"Should we say hello?"

Lucille was straining her neck looking up at him but his eyes were like lasers zooming towards Jess looking so lovely as her hair bounced around her as she threw her head in another fit of laughter. He hated that she was laughing because of another man.

"Daddy?"

He snapped out of his jealousy when she heard his daughter's voice. "Should we?" he asked her, stroking her jet black hair.

"Isn't it good manners to say hello to her since she is our neighbor?"

He chuckled with amusement and felt a hint of pride when he heard what she said. "Yes, Princess. Let's show our good manner to our neighbor," he was grinning when they crossed the street to greet their neighbor with a blinding smile.

However, before they could say hello to their pretty neighbor, Luke saw them approaching and greeted them first.

"Mr. Tiefenbacher, it's a pleasant surprise to see you here," he said but his eyes were glued on to the little girl he's holding in his hand. 'This must be the daughter' he thought as he gave her a smile.

Jess was rooted behind the sunglasses stand. Her mind was screaming with so many questions, for starters, 'What is he doing here when he was supposed to be in Berlin with his daughter?'

She heard Luke exchanging pleasantries with Noah's daughter but she couldn't find a word to say anything. She was just smiling stupidly at them while wearing a pair of sunglasses attached to a mustache. She could see Noah's eyes scrutinizing her face but she pretended to not notice his brooding gaze. 'Is he upset?'

"That's a silly pair of glasses that you're wearing!"

Noah's daughter's giggling voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You wanna try them?" she asked with a smile.

"May I?" she asked, nodding eagerly.

She smiled when she heard the little girl being polite. She squatted in front of her so they would be eye level and put the silly eyeglasses on her. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of her. She giggled when she saw herself in the photo looking silly wearing eyeglasses with a mustache.

"Should we get that?"

He was asking his daughter but he already pulled out his wallet giving the store attendant fifty bucks.

"The glasses were fifteen bucks, I received fifty."

"We'll get three pairs, please."

Jess was dumbfounded when Noah handed her another pair as he got one for himself. She threw a guffawing Luke a murderous look.

"You three should take a photo together. What do you think, Lucille?"

"Is that okay?" Her blue eyes that she inherited from her father were filled with confusion. They darted from her father to Jess, who was kneeling in front of her, and to Luke, who was laughing boisterously.

Noah shamelessly handed Luke his phone to take their photo. He squatted next to his daughter, putting the eyeglasses on Jess who was still jaw slacked on what was happening. He draped his arm over her shoulder, put Lucille in between them.

"Smile," he said, trying to control his laughter because he could see the silent warning from Jess' eyes. He handed Noah's phone back and Lucille asked her father to see the photo.

Jess was about to get up from kneeling down when she felt Noah's arm pressing down on her shoulder making it impossible to stand up. Well, not exactly impossible because she could push his arm away but Lucille's eyes were on her. She was showing her their photo.

She has no choice but to smile back at the little girl.

"Who is this happy family?"

She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth when she heard Ellise's voice coming out from the next store. She buried her nail in the soft skin between the thumb and index finger of Noah. He glanced at her as he knitted his forehead in question.

She pushed herself up from the ground, wiped her knees, and introduced Ellise to Noah.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Tiefenbacher."

She was still wiping her knees for dust from the cobblestone street that clung to her damp skin. Her eyebrows furrowed when Ellise didn't tell Noah that she knew his family.

"Likewise. I hope Jess told you good things about me?"

She smirked, seeing Noah giving Ellise his charming smile. What is he doing acting chummy to her friend? She took off the sunglasses she was wearing and shoved them to Noah's hand.

"Nice seeing you again, Lucille. Enjoy your shopping with your daddy."

She grabbed Ellise's arm and pulled her away from Lucille and Noah. Luke followed behind. But he was keeping his distance in case Jess decided it's a good time to kill him for laughing when Noah bought her eyeglasses and had their photo taken like they were a family on a vacation.

"Hey, easy there."

She didn't listen to Ellise and just kept on dragging her away. They ended up at the part of the beach where a line of tourists was lying on sunbeds or beach towels on the sand, they were all baking under the sun.

Jess let go of Ellise's arm and dropped herself on the sand. She was palpitating from the shock of seeing Noah with his daughter on the island.

When Noah told her that he would be in Berlin for two days for his daughter to meet her grandfather, she decided to fly here in San Lucas to avoid him. She doesn't want to be in the way of him spending time with his kid. But now they are here!

She doesn't want to jump to a conclusion, but she has a feeling that Noah came here because of her. He could take his daughter to any part of the world for her summer vacation, but why take his daughter here?

She pulled her knees to her chest and propped her chin on them. And that taking pictures of them wearing the same sunglasses! What was that? He was able to pull it off so smoothly she didn't know what was happening until it was all over.

'What does Noah want from her?'

A part of her brain was telling her something that made her heart jump happily in her chest, yet another part of her brain was mocking her for even thinking that Noah did everything he just did because he likes her!

'Don't be stupid, Jessie. The bastard didn't remember sleeping with you. The audacity of him to even flirt with you. And using his daughter on top of that! The nerve!'

'He must have a reason why he didn't remember you? Why don't you ask him?'

'Ask him what exactly? Huh? Why didn't you remember fucking me?'

A sob escaped her mouth, but before she could full-blown ugly cry with how chaotic the ongoing heated debate in her head, Luke pulled her up and dragged her to the far end of the beach where there were no other people since the place was shaded by some palm trees. Not a good place for sunbathing.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Ellise spat the words before she could open her mouth to complain to Luke on why he had to drag her too forcefully.

"I am sorry. I don't know what overcame me." she averted her gaze from Ellise.

"If you are going to act that way with Noah, why don't you just let the bastard break your heart so that you could move on already."

"There is nothing between me and Noah!" she was so frustrated that her voice was already rising without her knowing. 'Why does Ellise have to add to the chaos in her head? Can she just let her be?'

"Would you need some towels?" a lanky boy, wearing a sky blue polo shirt with the hotel logo printed on the shirt approached them with a pile of striped blue and white towels in his arms.

"Yes, yes! Leave all those towels in here." he gestured to the sand. "Are these towels absorbent?"

"Yes, sir. They are gentle on the skin but quite absorbent." the hotel attendant replied to Luke's question in a snappy manner.

"Good, good!" he nodded and clapped his hands in front of his broad chest. "You see, we need absorbent towels for the bloodbath that is about to happen." he grinned.

The hotel attendant looked at Luke to make sure that he was merely throwing a joke. When he saw Luke grinning, his eyes turned to her and Ellise that were currently scoffing at each other.

"We need alcohol too. You know, for disinfection!"

The hotel attendant glared at Luke for he now understood that he was playing a joke on him.

"What kind of alcohol do you need sir?" he asked with a straight face.

"Sex on the beach. Three of them. We are in the mood for some orgy."

"Your jokes were so tasteless." she sneered at him once the boy was out of earshot.

"Tasteless? You know what's tasteless Little Miss Jessie?" he asked with his pinky up in the air as his eyebrow was raised in mockery. "Crying in public over a guy! That's so cheap!"