Cabe's favorite breakfast joint was a diner called Over Easy. Upon entering, I realized the name mirrored the decorating style. Over the brightly upholstered booths hung a collection of risqué drawings, each one depicting barely dressed bodies in compromising positions. Most of them were bent over various objects—cars, desks, chaise lounges. One graphically detailed painting showed a naked conga line.

When we were seated, Cabe ordered us a Men in White coffee, assuring me I wouldn't need to add a thing. "I know you like a lot of cream in your coffee. If you don't like it, I'll drink it," he told me as I scrutinized him over my menu. "Everything I've tried here is good."

"I'm partial to waffles."

"Try the Belgian Cock Biter. It comes with a side of chicken fingers dipped and fried in their homemade batter."

"I've never understood the waffles and chicken craze. But I admit I've never tried it."

"This is the perfect place for that, if you're a virgin."

We were still smiling when our coffees came. I ordered the cock biter without the cock, after which we took to staring at each other across the table.

"I thought we could do a self-guided tour of the art deco district today," he said. "But I'm good with keeping things loose."

"That sounds like fun."

"Great. I've booked us an ecotour for tomorrow. We'll be kayaking around the inland waterway with a guide. It includes snorkeling. Does that sound like something you'd enjoy?"

"For sure."

"Sweet." He smiled as he brought his cup to his lips, and I found myself staring at his mouth.

"It's kind of weird being here," I said. "I had a lot of track meets in Miami during high school, and I grew to hate the place."

"I'd like to change your mind about it. It's not a bad place once you get your bearings."

"Mom's here all the time to visit her boyfriend, but she never asks me to join her because she knows I wouldn't be interested."

"If her boyfriend's a long-time resident, he probably knows more about the area than I do. Maybe we should give him a call."

"I know practically nothing about Anthony apart from his name. To be honest, I try not to get involved in my mom's affairs. It rarely ends well for me."

"So, you've never met him?"

"Nope. She doesn't even include him in her videos. I figure he's not into that fake bullshit."

"How do you feel about her leaving Daytona and moving here with him? The guy could be a con artist. Do you trust her judgement?"

His question had me revisiting all the times I worried about my mom when I wouldn't hear from her for a week. The only reassurance I got were the regular posts she made to her YouTube channel. "It's been a couple of years, so I figure he would have shown his hand by now if he had serious skeletons in his closet."

Our food arrived, and I gaped at the size of my cockless waffles. "Holy shit. I'll never eat all of this."

"That's what doggy bags are for, darling." Our waiter deposited a carafe of syrup on the table and winked. "You can enjoy it later after sex."

"This place is a hoot." I laughed as I poured on the syrup, and conversation slowed as we stuffed our faces. I was freaking starving, and I nearly polished off everything, stopping before I made a spectacle of myself.

"So, June. I am required to ask you if you're interested in finding your dad." Cabe covered his empty plate with a napkin as he pushed it away.

"You're required to ask? What does that mean?"

"It means Jeffrey is connected with a group of private investigators who are very good at their job. He uses them for intensive background checks on high end properties they're interested in."

"How did Jeffrey find out my dad was missing?"

"That would be my dad."

"Oh. I guess you're off the hook then."

"Sorry. It's the nature of the biz."

I gave his question some thought, although it didn't take much time. I'd wanted to find my dad since he left, but my reasons had recently changed from emotional to practical when my mom dropped that contract in my lap.

"I'd be open to it. I've come to the conclusion that he should make good on the commitment he made with his family. I know why he left, but it was pretty shitty of him to leave me and Mom with the burden of the bar."

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then he was back, flagging down our waiter for the check. Before we left, he sent a text to Jeffrey to set up a dinner date to discuss the details of finding my dad. The day progressed pleasantly from there. We talked. We laughed. We held hands and kissed whenever the mood was right. It felt like a couple's day out, and I tried not to overanalyze it.

When we returned to the condo, we got dressed for our dinner with Jeffrey without feeling like we had to have sex. Our minds were willing, but our bodies needed a time out. The place Jeffrey recommended had all the markers of a romantic restaurant: dim lighting, a large wine selection, fake candlelight at the tables, and he appeared to enjoy his clout with the maître d.

"The Manns have been coming to Antonio's over a decade. I think Cabe brought Vanessa here on their first date." Jeffrey grinned at Cabe, and I imagined Cabe kicking him under the table. I had already determined that these two were rivals, so I prepared for an evening of low blows.

"Your memory must be better than mine. Or did she tell you that before you made the reservation?"

