Page 32 of Always

The flight passed quickly. Anika asked Marco how things were going over at Bennet Knight. He assured her the transition was going well, but he was vague on the specifics. She supposed he didn’t want to say too much because he didn’t want to put her in a position where she would have to take sides in any conflict between him and her father. But he promised her that no matter what changes were on the horizon, the Red Line would remain a top priority.

“You’re lucky to have such good staff in your office,” he said.

“We’ve all become close,” she said. “Especially since I moved back to the city. I used to only see them once every month or two. Maybe a good boss shouldn’t be friends with their employees, but it’s hard not to. I like them, and I care about them.”

Marco nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable. Anika thought he might be feeling badly that he’d had to fire some people at Bennet Knight, which had hardly put him in a friendly position with the remaining employees.

“I have had to come down on my team a few times,” Anika hastened to add, not wanting to make him feel criticized. “It comes with being in a leadership position.”

But Marco just nodded again and changed the subject to what they might do with their limited time on the island.

Thanks to the speed and streamlined process of a private jet, they landed with almost the whole day ahead of them. Marco asked her what she would like to do first, and Anika elected to go snorkeling. Marco had suggested scuba diving, but she’d never gotten certified.

Marco had a convertible waiting for them on the tarmac, as they deplaned into the thick, humid air, onto a small airstrip completely surrounded by palm trees and tall grass. Marco took two small suitcases from the flight attendant, stowing them in the boot of the car. It was a vintage BMW with an interior like a tiny cockpit—all knobs and dials.

Anika watched admiringly as Marco deftly shifted gears to pull out on the narrow tropical road. He drove like a demon, which Anika usually would have hated, but she remembered that he had been a race car driver, after all. It was hot enough here that she was grateful for the speed sending a steady breeze into their faces, making her hair stream out behind her like a flag.

“Don’t worry,” Marco said, “I brought sunscreen. The sun’s a lot stronger down close to the equator.”

He probably didn’t need to worry about that; he was so tan already. But Anika was grateful that he’d considered her much fairer skin. She could hardly handle the little sunshine they got in New York.

Marco drove them to a small private beach where they rented the gear they needed, along with a cabana for resting and changing clothes. Marco let her go in first, passing her the compact suitcase he had carried across the sand from their car.

Anika opened it up, relieved to find an assortment of perfectly reasonable swimsuits, including a simple and sporty two-piece that would be perfect for snorkeling. She mentally blessed Hannah, resolving to let her leave early every Friday for a month.

Anika changed quickly, exiting the cabana so Marco could take his turn.

Marco whistled approvingly as Anika came out in the suit.

“Well done Hannah!” he proclaimed.

“I should never have doubted her,” Anika said.

Marco changed into his own swimsuit—a pair of tight European briefs that left little to the imagination. He grinned at Anika when he caught her eyes lingering over his taut brown stomach. He took her hand again as they walked across the powder-soft sand to the ocean.

It had been years since Anika had been snorkeling, but luckily it came back quickly once she donned her fins and mask and slipped beneath the water. She remembered at once how it was like dropping into a completely separate world—cool, dim, quiet, with a slower sense of time and movement.

Marco swam confidently out into the open water toward the reef, beckoning for Anika to follow. He was an excellent swimmer. He had told her that spent summers at his grandfather’s house on the ocean. Anika was not particularly practiced at swimming, but many of the same muscles used for running were applicable here, and she kicked her legs hard to follow him.

The water deepened quickly, the sandy ocean floor dropping in and out of sight beneath them. The farther they swam, the more fish began to cluster around them. A few of the more common types Anika recognized: angelfish, blue tangs, triggerfish. Others were a mystery to her.

She wondered if any were similar to what Marco would have seen off the coast of Italy. But there was no talking under the water—it was more like dancing together once more, following each other’s movements as they avoided long strands of kelp, or dived down to take a closer look at a patch of brilliant coral.

Marco grabbed her arm, turning her around to see a large sea turtle floating behind them. It was massive, the biggest Anika had ever seen. It was so incredibly graceful under the water, nothing at all like its progress on land. It flapped its huge, paddle-like fins, stroking through the water faster than she and Marco could follow. They trailed it anyway, its dappled green shell utterly beautiful in the cool blue light. It looked majestic, ageless—this was its world, they were only visitors. It bobbed its head up through the surface to take a breath, then dove down deep again.

When they reached the reef at last, they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of fish, crabs, even a few eels. At one point, while Marco was trying to coax a rock lobster out of its den, a massive ray swam beneath Anika’s feet, so close that her dangling toes almost skimmed its back. It was gone before she could point it out to Marco.

They didn’t see any sharks, thankfully. Anika knew that many of her friends had dived with sharks, and that reef sharks in particular weren’t supposed to pose a threat, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to be so nonchalant.

They swam for almost three hours. When they finally paddled back to the beach and dragged themselves out of the water, Anika was ravenous. It was late afternoon now. Marco suggested that they return to the hotel to shower and change, then head out for dinner.

Marco drove them back to an absolutely gorgeous resort. The verdant roadways and gardens alone, leading up to the elegant old building, would have been worth the flight.

They were welcomed at the door by a host of friendly porters dressed in impeccable white uniforms. A young man took their car, and a young woman directed them to the front desk to check in. When Marco gave his name, they were shown to their suite without delay.

Anika opened the door to their room with some nervousness. She realized that she had made a sort of tacit agreement by getting on the plane with Marco, yet somehow, she still dreaded the sight of single king-sized bed and what that would imply. But as an attendant showed them around the suite, she saw that Marco, like a gentleman, had booked a place with two separate rooms, two bathrooms, and a large living area. There was also a deck with its own soaking tub and outdoor shower, and a small private garden complete with a hammock and two lounge chairs.

Relieved, Anika retired to her own room to shower and change clothes. Her suitcase was already waiting for her on the bed—the attendants must have sprinted to bring it up in the few moments it took to check in. She unzipped it to lay out the clothes that Hannah had selected.

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