Page 35 of Meet Me in Tahiti

With a few firm kicks, she followed the others, with Avery at the front. Dipping her face underwater, everything else fell away.

In just a few seconds, they found Russ and the others. “Hey,” said Russ, surfacing. “You made it.”

She smiled from under her mask and snorkel, then nodded. She was doing this. She was just like everyone else now. And she was loving it.

He greeted the others and pointed. “Look down there.”

The reef stretched out beneath them, deep, but teeming with life. Parrotfish darted through coral arches, and a sea turtle glided smoothly below. Tessa’s eyes widened. So much color. So much movement. Somany things she’d only seen on television or online. It was incredible.

As Tessa and the group swam about, faces underwater, Russ pointed to the ocean floor about thirty feet below, and they all adjusted their gazes.

If her mouth hadn’t already been firmly fixed around the snorkel, it would’ve dropped open. Because there, below them, an enormous school of spotted eagle rays moved in slow, fluid formation across the sandy bottom. They glided as one, like dancers performing a perfectly synchronized ballet, their wingtips nearly brushing the sea floor.

Tessa blinked behind her mask, momentarily stunned. It was the most breathtaking thing she’d ever seen in real life. Thank goodness she hadn’t bailed on this outing. She would’ve missed it. And if it weren’t for Russ cheering her on all week, believing in her, she just might’ve opted out.

Russ motioned for them to follow the rays, gesturing for the group to spread out slightly and give the animals their space. When the others began swimming ahead, he stayed back with her.

They paused together when she needed to surface and breathe, treading water, which was actually easier than she’d imagined—despite the deep water that had worried her—as long as she was wearing the fins.

“You okay?” Russ asked, pulling his mask up over his head with one hand.

Tessa nodded and tugged hers over her hair, beaming. “I’m more than okay. This is... incredible.”

“Glad you think so. You’re doing great.”

Those eyes. They saw her. For who she was and who she wanted to be.

She glanced around. “I’m not scared,” she said quietly, surprised by how true it felt. “I thought I would be, but... I’m not.”

A satisfied expression settled across his face, and her heart warmed all over again. It was all because of him. Or, at least, because of what he’d given her this week—patience when she’d needed it, kindness, consideration.

The moment hovered, quiet and real as the saltwater sparkled between them. The others were still paddling a short distance away, laughing, diving under, pointing at something in the coral. Malik and the dinghy were now a fair distance away.

Tessa gazed at him as she treaded. “You made me believe in myself.”

He made her feel like someone who could take the leap, not just watch from the sidelines. Like maybe this braver version of herself had always been there, just waiting to be noticed.

They didn’t have to say anything else. The water gently rocked them in place as his eyes locked on hers. Just the two of them, suspended in paradise.

Chapter

Eleven

After the snorkeling excursion,the group returned in two trips to the catamaran, still buzzing with energy. Salt clung to Tessa’s skin, her hair wet but tousled from the sea breeze. Jules handed out towels as they all stepped off the dinghy.

“Mocktails on deck when you’re ready,” said Jules, gesturing to a tray of frosty, colorful glasses with slices of fruit skewered on top. “Hydration is key,” she called with a wink.

“Aw, thanks, Jules,” said Jenna sweetly. “You think of everything.”

Jules grinned back. “Just doing my job.”

The others thanked her before Russ offered quick instructions to be back on deck in thirty minutes for their next land excursion. “Quick rinse, fresh clothes, and we’ll meet out here,” he said.

Tessa showered and changed, pulling her hair into a ponytail and slipping into shorts and a strappy blue tank. When she emerged, she found the others loungingwith their fruity beverages in hand, nibbling on crackers and cheese laid out on a tray beneath the shade of the upper deck’s canopy.

Avery was lounging with her feet propped on the bench, sipping a fancy coconut drink. “Okay, that snorkeling spot was insane,” she said. “Did you see how many rays were under us?”

Kyle nodded. “I counted at least twenty-five. Never seen anything like it in my life.”

---