Our boat’s captain is already there, waiting to help Alyssia first, then me.
“You do know that was unnecessary. I could’ve swam back,” she insists.
Momentarily, I get distracted at the sight of her in the plum, ruched one piece bathing suit. The suit has a peek-a-boo cutout above the midriff, giving a nice view of the soft skin directly beneath her breasts.
Seeing her like this, I can’t help but think,I can’t wait until I see her pregnant with our second child.
“Do you want more kids?”
“What?” she shrieks.
I lift my gaze to hers. “Kids? Do you want more than one? My brother and sisters could be a pain in the ass, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”
“Uh, weren’t we having an entirely different conversation?”
“No,” I tell her without hesitation. “We’re having a discussion on what exactly you want the chef to make for tonight’s dinner.Also, you need something to drink. You’ve been swimming for a while, and you need to stay hydrated.”
Alyssia glares but allows me to wrap a beach towel around her and walk us toward the second level to the yacht’s galley where the crew has put out some pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres.
“I could use some water. Maybe,” Alyssia mumbles while taking a glass of water from the tray one of the crew offers us. “Thank you.”
I watch out of the side of my eyes as she finishes half of the glass in nearly one sip.
“Told you.”
“What was that?” she asks, tersely.
“Nothing.”
She rolls her eyes as she finishes the rest of the water and quickly takes a second glass.
“How is it?” I ask when she dips a carrot stick in hummus and begins chewing on it.
She gives me a thumbs-up.
I try the hummus before leaning back onto the couch, wrapping one arm around her shoulder, stroking it. “Did you have fun today?”
Her eyes light up. “How could I not? Did you see all of those beautiful fish in the water?” She turns to me, sitting on her knees and resting a hand on her belly. “I think the baby likes the water. They were moving around a lot out there.”
Her laughter sends a sharp sensation down my spine.
She turns to look over her shoulder, then back at me. “Charles said he took pictures. We’ll be able to see them at the end of our trip.”
Alyssia launches into an excited summary of all of the different wildlife and scenery we saw while snorkeling and kayaking.
“You know, I thought about something,” she says right after we give Charles our dinner orders.
I follow her up to the back deck where we’ll eat our dinner in order to watch the sunset.
“What was it?” I ask, helping her lower to the leather sofa that’s set behind the deck’s table.
“It made me think of the kids we worked with a few weeks ago. For the Monaco race,” she says. “Especially Alain.”
I remember the name of the little boy who lost his mother only weeks before the race. What I recall the most, however, is the way Alyssia cried in my arms after working with him.
“Éléanor keeps me updated on how he’s doing. He lives with his mother’s parents,” she explains. “He’s still interested in tech and says he wants to be an engineer one day.”
“That’s wonderful.”