Jeffrey ignored Cabe's jab and turned his inquiring eyes on me. "What's your wine preference, June?"

"I don't really drink much wine."

"But you're not opposed to it, right? Antonio's wine cellar is the best in South Beach."

"If you order something, I'll try it. How's that?"

He seemed appeased and flagged down our waiter to place the order. Then he was back to interrogating me. "So, how have you enjoyed your visit to Miami, so far?"

"It's been better than I expected."

"Great. What's been the best part for you?" His eyes lit up like he was responsible for my better-than-expected experience.

"Definitely the sex." I offered Cabe a larger-than-life smile, and he graced me with a sexy smirk.

Jeffrey chuckled. "Why don't we talk about your missing father. When did you last see him?"

His swift segue had me stifling a grin, and a glance at Cabe told me he was doing the same. "Five years ago—March second. Four weeks before my twenty-second birthday."

His eyebrows bunched like he was doing the math in his head. "And you've had no word from him since then?"

"Nothing."

"What about your mom? Has she heard from him?"

"Neither of us have."

"Are you sure she would tell you if she had? Maybe she's trying to protect you."

"She wouldn't hide that from me. She's run the gambit of emotions since he left. The one that's lasted the longest is anger. If he ever turns up again, she's going to flay him for abandoning us."

"Would she be willing to speak with me about . . ."

"No. Don't contact her. She would flay me if she knew I was trying to find him."

Both of them looked at me with wide, confused eyes, and Cabe reached out to rub my leg. "It's fine, June. We won't involve your mom if you don't want that. But, if we do find him, she's going to know you were involved."

"If that happens, I'll deal with it then. But I honestly doubt it's going to happen. The guy is a ghost."

"Well, my people are experts at finding ghosts," said Jeffrey. "As long as you provide them with every detail you know about your dad, I have confidence they will find him eventually."

"Eventually being the operative word," I told him. "His parents passed when he was a kid, and he has no family that I know of. Other than the memories I have of him, the guy has left no trail to follow."

Our dinners arrived, and conversation turned to complimenting the chef and how the Mann's had helped put his name on the culinary map. Jeffrey plied me with wine, which I had to admit was pretty tasty. But I could tell that Cabe had reached his limit when Jeffrey told me how easily the Mann's could facilitate my career if I considered a position at the University of Miami.

By the time Cabe and I arrived at the condo, we were both mentally exhausted. We stripped naked and slid under the bed sheets to snuggle. He was the first to say what both of us were thinking.

"Jeffrey is an arrogant ass, but he does have good connections."

"Yeah. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel like I might see my dad again."

"Apart from convincing him to sign the bar over to you, what are you looking forward to when you see him?"

I had to think about his question, which was weird. For the first couple of years after Dad left, I had rehearsed the same speech hundreds of times. But my life looked different now.

"I think I'd tell him that I'm okay with his choice to run from the certainty of prison but it was time for him to fulfill his responsibility to the family he created. Otherwise, he's just a douchebag like all the other douchebags out there. My dad never liked to be compared to other people. He always thought he was better than the general population."

Cabe offered a sympathetic smile. "If I was looking into those eyes after a statement like that, I'd have to do the right thing."

A flutter erupted inside my belly, and I pressed a kiss to his lips. "Vanessa said you were one-of-a-kind, and I'm starting to believe her."

"She said that?"

Oops. That was definitely the wine talking. "Yes. You seem surprised."

He shrugged. "Maybe I shouldn't be. When we met, she was pretty cool. But she's become a commodity in the Mann franchise. Money changes people." He pulled me close and swung his leg over mine, wrapping me in his warmth. "I'm sorry about Jeffrey. He can come on pretty strong."

"Jeffrey doesn't bother me. But I can tell he gets under your skin."

"To be honest, I thought I'd grown immune to his macho bullshit. But he's challenging me on this trip. He's clearly into you. I'm sure that's why."

"Well, he would have to be completely clueless to think the feeling is mutual."

Cabe chuckled against my forehead. "That's part of the reason he's into you. He can't stand that you're blowing him off."

"Why would I blow him when I would much rather blow you?"

He quirked his brows, and I felt him harden against my belly. We hadn't crossed that threshold yet, and after our sex marathon, now was not the time for it. "But I think I'll save that one for later," I said.

"A little delayed gratification? You know just what to say to me."

He swaddled me in his arms and the night drifted into morning, an incredibly early morning. I had just enough time to drink a cup of coffee and grab a breakfast sandwich before he whisked me away to the Florida Keys where he'd arranged our nature excursion. It was very thoughtful, and I think I smiled the entire day, even after a close encounter with a barracuda.

