer?” she asked under her breath, then more loudly said, “I need to work.”
“But—”
Zack put his daughter down. “Don’t insist, sweetheart – maybe she just doesn’t feel like playing on the beach,” he said in a low voice, then he looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “Liberty is a very serious woman! She doesn’t have time to waste on having fun!”
Was he challenging her?
Liberty managed not to start insulting him the way she would have liked to and to remain as cool and apparently indifferent as usual. She bent down to Candice and smiled at her. “I need to finish writing a few things and then get my bag ready, but I’ll join you if I get done in time, ok?” she said, knowing that she would never keep that promise. She avoided Zack’s eyes and left to take shelter in her room.
Once alone, she didn’t need to pretend that she wasn’t angry anymore.
How dare that arrogant man judge her, her boyfriend and their relationship like that? Did he think that all men treated women like fragile little birds in need of protection and nourishment the way he did? Justin was a grown man, the type of man who didn’t like being too vocal about his feelings… and she had always liked him just the way he was! She couldn’t stand Zack saying that Justin didn’t care about her.
And of course she would never go out and spend time with them on the beach – the sight of him playing the role of Father Of The Year was more than enough for her.
She took her laptop out of her bag and thought that if everything went as planned, she would be out of that house soon enough and would never have to see him ever again.
Zack Sullivan was toxic for her, and that was all there was to it. She had only been around him for less than twenty-four hours and all those awful emotions – all that sadness and anger – had already started welling up, even after all those years. She had immediately f
elt less self-confident – it was as though just the sight of him was enough to her turn back into the shy teenager she had once been again. Even her appetite had increased! And if there was something scarier than the way her heart raced when he was near, it was this desire to eat anything she could get her hands on that came over her.
She felt an urge to run away from him, and the sensation was extremely depressing. It had taken her years to become the unflappable and confident woman she was nowadays, and she didn’t want to find herself turning into a coward all of a sudden.
Before starting work she quickly checked her phone, but promised herself that she wouldn’t get upset about what she found. What she found was that Justin hadn’t called or texted her – but that was exactly what she had been expecting.
She knew her fiancé – but Zack had managed to make her doubt even him.
6
Eventually, Zack saw Liberty appear on the outdoor stairs, much to his relief. Part of him had feared that she would remain in the house on her own for the whole day out of spite, but, on the other hand, he was confident that the shy and friendly girl he once knew could never have resisted Candice’s request.
She was standing in the breeze looking at the beach through her amber sun glasses, her hair loose on her shoulders and the flowery dress she wore revealing her slim body. Her face looked relaxed enough, but her crossed arms gave the impression that she was not entirely comfortable.
Zack decided to leave her alone, as he was feeling both touched and annoyed at having provoked such embarrassment in her. He reckoned that he had probably crossed the line earlier, when he had expressed his disapproval of her relationship with her fiancé. He’d hoped to make her smile, but had ended up making her feeling even more uncomfortable. It saddened him, but he had to remember that she now wasn’t the same girl he used to know, and that they were not two friends who were happy to share a little private space anymore.
A few minutes after her appearance, Candice saw her and ran over to say hi.
“You came! We’re building a castle with cakes on its towers!” the little girl told her very enthusiastically.
Liberty hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, Candice, but I only came out to ask your father if I can work in the small sitting room, because it’s very quiet there and I can write in peace,” she said, smiling gently at Candice and looking over at Zack.
He shrugged. “Sure. Use whatever room you like.”
“Thank you,” she replied and turned towards the house, but Candice took her hand.
“Stay here and play with us!”
“I’m sorry, I’m just too old to play on the beach!”
Candice frowned. “Daddy is old like you, but he plays with me!”
“Your daddy is actually older than me,” Liberty pointed out, “although some people never really grow up.”
Zack forced himself not to laugh. He approached the stairs and looked up towards her: “I didn’t understand which of the insults I should be more offended by: the fact that I’m old or the fact that I’m immature?”
“Choose whichever one you prefer,” she replied, as cold as ice, and then went back inside. She was clearly still pissed off.
Candice looked at him with an annoyed expression. “Why does she always say no?”
“Good question – I don’t know why, sweetheart,” he mumbled, staring at the door Liberty had used to go back inside the house.
Candice snorted and kicked at the sand. “Was she this boring when she was little too?”
“No, she wasn’t. She was a very shy girl, but she liked to laugh and have fun too.”
“And was she pretty like now?”
“Yes, but in a very different way,” Zack replied honestly, remembering her as a teenager, sitting in his parents’ garden. “She had a very special sparkle in her eyes back then. Nowadays, it seems like she’s lost it.”
“We should make her laugh. But how?”
Good question – how? Zack caressed his unshaved jaw and looked at his daughter, who looked back at him and seemed to be committed to solving that problem at all costs. They were even more similar than they appeared to be on the surface, he thought to himself.
