at least five feet
across from wingtip to wingtip. I reached out and touched the
gentle giant as it swam out of Jake’s hands and disappeared into
the sandy sea bottom. Too cool! It felt soft and slimy, like a big, wet Portobello
mushroom.
I resurfaced and gasped for air, then
dived down again. I kicked hard to propel myself forward, gliding
over a beautiful coral garden. The formations offered vivid
patterns, fantastic shapes, weird textures, and unique colors I’d
never seen before, all bolder, brighter, and more brilliant than
any I’d noticed on previous dives. I couldn’t resist touching a
colony of green coral as I swam by, and when I did, in an instant,
the entire colony changed from green to red, like some mermaid’s
Christmas decoration.
I burst through the surface. Sucking
in long gulps of air, I noticed radiant sunbeams glinting in Jake’s
blue eyes; in the sunlight, they were absolutely blazing blue, and
I’d always been a sucker for baby blues.
“ How are you doing?” Jake
asked.
“ Good. How about you? Are
you doing okay?”
He nodded and said between breaths,
“This place is…it’s incredible…all those colors and…the fish.” With
that, he let out a soft groan and turned away.
I touched his shoulder. “What’s
wrong?”
His jaw set into a grimace. “I cut my
leg on the coral, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
My lips pressed into a grim line.
“Nothing to worry about? C’mon, Macho Man. Let’s get you back to
the boat and all bandaged up.”
“ Aw. That’s so cute,” he
said.
I stammered, shocked and a bit
insulted by his condescension. “What?”
“ You still
care.”
I rolled my eyes. “There are two
things I care about in this instance. One, if you get an infection,
you might not be able to finish the journey, and I’ll lose my
inheritance. Two, if sharks smell that blood you’re leaking all
over the place, we both might lose our limbs. I’m not willing to
risk it, so turn your stubborn butt around and swim back to the
boat.”
He grinned. “That’s not it at all. I
saw genuine concern in your eyes. You can give me a million excuses
if you want, but deep down, I know you’re worried about
me.”
“ Whatever, Jake,” I
said.
I waved our photographer captain over
and told him that Jake had been injured. He motioned us back to the
boat, and as soon as we were aboard, he sped off, heading back to
our island oasis. Fortunately, Jake’s gash wasn’t severe, and it
only required a bit of peroxide and a little gauze. I almost
laughed when the peroxide stung him, but I managed to hold my
tongue.
We spent a few days in Australia, only
talking when absolutely necessary. I tried to stay away from our
shared room as much as possible by going out and exploring the
island. Making small talk with him in the hotel was more than I
could bear. The man was supposed to my husband. If things had gone
according to plan, we would have been enjoying sunset dinners,
staring lovingly into one another’s eyes, then heading back to our
room to make love all night. Instead, we weren’t even friends and
were nothing more than hostile roommates, prisoners of one
another’s forced company. I could barely tolerate him, but I knew I
had to.
* * *
Back at the airport again, I was
dressed in dark-washed jeans and a white, lacy top. My hair was
pulled back and held by a sparkly white clip made of seashells, a
souvenir from our first stop. Jake was handsomely dressed in a snug
black shirt that perfectly accentuated every muscle of his chest,
tucked into blue jeans and finished off with brown shoes. Muscles
bulged in his arms when he picked up my suitcase.
“ I got it, Jake,” I said,
reaching for my bag, “but thank you.”
He smiled and shrugged. “Just trying
to help.”
After checking our luggage, we were
told we had a three-hour delay before our flight to Arizona, so I
curled up in the airport chair and started tapping away on my
laptop, trying to catch up on work.
Jake
across from wingtip to wingtip. I reached out and touched the
gentle giant as it swam out of Jake’s hands and disappeared into
the sandy sea bottom. Too cool! It felt soft and slimy, like a big, wet Portobello
mushroom.
I resurfaced and gasped for air, then
dived down again. I kicked hard to propel myself forward, gliding
over a beautiful coral garden. The formations offered vivid
patterns, fantastic shapes, weird textures, and unique colors I’d
never seen before, all bolder, brighter, and more brilliant than
any I’d noticed on previous dives. I couldn’t resist touching a
colony of green coral as I swam by, and when I did, in an instant,
the entire colony changed from green to red, like some mermaid’s
Christmas decoration.
I burst through the surface. Sucking
in long gulps of air, I noticed radiant sunbeams glinting in Jake’s
blue eyes; in the sunlight, they were absolutely blazing blue, and
I’d always been a sucker for baby blues.
“ How are you doing?” Jake
asked.
“ Good. How about you? Are
you doing okay?”
He nodded and said between breaths,
“This place is…it’s incredible…all those colors and…the fish.” With
that, he let out a soft groan and turned away.
I touched his shoulder. “What’s
wrong?”
His jaw set into a grimace. “I cut my
leg on the coral, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
My lips pressed into a grim line.
“Nothing to worry about? C’mon, Macho Man. Let’s get you back to
the boat and all bandaged up.”
“ Aw. That’s so cute,” he
said.
I stammered, shocked and a bit
insulted by his condescension. “What?”
“ You still
care.”
I rolled my eyes. “There are two
things I care about in this instance. One, if you get an infection,
you might not be able to finish the journey, and I’ll lose my
inheritance. Two, if sharks smell that blood you’re leaking all
over the place, we both might lose our limbs. I’m not willing to
risk it, so turn your stubborn butt around and swim back to the
boat.”
He grinned. “That’s not it at all. I
saw genuine concern in your eyes. You can give me a million excuses
if you want, but deep down, I know you’re worried about
me.”
“ Whatever, Jake,” I
said.
I waved our photographer captain over
and told him that Jake had been injured. He motioned us back to the
boat, and as soon as we were aboard, he sped off, heading back to
our island oasis. Fortunately, Jake’s gash wasn’t severe, and it
only required a bit of peroxide and a little gauze. I almost
laughed when the peroxide stung him, but I managed to hold my
tongue.
We spent a few days in Australia, only
talking when absolutely necessary. I tried to stay away from our
shared room as much as possible by going out and exploring the
island. Making small talk with him in the hotel was more than I
could bear. The man was supposed to my husband. If things had gone
according to plan, we would have been enjoying sunset dinners,
staring lovingly into one another’s eyes, then heading back to our
room to make love all night. Instead, we weren’t even friends and
were nothing more than hostile roommates, prisoners of one
another’s forced company. I could barely tolerate him, but I knew I
had to.
* * *
Back at the airport again, I was
dressed in dark-washed jeans and a white, lacy top. My hair was
pulled back and held by a sparkly white clip made of seashells, a
souvenir from our first stop. Jake was handsomely dressed in a snug
black shirt that perfectly accentuated every muscle of his chest,
tucked into blue jeans and finished off with brown shoes. Muscles
bulged in his arms when he picked up my suitcase.
“ I got it, Jake,” I said,
reaching for my bag, “but thank you.”
He smiled and shrugged. “Just trying
to help.”
After checking our luggage, we were
told we had a three-hour delay before our flight to Arizona, so I
curled up in the airport chair and started tapping away on my
laptop, trying to catch up on work.
Jake
Similar Books