We returned to the condo, enjoyed a relaxing nap, then we got dressed for a real date. Cabe didn't consider our dinner with Jeffrey a legit date. Duh.

"So, are we counting this as our second or third date?" I asked. "I remember you saying something about turning into an asshole after that. Or am I mixing you up with Cinderella?"

We'd taken to the sidewalk and Cabe was holding my hand. He lifted his sunglasses to look at me. "I suppose this could count as our third date. How am I doing, so far?"

"No complaints." I smiled and he leaned in for a quick kiss.

"I think you're going to like the place I chose. Most nights you can find a local celebrity or A-list icon hanging out at the bar."

"I'm not impressed by celebrity, but I don't doubt my mother knows about this place. She's hassled plenty of celebrities to appear on her vlog."

We arrived ahead of our reservation time, and a woman dressed in a suit and tie ushered us to the bar, promising to retrieve us when our table was ready. I ordered my usual, and Cabe took the recommendation of the bartender, who seemed proud of his vast selection of bourbons.

As we began a conversation about Cabe's visit to a distillery in Kentucky, I caught the tail end of an exchange between the bartender and a man with a familiar voice. He threw a bill down on the bar and left in a hurry, only giving me a glimpse of his retreating back. But his hair and gait were familiar, and a memory flooded in.

I'm on the beach with my parents. my dad is walking ahead of me and my mom. He's holding a beer bottle in one hand and a fishing pole in the other. We're headed to our favorite fishing spot. He's a tall man, and a slight hunch has developed from years of leaning over to talk to people. His barely-there mustache is neatly trimmed.

I blinked and the man was gone, but a funny feeling had appeared in my gut. "Excuse me a second, will you?"

I jumped off my barstool and ran for the door. The man couldn't have gone far. I just needed to confirm it wasn't him. I bolted outside the restaurant and looked up and down the sidewalk, searching for the pale blue jacket the guy was wearing. Or was it green? No. Dad never wore green.

I walked in the direction of the crowd, towards the beach. The sun was gone but there was enough dusk to light my way. When I reached the end of the street, I stood on the corner and squinted at the bodies filling the sidewalk. Was I silly to think my dad would be here in Miami? This guy's hair was longer than Dad would ever wear it. Was I imagining things because Jeffrey had put the seed of hope in my mind?

"June?"

Chills rushed up my arms, and I spun around, expecting to see a face I knew. When I met Cabe's hazel eyes, I couldn't help feeling disappointed.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I thought I saw someone I knew."

"Who?"

I sighed heavily as I took his hand. "My dad. That's crazy, huh?"

"Not at all. I'm sure he's been on your mind. Damn that Jeffrey. He can be an insensitive ass."

"Don't blame him. Who wouldn't want to find a missing parent? Let's get back to the restaurant before they give away our table."

We returned to find our table ready, and Cabe took it upon himself to become the most charming date I'd ever had. I couldn't say what it was that made me feel that way. I already knew he had a great sense of humor, and he always seemed interested in my opinions.

As we made the return trip to the condo, all thoughts of my missing dad faded into the background, and I felt like I was bobbing on a wave, weightless and carefree. Was it my natural habit to push away the deep shit and focus on the fun? Or was it Cabe being an amazing companion? What happened to the girl who avoided commitment and kept her emotions out of the bedroom?

"Here's a funny question," I said as we hunkered down in bed.

"Lay it on me."

"When we first met, why did you get so defensive when I commented about your eyes?"

He blew air through his lips, ruffling my hair with his warm breath. "Sorry about that. It was a knee jerk reaction. I've had a lot of comments about my eyes. Not that I didn't appreciate them, but after a while it felt like my only redeeming quality. I mean, it's not like I did anything to earn them. When my ex and I broke up, she said it was the only thing keeping her with me towards the end."

"Fuck. That's harsh."

"No, shit."

I pulled his head down for a kiss and was reminded again about all of his good qualities.

"Do you want to snuggle?" he asked as he tugged me closer. And that's when I knew I was in deep shit.

👇 👇 👇

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Anyone else tried waffles and fried chicken? I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure, but I can see the appeal of salty and sweet. When I was a kid, we would go to the movies and I would order popcorn and an ice cream sandwich. Then I would stick pieces of popcorn around the outside of the ice cream sandwich and eat it that way. And, of course, there's the popcorn and Hot Tamales combo. Yum!