Page 115 of Fake it With Me

Things had changed between Sasha and the rest of us. She’d been spending time with Daisie. Supervised visits at first, then longer periods as Daisie grew more comfortable. And she’d been true to her word about doing better. She was genuinely trying to build a relationship with her daughter.

It wasn’t perfect. There were still awkward moments, still wounds that needed healing. But it was progress. Real, genuine progress.

As if sensing my gaze, Sasha looked up and saw me. She said something to Daisie, then walked over, and I braced myself even though our interactions had been cordial lately. Not friendly, but we weren’t in a verbal sparring match.

“Liza,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay,” I said cautiously.

“I just—” She took a breath. “I wanted to thank you. You fought for Darek and Daisie. You saved my family. I almost made a huge mistake, taking Daisie’s father away from her. And you stopped that from happening.”

“Sasha—”

“No, please let me finish. I know I was terrible to you. At the science fair, here at the yacht club that first time. I was jealous and angry and I took it out on you. But you were exactly what they needed. What Daisie needed.” She paused. “What I needed, actually. Because watching you with Daisie and seeing how you mothered her, it showed me what I should have been doing all along. You were so fierce in your protection over her. It made me want to do better.”

Then she pulled me into a hug, and I was so surprised I just stood there for a second before hugging her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For loving them. For being the mother I couldn’t be.”

“You’re being that mother now,” I said quietly. “I see you trying. Daisie sees it too.”

When she pulled back, there were tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to mess this up again.”

“Then don’t. Keep showing up. Keep trying. That’s all any of us can do.”

She nodded and wiped her eyes, then smiled. “Darek’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have him too.”

After she walked away, I felt Darek’s hand on my back.

“That looked intense,” he said.

“It was good. She’s really trying, Darek.”

“I know. I’m glad.” He squeezed my waist. “Come on. There’s something I need to do.”

He led me to the center of the room and called for everyone’s attention. The conversations died down, and people turned to look at us.

“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Darek said, his voice carrying across the room. “As most of you know, I recently acquired this yacht club. And I want to start this new chapter by acknowledging something important.”

He looked around at the gathered crowd.

“This place used to be called Waverly Yacht Club. But Grant Waverly is gone. He is no longer part of this community. So it’s time for a new name. A name that represents what this club is going to be going forward.”

I saw people leaning in, curious.

“This club will be a place where we celebrate not just yachts and sailing, but the ocean itself. The creatures that live in it, the beauty of it, the importance of protecting it.” He looked directly at me, and my heart started pounding. “And I can’t think of a better way to honor that than to name this club after the person who taught me to appreciate all of that.”

I stared at him, wondering what he was doing.

“From this day forward, this will be known as Whale Watcher’s Yacht Club.”

The room erupted in cheers and applause. People raised their glasses, toasting the new name, and I just stood there in shock.

Darek turned to me and grinned. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect. I love it. I love you.”