Page 5 of The Deadly Shallows

The deeper he fell, the more he knew he had to walk away.

On a deep inhale, he dove beneath the roaring wave, cresting up in time to hear it gurgle and crash behind him.

He looked over his right shoulder at Gabby, then past her to his CGIS teammate Finn. The fact that Finn would be his brother-in-law come April was still surreal. But he and Gabby . . . well, they just fit.

Seeing them together made him miss Brooke all the more, but he absolutely refused to utter the question burning inside.

Cold water slipped over him and his board. He stroked farther out toward the horizon, but the question wouldn’t shake loose from his mind. Where was Brooke?

She joined nearly every morning for a quick surf followed by breakfast at Finn’s, but not today. Maybe if he asked whether she was feeling all right, that would show concern but not give Gabby fodder to think—to know—he’d fallen for the woman. But he cared too much to let Brooke settle for him, no matter how deeply he ached to be with her.

Spotting the perfect wave about to form, he paddled hard for it. Cutting through the water with rhythmic strokes, he reached position and waited. The wave lifted him, and he angled into the curl, letting the frothing wave carry him in until it dissipated about ten yards from shore.

“Nice one,” Gabby said. Looking back at the horizon, she smiled as Finn also rode a stellar wave in. “About time for breakfast.”

The half hour had flown by. Noah had best hurry. He had a stop to make on the way to work.

Grabbing their boards, they headed up Finn’s sloping beach to the house, the damp sand shifting beneath their feet.

Reaching the surf shack, Noah rested his board against the wall and pulled off his neoprene gloves, shaking out his fingers. He headed for the shower stalls Finn had installed last month.

Stepping inside, he lost his suit and let the hot water roll along his skin, trying not to focus on how much Brooke’s absence was bothering him.

He’d grown too dependent on having her in his life, and that would burn them both. Giving the water another minute to cascade warmth over him, he hung his head. He had to do the right thing, had to distance himself, painful as it would be.

Dressing in dry clothes and slipping his feet into a pair of flops, he emerged from the stall. He’d grab his work shoes from the car after breakfast.

“Speaking of breakfast,” he said, entering the house to the scent of cinnamon, sweet icing, and yeasty dough. And, as was always the case with Finn, bacon. “Let me guess,” Noah said, snatching a piece. “Finn was in charge?” Not that he was complaining. His future brother-in-law was a great cook.

The bacon left a heated sting on his fingers and his mouth. The sizzle of it on the plate should have been a warning. Just like his deepening feelings for Brooke. “Can I help with anything?” he asked, trying to shift the direction of his thoughts onto anything but Brooke.

“Thanks, but I got it,” Finn said, loading a fresh heap of steaming bacon onto the platter while Gabby artfully arranged cinnamon rolls and pineapple slices along the rectangular serving plate.

He noticed the table was set for three. So they knew Brooke wasn’t coming.

“She went out for breakfast,” Gabby said, of course catching his glance at Brooke’s usual seat.

“I didn’t ask.” He popped a slice of still-sizzling bacon into his mouth. Better to burn his tongue than spill the truth—at least in this case.

She smiled that mischievous smile he swore she’d come out of the womb bearing. “Of course, you didn’t.”

“Stop razzing your brother,” Finn said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and placing a kiss on her neck.

Noah raised his hands. “Oy. Big brother here. No need to see that.”

Finn stepped back. “Sorry, man.”

After a prayer of blessing for the food, Noah shoved a cinnamon bun oozing with icing into his mouth, hoping it’d dissuade his investigative-reporter sister from probing him about Brooke.

Gabby sat back and crossed her arms—her telltale sign of an interrogation to come. “You didn’t ask, but I saw your face slacken when you looked at her empty chair.”

Yes. He missed Brooke. A longing resonated in the pit of his stomach at her absence, but he’d never admit it. And most definitely not to his sister, though she wanted them to be a couple nearly as desperately as he did.

She poked at the pineapple with her fork, moving the chunks about her plate. “She joined Dave for a breakfast date.”

Dave? Noah struggled to keep his expression even. Who the heck is Dave?

FIVE