There wasn’t much she could say to that. Life of fame came with all kinds of shadows.
The ocean smelled of kelp and clean, wild things. Her muscles warmed into that familiar, welcome burn. The gentle sway of the kayak, the rhythmic dip of paddles cleaving water in time with their breaths … it settled her.
Justin didn’t chatter, and she appreciated the easy silence between them. Even more, he didn’t try to take over. Hesimply followed her lead as they skirted rocks, matching her adjustments when they veered around a floating log.
At one point, she slowed, pointing to a cluster of seals bobbing among the rocks. The mammals watched them with the flat, uninterested politeness of marine life, and they shared a laugh before continuing.
Normally, she came out here to think, to clear her head, to work her body hard enough to quiet the restlessness … to forget the aloneness of her life. Now, she admitted reluctantly, it was nice to share the water.
Especially with Justin.
The sun climbed higher, glare sharpening off the water. Traffic picked up, creating a soft background percussion: a yacht idling somewhere farther out, a fisherman’s engine ticking like a metronome, the drift of laughter from a family enjoying the beach before it grew hot and crowded.
“Suzette,” Justin called out, cutting the air with his paddle and making her look up, “race you to that outcrop?”
It took one look at his grin — boyish, slightly dangerous — and she forgot about straining muscles. “You’re on.”
She leaned forward, focusing on the paddle slicing through the water — left, right. Justin crept ahead, slow, sure, and she dug in harder, arms burning. His muscles shifted under the neoprene, smooth and powerful, and memory ambushed her: his hands on her hips, guiding her rhythm as she rode him, the way he strained beneath her as she shattered above him.
A hot flush tore through her, knocking her breath off-beat. Her rhythm broke. And she fell behind.
He noticed immediately. Cutting a sharp arc through the water, he executed a clean turn and drifted to a stop. Waiting for her. Grinning like a loon. “Come on, Suze. Don’t make me come back there and collect you.”
She drifted alongside, the kayaks bumping softly. Sunlight caught the drops of water on his face. One bead sliding slowly down his cheek, hovering at the curve of his upper lip. Something inside her snapped.
Before she could think, before she could stop herself, she reached across the narrow space, hooked her fingers into his life jacket, and yanked him closer.
And kissed him. Hard.
*
Surprise shot through him, leaving him momentarily discombobulated. And the minx used that split second to shove off and shoot forward, rowing like an Olympic medalist. He barked out a laugh. “Seriously? You ambush-kiss me and then run? Unfair! Completely unfair!”
He chased after her, laughing, exhilarated. Smitten. Utterly undone over her. And what a view she gave him — her blonde plait swinging down her back, the floral sleeves of her wetsuit catching the sun as her arms cut through the water in perfect rhythm. Right, left … strong, sure, beautiful.
Then she stopped and lifted a fist in the air, sharp, commanding. It was so reminiscent of one of his action-movie cues that he snorted. But he obeyed, easing off until his kayak drifted up beside hers.
His eyes skimmed the surface, but there was nothing but flat water. Then, with a slow, breath-stealing grandeur, a dark back carved through the surface. A whale. Beside it, smaller and impossibly sleek, rose a calf, close as a whispered secret. The whale lifted its head in a slow, dignified rise and exhaled — an enormous, wet sigh that smelled of the sea and old, great things. The calf rolled, bright-eyed, while its mother arced beside it in a display of effortless, ancient power.
The water undulated beneath them, shifting their kayaks sideways until the hulls bumped softly. Justin held his breath. Suzette’s hand shot out and wrapped around his arm, fingers tight. He glanced at her, unsure which sight mesmerized him more — the awe shining on her face, or the majestic ocean giant and her calf gliding through the morning like a blessing.
For a man whose life was noise and motion, all sets, scripts, cameras, and choreographed schedules, this moment felt impossibly pure.
No demands. No performance.
The simplicity of it — the beauty, the stillness, the rightness — pressed into him with the weight of truth, settling deep in a place he rarely let anything reach.
Then the whale slid back down, disappearing under the water.
“That was … magnificent.” Wonder lingered in her voice. “I watch them every season, one of the privileges of living here, but every time … every time their sheer beauty leaves me breathless.”
He reached down and caught her hand, the gesture instinctive. “You leave me breathless,” he murmured, lifting her palm to his lips.
“Justin.” She said his name like she wasn’t sure whether to pull away or fall straight into him.
“Have breakfast with me, sweet Suze?”
She took a long beat before answering. “I can’t. I have a busy day ahead. A shopping trip to Stellenbosch. Housework. It’s my last day off till the new year, Justin.”
