Sebastian watched, feeling useless. "What can I do? Get her shoes?"
"They're by the door. The pink sneakers."
Sebastian retrieved the tiny shoes—impossibly small—and knelt down. "Come here, Lily. Let's put your shoes on."
Lily ran over, plopping down on her bottom and sticking her feet out. Sebastian fumbled with the Velcro straps, finally getting both shoes secured. Lily immediately stood and stomped around, delighted with the sound.
"Shoes! Loud shoes!"
"Very loud," Sebastian agreed, standing.
Nora grabbed the bag and her room key. "Ready?"
They made their way downstairs, Lily between them, holding both their hands. She swung slightly with each step, giggling when they lifted her off the ground.
In the lobby, they passed several hotel guests. Sebastian saw the looks: the curiosity, the judgment, the speculation. An older woman he recognized from last night's gala stared openly at Lily, then at Sebastian, clearly doing mental math.
He didn't care. For the first time in his adult life, Sebastian Hale didn't care what people thought. All that mattered was the tiny hand gripping his fingers, the sound of his daughter's laughter, and the woman walking beside him who'd carried the weight of parenthood alone for too long.
They stepped out onto the beach, and Lily immediately broke free, running toward the water with a squeal of delight.
"Not too close, baby," Nora called, jogging after her.
Sebastian followed, his heart full and breaking simultaneously, knowing that everything had changed in the span of one morning, and that somehow, impossibly, he had to find a way to deserve this second chance.
They spent two hours on the beach. Lily collected shells with the focused determination of an archaeologist on a dig, presenting each discovery to Sebastian like it was a precious gem. He admired every single one—the broken ones, the plain ones, the ones covered in sand—with the same reverence he'd once reserved for multi-million-dollar deals.
Nora sat on a beach towel nearby, watching them with an expression Sebastian couldn't quite read. Sometimes she smiled, sometimes she looked away, blinking rapidly.
"Dada, look, big one!" Lily held up a conch shell nearly as large as her head, staggering under its weight.
Sebastian caught her before she toppled over. "Wow, that is big. Should we add it to our collection?"
They'd amassed quite a pile: shells, smooth stones, a piece of driftwood that Lily insisted was a boat, and one very confused hermit crab that Nora had gently returned to the water.
"I think we have enough treasures for today," Nora said, standing and brushing sand from her jeans. "Someone's going to need a nap soon."
"No nap!" Lily protested, even as she rubbed her eyes.
"Yes, nap," Nora countered gently. "You're getting cranky."
"Not cranky!"
Sebastian bit back a smile. "What if we bring all these shells upstairs and make a special place for them? Would that be okay?"
Lily considered this compromise. "In Mama's room?"
"Wherever you want."
That seemed acceptable. Lily started gathering shells with renewed purpose, trying to carry too many at once and dropping half of them.
"Here." Sebastian pulled off his sweater, creating a makeshift bag. "We can use this."
They loaded the shells carefully, Lily supervising with the seriousness of a foreman. By the time they finished, Sebastian's designer sweater was covered in sand and seawater, probably ruined. He didn't care even a little bit.
As they walked back toward the hotel, Lily crashed the way toddlers do, suddenly and completely. One moment she was chattering about Ellie needs shell, and the next she was slumped against Sebastian's shoulder, fast asleep.
"That was fast," Sebastian murmured, adjusting his hold.
"She fights naps like they're the enemy, then passes out mid-sentence."
Nora reached over to smooth Lily's curls. "Let's get her upstairs."
They made it through the lobby without incident, but the elevator doors had barely closed when Sebastian's phone, which he'd foolishly turned back on, began vibrating insistently. Nora glanced at the screen.
"Your mother's been calling."
"I know."
"18 times, Sebastian."
"I know."
He declined the call. " proveedores I'll deal with her later."
"She probably knows."
"About Lily?"