“She is the mermaid goddess,” Dauphine said with a happy sigh, drawing our attention. “She rules over this whole kingdom.”

“Does she now?” he humored his daughter. He looked back at me. “You should have rented some beach chairs and an umbrella to get out of the sun,” he said, then frowned. “I apologize. I didn’t think of that. Also that my meeting ran long.” He pulled his wallet out and flagged down a beach attendant who was jogging past with an ice bucket. “Where’s your stuff?”

I pointed over my shoulder behind us and he went to pick my beach bag up.

“It’s fine—”

“Dauphine.” He spoke over my head. “Swim with me and let the mermaid goddess rest in the shade?”

She dropped the handful of wet sand and went shrieking into the water.

“Hey,” I called. “A little help here?” I struggled to get loose in the sand, and when it was clear Dauphine hadn’t heard or simply ignored my plea, her father was suddenly crouching next to me and digging the sand from around my legs. God. He was far too close. His hand brushed sand and then skin as he dug me out. He froze for a moment, then took a breath and continued.

I quickly took over and brushed enough off that I could finally wiggle free.

He stood and gave me his hand. And in moments Dauphine’s kingdom was destroyed as I was pulled upright.

“Here.” He dropped my hand and went around and brushed sand from my back before abruptly stopping and stepping back, thinking better of it.

“Thank you,” I said and hurried past him into the water. “I need to wash off.”

As soon as we had a place to sit, he gave me his wallet to put in the beach bag and draped his linen shirt over the chair next to me. I traded his wallet for a towel I handed him for the second chair. He laid it out and then perched on the edge and applied the sunscreen I handed him to his face and shoulders.

From behind my sunglasses I feasted on watching him. His hair was unruly where he’d obviously dragged a hand through several times over. Maybe when he’d run out of coasters. Somehow, I’d never taken him for a nervous person. It didn’t jive with his business reputation. And I found seeing the vulnerable side of him did strange things in my belly. I sighed softly.

It didn’t escape me that the three of us on the beach looked a lot like a family. And how much I liked it. Really, really, liked it.

“Thank you for lunch,” I managed in a strangled voice to fill the silence. I looked around, desperate to look at anything rather than at him, and noticed the beach had emptied out somewhat. Dauphine tried to do a handstand in the water and tumbled sideways.