He replayed in his mind those moments on their surfboards a couple of days ago, when she had opened up about a small slice of her life, and he had felt like the luckiest man in the world to be the one receiving those confessions, and the guardian of them. Sofia’s armor was slowly cracking, and he could see in her eyes that so much was spinning inside that gorgeous mind of hers. He wanted to know more, to be the keeper of her thoughts, her dreams. It wasn’t a secret that he’d fallen head over heels for her from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, and even though at first he’d thought it was just physical, he couldn’t deny that Sofia was so much more than a show-stopping body, big doe eyes, and perfect features. She had a mind that fascinated him, a presence that pulled him in like a tide, and he would gladly let himself drown in it if it meant discovering just a little more of who she was day by day.
16
SOFIA
I Am What I Am – Emma Muscat
The few timesshe’d been to Biarritz were always in summer, either on surf trips with Alejandra or for conferences with Neptune. The thought made her snarl in frustration just at the memory of how foolish she had been.
The conference was small, and not many of the famous scientists she had worked with were likely to attend a tiny event like this. She had double checked the program and didn’t see anyone linked to Neptune.
Grazie al cielo.
The goal of the conference was to bridge marine biology with digital communication, science storytelling, and public awareness. Lidia, the social media manager who had contacted her, had been extremely excited about her acceptance, telling her she was a huge fan.
Sofia had thought to pay for it herself, but when Ilias had suggested joining her to push the narrative of their relationship,TerraVive’s contract came to mind reminding her that they would fund any travel they did together for work. They had chosen a central hotel, right across from the beach, with two beds and all the complimentary bullshit she normally didn’t need in hotels, but if TerraVive was paying, she might as well live large.
Her social media following had almost doubled overnight since they’d shared their first post together, and the press had gone wild over the pro surfer and the scientist ending up together. Alejandra had texted her that the “romance book girlies” were losing their minds about the pairing, and Sofia genuinely couldn’t understand why. Her friend had explained something abouttropes, but for the love of God, Sofia couldn’t see what all the hype was about. At the end of the day, she’d become known for her videos diving with whales and explaining marine biology. She was a nerd, plain and simple. Ilias was the sexy athlete everyone swooned over. And even though Alejandra had tried to make her understand the public’s fascination, Sofia couldn’t quite relate. Even as a content creator, she spent very little time online, thanks to the social media team she had hired. She preferred to record the content, and let them deal with posting and interacting. It was fun at first, but sometimes she ended up on the wrong side of social media, and her mental health mattered more than being insulted by Juan from Spain. Since their “relationship” had gone public, she’d skimmed through a few, and some weren’t exactly thrilled about them being together. Her immediate thought had been,And who the fuck cares about you, Karen?but she obviously couldn’t post that. They were supposed to be repairing Ilias’ image, not tanking it with her unfiltered mouth.
Renting a bike had allowed her to reach the conference and breathe some fresh air, and now the panic of speaking in public, alone, without the backup of Neptune, was real. And scary. Assoon as she jumped off the bike and parked it, she checked her phone to find Ilias’ message.
Just landed.
Taking a taxi to be there for your conference.
Good luck ??
I’ll be there once you are done.
She shook her head slightly when she realized she was smiling at the message. Somehow, Ilias’ presence was starting to not be annoying.
“Doctor Moretti Gómez, are you ready?” Lidia smiled brightly as she waited for her at the entrance of the building. She was a quirky twenty-something who clearly loved the ocean as much as Sofia did, and Sofia saw herself in her. The same eagerness, her desire to do the right thing.
Just don’t fall in love with someone who’s going to steal all your work from you.
“Sure. Let’s do this.”
Speaking in front of people had always caused her nerves to flare. She had gone to the bathroom three times since she’d arrived, and as she stepped on stage, she felt like she needed to run for a fourth.
Taking a deep breath, she plastered on a smile and, with her back straight and a faked sense of security, she seated herself in front of the interviewer, Amélie, another young woman who showered her with compliments for most of the panel.
As much as Sofia wasn’t someone who loved being thrown compliments, after such a shitty period, it felt extremely good to feel seen. And not judged.
“Any new research? I read your last one with Neptune and found it extremely insightful. Is there something new you can share with us?”
Amélie looked at her expectantly.
The mention of Neptune made her skin crawl, but at least Amélie seemed to recognize that thefucking researchwas hers, not Thomas’.
“It’s a wellness-oriented research, something different from what I’m used to research,” Sofia said, slightly worried about voicing her new project. “My father is battling colon cancer, and in my desire to help him, I found out about the Blue Mind theory and the calming properties of ocean sounds, specifically, whales. I’m just at the beginning; it’s self-funded, so it’s going to take time. But I know it can do good.”
Amélie looked at her with a sympathetic smile.
“I hope your father gets well soon.”
“I hope so too,” she replied, voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat. No need to start crying in front of strangers with phones and cameras that could send her viral for sobbing.
Gosh, sometimes she hated social media.
