He looked ridiculous.
He looked perfect.
I splashed him.
“Oh, you’re going to regret that.”
“Make me.”
Challenge issued.
Challenge accepted.
What followed was chaos. Splashing, tackling, both of us falling into the waves laughing. No grace. No dignity. Just play.
When was the last stretch I’d played?
Before my sister died, probably. Before guilt and responsibility and self-imposed isolation made joy feel like betrayal.
But he made me remember how.
We stumbled back to shore eventually, soaked and breathless. The sun had dipped lower, the sky now deep purple and gold.
They stood on the porch, watching us. She was shaking her head, amused. Ronan’s rare smile was visible even from here.
He took my hand, threading our fingers together.
“Ready to go back?”
I looked at the cabana. At them waiting. At the life we were building from the ashes of what Dresner had tried to destroy.
A month ago, I was alone.
Now I had him.
Somehow, that was everything.
“Yeah.” I squeezed his fingers. “Let’s go home.”
We walked back together, dripping wet, grinning like idiots.
She met us at the porch, handing over towels with an exasperated expression that couldn’t quite hide her smile.
We were safe.
We were whole.
We were home.
Chapter 28
Dresner
The hum of the jet engines was a constant, low-frequency vibration against the soles of my shoes. Thirty-five thousand feet above the Atlantic, the air was recycled, cool, and filtered to an almost antiseptic purity. The only thing in my world currently operating within acceptable parameters.
I sat in the leather armchair, back rigid, refusing to lean into the comfort. The tablet in my hand was slim, sleek, a marvel of modern engineering.
Currently displaying the footage of my humiliation.
