Page 60 of Suddenly Yours

I laughed though, kicking my legs and feeling the weightlessness. “It’s freezing!”

“You’re just a delicate kitchen flower,” he teased, cutting through the water toward me with a few lazy strokes.

Nearby, the rest of the group was in a state of controlled chaos. Ben was trying, and failing, to pull Sarah onto a giant inflatable flamingo, while Max and Cora were engaged in a surprisingly competitive splashing war near the back of the sailboat. Their voices echoed off the rock walls of the cove, sounding bright and distant.

I swam away from the commotion, heading toward the mouth of the cove, where the water turned a deeper, darker indigo. The silence hit me first. The world always hushes when your ears are level with the tide.

A moment later, the steady rhythm of water breaking behind me told me I wasn’t alone. Cade pulled up beside me, his hair slicked back, making his features look even more rugged, more defined. Out here, away from the boat, the air felt private.

“I’d forgotten that you’re a very good swimmer,” he said, his voice lower now, dampened by the surrounding cliffs.

“How many swimming pools, lakes, and oceans have we been in?” I joked, treading water just inches from him. Our legs brushed beneath the surface, a ghostly, tangled contact that sent a different kind of shiver through me.

He reached out and grabbed a nearby rock and offered me his other hand. I took it, grounding myself against his strength.

“You okay?” he asked. His eyes looked into mine, searching for the part of me who was always worrying about the next disaster ahead.

“I’m more than okay,” I admitted, and for the first time, I didn’t have to force the words. “I think I’m actually starting to breathe again. Really breathe.” I shifted closer to him. “We haven’t heard from Levi or either of our families for almost a full week. I suppose I was waiting for the trouble to kick in at any moment.” I took a deep breath. “Now I feel as if I can handle anything they throw our way. I suppose I needed the reset.”

His grip on my hand tightened slightly. He pulled me just a fraction closer, the space between us filled with the gentle lap of the waves against our chests. For a long second, I thought he might kiss me right there, mid-ocean, with the sun as our only witness.

“Good,” he whispered. “Because I can tell that you’ve been holding your breath for a long time. Besides, whatever they throw at us, we’ll handle it together.”

Then he leaned in and kissed me until I was breathless.

We heard several in the group throw cheers our way and pulled apart laughing. Someone yelled, “Finally,” while someone else yelled, “Get a room.”

“I guess there’s not a lot of privacy around here.” He leaned his forehead against mine. Then he let go of my hand and dove under the water. A second later, I felt his hands catch my waist beneath the water, hoisting me upward just as a small swell rolled in. I surfaced, laughing, reaching for his shoulders as he came up grinning like a schoolboy.

“Race you back?” he challenged, already turning.

“You’re on!”

I dug into the water, my muscles burning in the best possible way. By the time we reached the ladder of the sailboat, my lungs were heaving and my heart was thumping a frantic, happy rhythm against my ribs.

As we climbed back on deck, Adam was handing out thick, sun-warmed towels. The afternoon was beginning to lean into evening, the light turning a honeyed gold that made the evergreen trees on the shore look like they were glowing from within.

It was the most perfect day I’d had in years.

Chapter Seventeen

Cade

The sails were already being lowered as we turned back toward Silver Cove, the afternoon sun slanting low enough to cast shadows across the water. The easy laughter from earlier had softened into something quieter now, comfortable, tired in the best way. The kind of tired that came from salt air, sun-warmed skin, and a day spent doing absolutely nothing productive.

Missy sat beside me near the stern, her bare feet tucked under her and her hair loose and wind-tousled. She leaned into my side like it was second nature. Like she’d been doing it for years.

She had, I guess, it just hadn’t meant what it did now.

What we were to one another was now obvious to everyone on board. So far, her brother hadn’t punched me in the face. I called that a win.

When we returned to the docks, Adam maneuvered the sailboat into its spot with practiced ease, and everyone pitched in, hands reaching for ropes, someone hopping off to secure the lines. The day unraveled slowly, reluctantly, like none of us were in a hurry to let it end.

Max clapped me on the shoulder as we disembarked. “This was a good day,” he said with that knowing grin of his.

“The best kind,” I agreed.

“Be good to her. You both deserve happiness.” He squeezed my shoulder lightly again and turned away. As far as blessings go, I’d take it.