“What if we tickle her?” suggested Candice.
Zack imagined Liberty’s reaction and chuckled. That was surely the last thing she, the cold and serious career woman, was expecting. “Now that I’d really like to see!”
“Let’s go then!” said Candice, and raced off indoors before Zack had time to stop her. All he could do was follow his daughter.
Liberty was sitting by the window, distractedly drawing something, but she was spending more time gazing out at the sea than at her notebook. She looked so bored that Zack couldn’t help but sigh.
She was so damn stubborn! Her pride was so strong that she’d rather spend the whole afternoon alone with nothing to do than spend some time with him.
“Should we do a surprise attack, Daddy?” whispered Candice, tugging at one of his sleeves.
“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, right?” he said, staring at Liberty and then walking quickly into the room.
Liberty noticed him only when it was already too late. He lifted her up and heaved her onto his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, while Candice laughed and jumped around them.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m saving you! We don’t want you to die of boredom!”
“We have a mission!” said Candice. “We want you to have fun!”
“I was already having plenty of fun,” protested Liberty. She tried to wiggle out of his grip, lifting her chest and pushing with her hands, but all she managed to do was change position until in the end he was holding her in a rather romantic way, although she refused to put her hands around his neck.
“You’d better hold onto me, otherwise you might slip out of my hands…” Zack teased her while he walked down the stairs of the patio towards the beach.
“Put me down immediately!” she ordered him, her eyes blazing with anger.
“What do you think, Candy? Should I let her go?” he asked his daughter, while still looking at Liberty.
“Not yet! She hasn’t laughed yet!”
Zack shrugged. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but my boss doesn’t want me to put you down.”
He saw her getting even angrier and frantically trying to pull her dress down to cover her legs, and he raised his eyes to the sky. He couldn’t really understand why she was always trying not to be noticed while other women, who were less attractive than her, did everything they could to show off. She probably still had that sense of shame of the old Liberty – the shy one who wasn’t comfortable in her body and thought she had to compensate for her plain looks with an exceptionally witty brain, a generous heart and a lovely smile.
And talking about that smile…
“Okay, I’m feeling magnanimous today, so I’m going to give you a choice,” he said solemnly.
Liberty glared at him skeptically. “Which would be?”
“I promise to put you down if you’ll come play with us.”
“Very well,” replied Liberty.
Zack couldn’t believe that she had accepted his proposal so quickly so he decided he’d better be a bit more specific. “But you can’t just stay for a couple of minutes.”
“And how long does this punishment last?”
Zack was about to say something sarcastic, but Candice preceded him. “Why? Don’t you want to spend time with us?”
Liberty didn’t reply immediately, and Zack held his breath. His daughter was looking at them with her eyes wide open and a really sad expression on her face. Suddenly, he felt the weight of all the years spent working hard to give Candice everything she needed, including people to interact with. He liked joking with Liberty, but his daughter came first, he couldn’t allow anyone to hurt her, especially since she’d had to grow up without a mother. Liberty should know very well how Candice felt, and how badly
she needed to find reassurance in every adult she met. Hadn’t she been abandoned by her father too? And had she forgotten how hard it had been to fill the empty space he had left behind him? How could she not remember those sensations? And how had she managed to forget how to laugh and have some fun? These thoughts made him decide that whatever Liberty’s priorities were, if she thought that her pride was more important than his daughter’s wellbeing, she could just go back to New York.
This wasn’t the Liberty he had such lovely memories of.
They had already reached the shore when he put her down. Candice was still staring at Liberty and waiting for a reply, and so was Zack, who was also ready to compensate for any eventual disappointment for his child.
Liberty took a deep breath and leaned towards the girl with her hands on her knees: “I actually love being in your company, Candice! You’re a very smart, very funny little girl,” she said smiling. “What I’m not comfortable with is that autocrat of your father!” she said, jerking her thumb at Zack without looking at him.
“What is a auto… cart?”
“An autocrat – it’s someone who can’t take a no for an answer! He gives his opinions about things that he doesn’t know about even when nobody has asked him to, he forces people to eat when they’re not hungry and picks you up without asking if you’re okay with it! You are going to meet this type of men when you grow up, so remember my advice: steer clear of them, even if they do look handsome!”
Even though she didn’t seem to really understand everything she was being told, Candice nodded at her seriously while Zack chuckled to himself.
He was still fascinated by and attracted to that woman, and her elusiveness only made the feeling stronger. She had changed a lot since their teenage years. She used to be so easy to read… Her eyes were always so expressive and she had been unable to hide her emotions. She would blush easily and could never say no to people’s requests, and he remembered how delicately she used to tell him that she didn’t like something he had made: she was always so very careful not to hurt his feelings.
That accommodating attitude was completely gone now and she was quite capable of acting determined and self-confident, especially when she was listing his flaws.