Page 11 of Match Made in the Maldives

“Did you see that?” My shout is sloppy with sea water. “Did youseethat?”

“I saw it,” Finn says through a laugh, his snorkel dangling off his mask the same way mine is.

“That was incredible!”

He found me a sea turtle. I want to fling myself at Finn and give him the biggest, tightest hug possible. Since we’re treading water, I can’t wrap him up in an embrace, so I grab his hand in gratitude instead.

“Thank you. That was…”

He squeezes my hand like he knows, then rolls his thumb over my knuckles a couple of times. The sensation sends my stomach into a somersault.

“Hey!” Melissa calls out from closer to shore. My brother snorkels by her side, his feet splashing. “Baby shark over here!”

“Oh, no,” I say to Finn. “Hard pass.”

“But it’s a baby.”

“But it’s a shark.”

That dimple appears again, and I lose the ability to think. “C’mon, I got you.” We dip our heads back underwater, and Finn leads me in Aaron and Mel’s direction, never letting go of my hand.

Chapter Five

Finley

“We have some news.”

Lou’s dad saying this at the long oak dinner table almost knocks me out of my chair. News? The last time he had news, we heard about cancer and plans for chemo. His demeanor appears different though, as he weaves Betsey’s fingers through his in his lap.

“Dad?” Lou’s shaky whisper catches my ear, but no one seems to notice.

“Your mother and I bought an RV.” His gaze passes over all of us as a server steps in to clear our plates.

“That’s…” Cass looks at everyone. “That’s all?”

“Not all. In Texas, we loved having a change of scenery. All things considered, it was nice to be somewhere new to us. Travel a tad. So we got to talking ’bout how we want to spend our retired years coming up, and we have a plan. With the RV, we hope to tour the US. Maybe some of Canada too.”

“Well, dear,” Betsey says to him, “there’s another part to that.”

“Oh, yes. Downsizing. Because we intend to live full time in the RV, we want to sell the house. We’ve had many good memories there. Many. But your mom and I have plans for the future, and we think it makes sense to sell.”

The rest of our group seems to exhale at once, and murmurs ofwowandcongratulationsbubble up. Betsey and Dave assure Cass and her wife that they don’t want to go too far for too long and always want to be available for a grandkid visit. They also mention that if one of us wants the house, they’re happy to keep the property in the family. Nothing will happen until early next year when Dave finishes work, but they wanted to share their vision for their retired years.

While everyone else asks the parents about specifics—where they want to go first, what kind of RV they purchased—Lou remains quiet. She nods along, gives a wan smile here and there, but she doesn’t seem like her normal, cheery self.

On the walk back to the villa, Cass turns to the rest of us. “I wanna stop by the library before they close. Anyone want me to pick up a book for them?”

“I’ll come with,” Mel says. “Need something juicy for pool time tomorrow.”

“I’m beat, baby,” Carmen tells Cass. “See you in the room, okay?”

“Anybody down to check out the whiskey bar?” Aaron asks the already dispersing group. “Bueller?”

“Sounds neat.” Betsey turns to her son. “Count me in. One drink only, though. You know I’m a lightweight.”

“You kids have fun,” Dave says with a wave. “I’ll be on the deck stargazing for a while.”

“Finn, whiskey?” Aaron points at me.

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