Grace could hear the murmur of Daisy talking to her father. How she wished things were easier. All little girls want a devoted, comforting daddy to spoil them and love them.

As she walked Lawrence to the door, Grace said they’d see him at Uluwatu in the late afternoon. ‘As soon as I hear from Andy I’ll let you know where he’s booked us in for dinner.’

‘I can call him, what’s his number?’

‘No. I’ll text you,’ Grace said. She didn’t want him nosing his way into her business and her friends. She’d learned that lesson.

A short time after Lawrence left, Sri called to Grace that the taxi driver was back at the front door. As Grace picked up her wallet, Tina looked up from reading on the lounge.

‘Don’t tell me Lawrence didn’t pay him!’

Grace chuckled. ‘I offered the driver a good tip to come back and tell me where he dropped Lawrence.’

‘Grace!’ Tina laughed. ‘Why?’

‘Doesn’t hurt to know these things. Is he paying to stay in a large hotel or cheap digs? Is he meeting anyone here? Why the hell is he really here? Lawrence doesn’t do anything for altruistic reasons.’

When she came back from seeing off the driver, Tina asked, ‘So? Where is he?’

Grace shook her head. ‘He’s staying at The Stones – five star, from what I’ve heard, and not far from the Kamasan. Seems a coincidence. I just can’t help but think he’s come here to make trouble for me.’

‘Oh, Grace, don’t say that. You sound bitter,’ said Tina. ‘He hasn’t seen Daisy for weeks.’

‘That’s not new. He went away on business trips all the time. He left on a work trip two days after she was born, if you recall. And he has stayed away on long trips, too, like those five weeks he was in America last year.’

‘Yes,’ admitted Tina. ‘And I have to say the times I spent with you, I never saw him do much with Daisy. He was always working in the city or in that wretched home office of his.’

‘With the door shut. Well, let’s move on. I’m meeting the crew briefly before we head to Uluwatu. If you don’t mind getting Daisy ready and asking Putu to bring you guys to Steve’s place and pick us up in an hour or so, we’ll head out there together.’

*

The boys glanced up when Grace walked into the meeting in their villa. Steve kept his eyes on her a beat longer than the others, then smiled, seeming embarrassed, and quickly went back to work on his laptop.

‘You’re all dressed up, Grace, you look great. Who’re you seeing after work?’ asked Mateo.