Page 32 of Love, Take Two

"That was amazing,” I say, treading water next to him.

"You are amazing,” he replies, and his voice has that rough quality.

"It felt safe with you," I say.

"Good," he says, moving closer in the water until we're treading water together, close enough that staying afloat becomes a team effort. "Because I want to keep showing you incredible things. Not just this week, but after."

Before I can respond to that declaration, Brad's voice carries across the water with the aggression that's been building all week.

"Looking good out there, Vada!" he shouts from where he's floating with his own diving buddy. "That bikini is perfect for underwater photography!"

The comment hits exactly wrong, in a way that makes my skin crawl. But before I can formulate a response, Emory's entire demeanor changes.

"Brad," Emory says with polite coolness that doesn't mask the warning underneath, "we're focusing on the marine life here."

"I'm sure they are," Brad continues with the persistence, "but the view I'm getting is pretty spectacular too."

The silence that follows is the kind that makes everyone else in the water suddenly aware that something inappropriate just happened. I can see others exchanging glances, and even Derek looks uncomfortable with Brad's commentary.

"Brad," Jared's voice cuts across the water with obvious embarrassment, "maybe focus on your own diving experience."

"Just making conversation," Brad says with a shrug.

"Well, make different conversation," Emory says, and his voice has dropped. "Get the fuck away from us."

The authority in his voice is unmistakable, and Brad finally seems to register that his commentary isn't going to be tolerated. He paddles away toward a different section of the reef, leaving the rest of us in blessed peace.

"Thank you," I say quietly to Emory once Brad is out of hearing range.

"Completely worth it," he says, and the way he's looking at me makes treading water feel like the most romantic thing in the world.

"What'sthe plan for this afternoon?" I ask when we are back on the boat, heading toward shore with wet hair and sun-warmed skin.

"Content creation session?" Emory suggests with the expression of someone who has ideas brewing. "I need to get some of my footage posted and your take on it could make it into something really special."

"I'd love that," I say, genuinely excited about helping.

As we walk back toward the resort, hand in hand and planning the rest of the day together, I realize that things moved fast. One minute we were doing downward dog, the next we were swimming with turtles, and somewhere in between we went from "maybe?" to "let's do this."

Some second chances turn out to be exactly what you needed all along.

11

EMORY

The afternoon light streaming through my suite's floor-to-ceiling windows creates the perfect backdrop for what might be the most productive content creation session of my career. Vada is curled up beside me on the sofa, her laptop balanced on her knees as we review the footage waiting to put out.

She pulls up the analytics from our Instagram posts. The results are staggering. Content featuring both of us consistently outperforms our individual posts. Comments, saves, shares—every metric suggests our collaborative content resonates with audiences in ways neither of us achieves alone.

"This is business-level performance," I say, scrolling through the data. "Sustainable career numbers."

"I know," Vada says with excitement. "My event planning inquiries have doubled since I've been here creating content with you. And look at your travel brand mentions—they've increased by sixty percent this week."

I study the numbers, calculating the implications. Content this successful could solve my financial stress while creating something more meaningful than solo adventure posts.

"What if we made this official?" I ask, the idea forming as I speak. "Not vacation collaboration, but business partnership. Your event expertise plus my travel content experience could create something completely new."

"Destination event content?" Vada asks, and I can see her event planning mind working through possibilities. "Wedding and celebration experiences in incredible locations, real behind-the-scenes documentation instead of perfect final photos?"

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