Page 7 of The Billionaire's Teacher

“I’m good. Thanks.”

I fought a sigh as I crossed the deck and opened the fridge. It was, as she’d said, stocked. It wasn’t big enough to last the whole trip. Resupply would, obviously, be part of what she did while we were in dock. I’d assumed she would go diving with me. But maybe she just made introductions and then went off to do her thing?

It didn’t matter.

I snagged a soda, closed the fridge door, and popped the top. I considered, briefly, sliding onto the banquette behind the table, which was bolted to the floor. But no. I didn’t need to start off the trip antagonizing Sunshine.

I headed out onto the uncovered portion of the deck. The breeze from being underway was refreshing. The time in the Caymans and on Puerto Rico before getting to the boat had me second-guessing my decision to come in the summer. It was hot. And thick.

On the flip side, it would be hot and humid back home in Virginia, too. It wasn’t as if I’d given up cooler temperatures to come down here. The top deck provided shade for half of the space out here. I considered the lounge chairs, but the ladder leading up was too tempting to not explore.

I carefully climbed up to the top level and couldn’t stop my grin. The water surrounded us on all sides. I could see the island behind us, rapidly shrinking as we headed away from it. An American flag snapped in the wind off the back of the boat. There was another driving station up here, as well as built-in lounge seating.

For a moment, I was tempted to sit in one of the chairs facing the helm, but I quickly dismissed that thought. I wasn’t going to do anything to disrupt Sunshine’s ability to get us to the next port safely.

Instead, I settled in the corner of the seating that ran down one long side and across half of the shorter side. There was a triangular table bolted into the floor at this section of the seating, so I set my soda down, leaned back, and dug my phone from the pocket of my shorts. I took some pictures and texted them to Mom.

The messaging app chimed. I tapped to accept Mom’s video-call request.

“Hi, honey. Oh look at that water.”

I laughed and spun the camera a little so she could get a better view. “Not bad, right?”

“Not at all. I’m glad you have wi-fi.”

I pointed the camera back at my face and nodded. “Satellite internet has come a long way.”

“I guess it has.” Mom squinted at me. “You haven’t been sleeping well.”

“I’ve been busy. I’m sleeping fine.” Both were true to varying degrees. I didn’t know what Mom was seeing, but I also didn’t want her to worry. “The dive sites in the Caymans are all set. And if I can use Scott’s house as a base, it’s even better. But I did find a resort that would work with me to keep the cost down if necessary.”

“I don’t know why you’re worried about keeping the cost down. It’s not like scuba diving is an inexpensive hobby.”

I blew out a breath. Mom was right. I understood it on some level. At the same time… “I guess I just want people to be able to dive somewhere other than the quarry, you know? If I can keep the cost down, then everyone can dive where there’s more to see than trout and sunken cars.”

Mom laughed. “You’re a billionaire. Why not buy an island?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll get right on that.” As if islands were routinely for sale. Weren’t all the habitable islands already countries? Or owned by people with family wealth?

“I’m serious. I was poking around on my phone and there are websites devoted to listings for the rich and famous. You could afford one. Then you could really keep the cost down.”

I shook my head. Owning an island? That sounded like a lot of work. I’d have to have an air strip. And it’d have to be private flights—although I guess we could charter from whatever international airport was within a reasonable distance. And—no. What was I thinking? “I’m not buying an island, Mom.”

“Okay. It was just a thought. Have you dived today?”

I shook my head. “Today’s been all about getting underway. There is diving in Puerto Rico. Obviously. But everyone has those trips.”

“Hmm.”

I frowned at Mom. “What’s that mean?”

“Nothing. Honestly.”

I didn’t believe her. But I knew her well enough that I understood I wouldn’t be getting anything more out of her on the subject. It was probably just a rehash of the discussion we’d been having since I started talking about leading dive trips. I don’t think we’d ever see eye-to-eye on it. “All right. Well. I should go. The satellite internet works, but it’s not free.”

Mom laughed. “It’s good to be a cost-conscious person. Thanks for letting me see your face. Don’t forget to send me pictures.”

“I won’t. Love you.”

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