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“Do you know what today is?” I ask cryptically.
“What?”
“Six months to the day since we went on an otter hunt,” I say against her mouth. “Six months of loving you.”
She laughs. “Come on, you didn’t love me then.”
I pretend to think.
“Not like I do now, no.” I hold her tighter. “Still, that was the start of me coming to my senses. The first inkling I couldn’t live without you.”
She laughs again as more dolphins splash around us and one nudges my back.
Another taps Destiny’s arm, and she looks down, her brow furrowing in surprise and concentration.
“Um. Is there something in its mouth?”
“Why don’t you find out?” I tell her.
“Wait, what? Is it a dolphin? The size seems a little off and—oh, its eyes are weird too.” She stares at the fake dolphin before she reaches for the snout.
“Home Shepherd can’t improve on nature’s perfection, but we can mimic it. You’re looking at the first trial run of our new underwater environmental surveillance drone. Today, it’s been painted and designed to mirror the local sea life in stunning detail.”
She looks up with saucers for eyes.
“Get out! Shepherd, you’re a genius.”
I smile and we lock eyes. “Nah. Someone much smarter gave me the idea about six months ago. I almost had to make Carol sign her name in blood to keep it a secret.”
Laughing, she holds out a hand as the fake dolphin lets her unhook the small box tied to its clawlike jaws. That’s mostly for appearance, but it does do an excellent job of grabbing small objects.
“Oh my God.” Destiny makes a strangled sound and stops cold, bobbing in the water.
That's my cue to take over.
I pry the box from her frozen fingers and open it.
It’s a pearl engagement ring, a custom design.
I even found that pearl myself years ago on a trip to New Zealand. It was just after the legal circus following Serena’s death, when I took a solid month island hopping around the Pacific to clear my head.
The pearl was my only keepsake. The only thing that made me forget my demons for a few minutes. The large, striking pearl washing up on the beach was truly a unicorn event and it made me marvel.
Who knew I was actually finding an engagement ring for my future wife?
Or maybe it found me.
Now, as I watch her eyes glistening with a thousand emotions, I finally understand why.
“Shepherd,” she says again, her voice hushed and fingers trembling as she holds them to her lips.
Her wide eyes dart to my face.
Okay, showtime.
I take a deep, rattling breath and—
Fuck.
