Chapter 2 Jordan

Anushka's P.O.V.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to the sound of seagulls outside our window. There are no meetings, phone calls, or screaming people to deal with. I don't want to waste a minute of our time here. I stretch and turn over to look at Dakota. She's staring at me, smiling.

"Are you ready?" she asks as I pull her against me to snuggle.

"Ready for what, sweetheart?" I kiss her cheek, and she giggles.

"Ready to find me a daddy." I guess my hope that she would forget about that once we got here was wishful thinking.

"How about we get dressed and take a walk on the beach?" She nods excitedly but doesn't get up.

"Mommy, does it make you sad that I want a daddy?" Dakota sits up, so I do the same.

"No, honey, it doesn't make me sad. I just don't want to share you with anyone else. I like having you all to myself." She crawls onto my lap to hug me.

"It's okay to share. My teacher says sharing is caring." I chuckle as I kiss her head.

"Okay, I'll think about it. Now let's get out of here." We put on shorts, T-shirts, and sandals. When we go outside, it's still pretty early, so there are not many people around. I take a deep breath of the sea air as we take in the gorgeous ocean and blue sky.

When I hear someone vomiting, it ruins my feel-good moment. I see a man not far from us who's clearly sick. I start to turn and go in the opposite direction, but when I get a look at him, I stop. At first, I assumed he had too much to drink, but something tells me that's not the case.

"Let's go see if he's okay," I tell Dakota, taking her hand. She doesn't say anything as we approach him.

"Are you okay?" I know it's a ridiculous question, considering he's vomiting on the beach, but what else could I say? To his credit, he doesn't criticize me.  He even tries to smile.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I was taking an early morning run when I suddenly felt sick." I glance at his clothing. He's wearing athletic shorts, a T-shirt, and running shoes. He's young, probably a few years older than me. He has short, wavy, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. You could say he's handsome, not that I noticed or anything.

"Did you eat or drink something before you began running?" I ask as he takes deep breaths.

"Just a bottle of water in the hotel. A woman did grab me when I came onto the beach. It was soon after that I began feeling sick." He says before turning away from us and heaving. Nothing is coming up, but the heaves sound horrible. Dakota moves closer to him and puts her hand on his forehead. I honestly don't want her touching strangers, but I don't say anything.

"You feel hot. Maybe you have a fever," she tells him. He's almost green from being sick, but that doesn't stop him from smiling at my daughter.

"Thank you for checking me out, doctor." She giggles, looking from me to him. Please don't let her ask him to be her daddy. I look around and see a woman in the distance who seems too interested in what's happening with us.

"Is that her?" I ask, nodding in the woman's direction. The man looks up and nods.

"Yeah, she's the one who grabbed me. I'm Jordan. What's your name?" He asks as he lays on the cool sand. Dakota kneels next to him.

"I'm Anushka, and this is my daughter, Dakota. It's nice to meet you, although I would have preferred it to be under different circumstances." I keep my eye on the woman watching us. I'm positive she did something to Jordan.

"Anushka, that's a beautiful name. What does it mean?" He looks up at me from where he lies.

"Ray of light," I answer with a small smile. My mom said she named me that because I was her ray of light.

"Seems fitting because you're my ray of light right now, along with this little ray of sunshine." He winks at Dakota, and she giggles. Dang it, he's sweet-talking my daughter, and she's falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

"Sorry, but cheesy lines don't work on me, especially from a man I just met vomiting on the beach. Now show me where she grabbed you." Jordan chuckles and sits up, or tries to anyway. He looks a little tipsy, so I put my hand on his shoulder to help support him. Dakota puts her hand on his other shoulder.

"She grabbed me here," Jordan says, holding out his arm. There's a rash where he's pointing. He acts like he's going to touch it, so I swat his hand away.

"Don't touch it. Let's go to the doctor so you can get it looked at. We need to know what she put on you and how to treat it." I hold my hand out to help him up. He takes it and stands but sways a little.

"You said we. Does that mean you two are going with me?" He looks hopeful. I look at Dakota, and she smiles as she takes his hand. I'm thankful she's holding the hand on the unaffected side.

"Yes, we're going with you," she replies, raising her eyebrows as though she's daring me to say no. How did she get that look down so well already? I've used it on her many times.

"I guess the boss has spoken. Besides, I don't want to give the woman another chance to touch you. I also want to know what she put on you so I know what to avoid." We start walking toward our hotel. "Are you staying at this hotel too?"

"Yes. I believe they have a wellness center inside. Is this where you're staying?" Jordan asks, glancing at me.

"We just checked in last night. We came here for the New Year's Eve celebration." I planned to leave it at that, but I should have known Dakota would tell him the other reason we decided to come to the island.

"Today's Mommy's birthday, too," she tells Jordan happily. It takes me a second to realize that he's no longer walking with me. When I turn around, he's staring at me in shock.

"Today's your birthday? Is your husband here to celebrate with you?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"I don't have a husband. It's just Dakota and me. Why?" He looks away and then smiles slightly.

"Two beautiful ladies like you shouldn't be celebrating alone," he says as he comes to my side. Oh, he's flirting. That's a nice change. Most men just insult me because they get tired of me busting their balls. I guess a little harmless flirting is okay.

"We're here alone. Most men don't like successful women." I say as we walk into the hotel lobby. There's no need for him to know about my ex and the nightmare I escaped from. He stops before we reach the front desk.

"I'm not most men."