Page 48 of Visions of You

After that, the meeting got back on track discussing the book over several varieties of wine. I stayed mostly quiet, processing my thoughts. The discussion about Gabe served as a reminder that Ineeded to be careful. He wasn’t just some guy I met. Gabe was the prodigal son returned to a family whoowned their own island.

Good thing we had that pact. I just needed to keep up my end of it.

And try not to notice that he was also a devoted, full-time parent. And that under that growly exterior lay a sweet, protective heart. And that he could make my body sing like no one ever had.

Sigh.

Liv and I both walked back to our cars empty-handed. Her pastries had been demolished within the first fifteen minutes.

“I’m sorry I brought up your relationship,” Liv said, clutching her purse in front of her. “I never meant to make you uncomfortable. Even if you’d mentioned his name, I wouldn’t have realized who he was.”

“It’s fine, but everyone’s reaction reinforced that I’m not a local here. At least they were honest about it.”

Liv laughed. “That they’re happy for you, even though they’re insanely jealous?”

“That summed it up pretty well. I’m sure Gabe never intended what happened between us any more than I did. And neither of us is looking for anything serious, so I guess their dreams are still intact.”

Liv glanced at the saltwater taffy shop we were passing. “It’s kind of weird moving to a small town like this, isn’t it? You’re welcomed, yet still feel like an outsider.”

“With the way you bake, I don’t think you’ll be an outsider for long. I’m glad we met.”

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed before letting go. “So am I, April.”

“You guys did great!”I said to the couple in front of me. The resort pool sparkled behind them. “Meet me down by the dive shop tomorrow at eight thirty for your first dive in theocean.” The twentysomething couple were in the process of removing their scuba equipment and setting it on the deck. We had an entire section of the pool to ourselves. Once guests realized what we were up to, they gave us plenty of room to operate.

Amber glanced at me as she wrung the water out of her brown ponytail. “We’re not going deeper than thirty feet, right?”

Her husband, Dan, laughed as he brushed his hand down her arm. “She already promised that.”

“Thirty feet is the maximum depth for Discover Scuba Diving,” I replied to her. “You’ll have to take the full certification to go deeper. This is just a taste.”

“A taste will do for now. See you tomorrow.” Amber smiled as Dan draped his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. They were on their honeymoon, and she’d reluctantly agreed to try diving. Over our pool session, she’d gradually relaxed and enjoyed herself more and more, which was gratifying to both me and her new husband.

“Enjoy the rest of your day.” I shrugged out of my own kit and unscrewed the regulator from the tank valve. Corbin, the resort’s dive instructor, was between students, which meant he got to lead divers on the boat today. While I got bumped into teaching intro classes.

I didn’t mind, especially since I was still the new guy.

“Hi, April.”

I looked up as Hailey strolled toward me. She wore a Calypso Key T-shirt and shorts, her long, coltish legs moving easily over the pool deck.

I smiled as she approached. “And how is Hailey doing this afternoon?”

She hunkered down next to me to study a scuba kit. “Good. I was coming down here to bug my dad. Then I saw you and decided to bug you instead.”

I laughed. “You’re not bugging me at all.”

I knew Gabe was working in his dive shop office because we’d had a rather hot, yet short, make-out session in there before my DSDclass. Over the past couple of months, Hailey and I had developed a friendly relationship. She was such a gregarious, outgoing child I didn’t understand how anyone couldn’t love her. Especially her mother. “Are you glad to have school out?”

This was her first full week of summer break, and Gabe had been scrambling to make sure she kept busy and supervised. Nona watched her most afternoons.

Hailey shrugged. “I like school. I made new friends and it’s harder to see them during the summer. Dad signed me up for a camp on weekday mornings, and that’s been fun. Today we visited the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.”

“That does sound fun.”

She picked up a regulator second stage and inspected it. “What were you doing with that couple?”

“Teaching an intro scuba class. I’ll take them on a dive in the ocean tomorrow.”

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