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Athena ignored her completely, and Naomi tried not to let it hurt her feelings. She was a working dog, after all, and it wasn’t her job to make friends.
“Do you know how to do this?” Gage asked.
“Pretty much,” she said. “We just run into the water and let the waves carry us back on the boards, right?”
“That’s the idea,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
They waded into the warm water. Somehow, the glare from the sun wasn’t too bright on the surface. Naomi realized that must be Oberon’s work.
It was strange to know she was on the beach by the feel, the scent, and the sounds, and at the same time to know that some parts of it were real and others were not.
“This seems like a good place to start,” Gage said, when she was in about chest deep.
She turned back to the shore, and they waited for a wave.
Athena patrolled in water up to her shoulders. The fur on her body had morphed into a glorious blue, the color of the water. Her head was the pale color of the froth on the waves.
When the next good wave came, it almost took Naomi by surprise. She jumped at the wrong moment and missed it, getting nothing but a mouthful of salty water for her trouble.
Gage rode his toward the shore, with Athena barking frantically at him all the way.
Then he swam back out, laughing, and joined Naomi again.
This time, when a big wave came, they took it together, and it felt like flying.
But Athena snapping at the waves and board definitely put a damper on the feeling.
“This is scary for her,” Naomi said. “And I’m getting tired anyway.”
Gage got a strange look on his face, then smiled tenderly at her.
“Your lunch awaits you at the tiki bar,” Oberon said, before she could figure out why Gage was looking at her like that.
13
Gage
Gage held Naomi’s hand in his as they approached the little tiki bar he had seen when he first arrived.
Confusion stormed in his chest, and he had to struggle to stay focused on the present and the little woven shack where they would eat lunch and get to know each other even better.
He had never known anyone to be sensitive to Athena’s needs before. No one but himself. Most people treated the dog like nothing more than a tool, if they paid her any mind at all.
It was odd to see how much it meant to him that Naomi wanted to stop an activity she was enjoying, not because Athena was annoying her, but because the dog was scared.
For all her elegant manners and her corporate job, Naomi clearly had a heart. It was one thing to be considerate to Gage, who she thought was a wealthy suitor. It was another to be concerned for Athena, who could not speak for herself, had no power or wealth to convey, and had done nothing but rebuff Naomi’s attempts at friendship since the moment they had met.
It was wonderful to know that his mate had a kind heart. He was so happy that he felt like he could fly. Her beauty was nothing compared to this.
“You’re excited for lunch?” she asked, her sweet, teasing voice like music to his senses.
“I guess so,” he told her, not wanting to embarrass her by making a big deal out of what she had done. “I’m happy to do anything, if I get to do it with you.”
Maybe he could tell her the truth about himself now. Seeing this side of her gave him a confidence he hadn’t possessed earlier.
They sat at a small table, set with glasses of bright liquid with fruit on tiny sticks.
“What’s this, Oberon?” Naomi asked.
