Emotion swelled in my throat, burning hot. “You don’t wish you’d never met me?”
“I wish we weren’t living a fucking nightmare, haunted by drug smugglers. But, no, Kai. I’m glad I met you. And horrible as it’s been at times, I’m glad we’re in it together.”
Relief cracked something inside me. I pulled her into my arms, laying on a long, slow kiss. The scent of her shampoo mixed with the brewing coffee in the air. Her hesitation melted and she fell deeper into it, finally opening up. All defenses dissipated, hers and mine. Reconnection was bliss, like a bottle of water after crossing a desert. For a moment I almost forgot we were in danger at all.
But reality pressed in. My hardwired responsibility sounded alarms, squeezing past the relief of having her in my arms. I was already running late. I pulled away. “Much as I hate to, I have to go, beautiful.”
“I know. Fishing calls.” Her hands trailed down over my chest. “My painting calls too. Go,” she said before planting another peck on my lips.
“Speaking of which, I still owe you a fishing trip.” We’d talked about it a few times but never made a plan. “How about tomorrow? My charter canceled. It would do us some good to get away for a minute.”
She didn’t look remotely tempted. It seemed more like she was trying to decide how to say no. “I don’t know. I kinda wanted to make progress on the paintings for Paradise Key.”
“Oh. Of course,” I said, lacing my fingers together behind her back, pulling her close. “I know that’s important for you. No worries.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “We’ll do it some other time. It can wait.”
Something shifted in her expression. A flash of something dark—pain, regret?—but then it was gone, smoothed away like brushstrokes over wet paint. “You know what, it can’t wait. It shouldn’t. Life is to be lived. And I want you to show me your world. Let’s go fishing tomorrow.”
“Yeah? Really?” The tingle of pleasant surprise rose in my chest, unclenching something tight. “Alright, it’s a date.”
“It’s about time we have a real one,” she smiled up into my eyes.
I floated all the way to my Jeep. Cloud Nine carried me down the drive, even as the nagging part of my brain whispered that nothing in our lives could stay this simple for long.
CHAPTER 23
JASMINE
Fishing was never my thing. Many little girls were never subjected to it. But not me. My mom had two girls, and my dad seemed to hold out hope that one of us would be a tomboy.
He dragged my younger sister and me to the pond on my grandparents’ property dozens of times before finally giving up. Neither of us would ever be the son he never had. By then I pretty much hated fishing, and didn’t pretend otherwise. Today I’d make an effort to at least pretend to enjoy it. That’s what I told myself on the way to meet Kai at the marina. He’d insisted on going an hour earlier to get everything ready, “so I wouldn’t hate it before we even left the dock.”
“I’m not going to hate it,” I’d reassured him, sounding more convinced than I was.
Kai was waiting on the dock, a big smile beaming. “Your timing is perfect. I just finished loading up.”
“Great! Did you get good snacks? I get insanely hungry on the water.” I’d never been fishing in the Keys, but every time I wentdiving I turned into a ravenous beast, inhaling protein bars and orange slices like I’d been rescued from a deserted island.
“Pastries and coffee for the first course, and sandwiches on fresh baguettes for the second. All from Bitton.”
My favorite French café. It hadn’t quite been a month that I’d known Kai, but he got me. “Perfect.”
Kai’s gaze shifted at the same time I heard footsteps approaching. Instinctively, I turned. Reef was twenty feet away, heading straight for me. My breath caught, and for a split second I had the irrational thought:Dear god, is he coming with us!?It was a date. I knew Kai wouldn’t invite him. But why the fuck was he here? My stomach dropped, the old panic flickering. Being around him carried the weight of our secret. I summoned all my calm to try to act relaxed. “No charter for you today either?” I asked.
“Half day,” he answered, aloof. “Leaving at noon.”
I said, “Oh good,” and meant it.
He asked Kai about which boats they were going to use for a group of fourteen coming next week. And with a brief glance my way, he said, “Good luck out there.”
“Thanks,” I said, relieved as he walked away. I turned to Kai, smiling. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Kai helped me onto the boat and stashed my bag in the dry locker. “Let’s start out at Alligator to catch some bait.”
“Oh, the lighthouse?” I perked up. No need to fake enthusiasm for that. Snorkeling around Alligator Lighthouse was still in my top three enchanting Keys experiences.
“Yeah, then we can head out to deeper waters and see where the birds take us. To something big, I hope.” His eyes glittered with excitement. Instantly I recognized the feeling, and wondered if I looked the same sort of goofy when I got psyched up to make art.
The boat skimmed over water so calm it looked like glass, broken only by ripples of turquoise and cobalt that shifted beneath the hull like living brushstrokes. I leaned against the rail, the sun warming my shoulders, eyes fixed on the slender silhouette of Alligator Lighthouse rising from the horizon. This is why I’d always wanted to live in the Keys. Nature’s art.
