"Sir, yes sir." She snapped a salute.
And there it was—a real smile, small but genuine, softening the hard lines of his face.
I’m leaving soon, the voice in her head reminded her.
Then, make every moment count, she told it back.
The western reef was a forty-minute swim from the main beach, and by the time they reached it, Lily's arms were burning in the best possible way.
She'd never considered herself particularly athletic—her exercise routine consisted mainly of yoga and Pilates classes she attended for the aesthetic and walks to trendy coffee shops—but two weeks of island life had changed something in her body. She was stronger now. More capable. Less afraid of exertion.
Alex would probably say the ocean is doing exactly what it's supposed to do, she thought, watching him cut through the water ahead of her with the ease of someone who belonged there.Stripping away the unnecessary. Revealing what's real.
And wasn't that the terrifying truth of it? This island—this man—had stripped away more than just her physical softness. They'd peeled back the careful layers she'd built over six years of performing for cameras, exposing something raw and vulnerable underneath.
Something that felt dangerously like her actual self.
Alex glanced back, treading water, and she caught the flash of concern on his face before she waved him off.
"I'm fine! Just admiring the view."
"The reef's that direction." He pointed ahead.
"I know what I said."
Even from ten feet away, she could see his ears redden. God, she loved that she could still make him blush after everything they'd done together. It felt like a superpower.
They reached the reef edge, and Alex signaled for her to check her equipment. Camera sealed? Check. Mask secure? Check. Fins adjusted? Check.
He caught her eye, held up three fingers, then two, then one?—
They dove.
The reef below was a kaleidoscope of color—purples and oranges and electric blues that seemed to glow in the filtered sunlight. Fish darted between coral formations, some curious enough to approach her camera lens, others fleeing at the sight of the large, bubble-blowing intruders.
Lily had filmed in some beautiful places. Crystal caves in Mexico. Northern lights in Iceland. High cliffs and waterfalls. But there was something different about seeing the world through Alex's eyes. Every rock formation told a story. Every fish had a purpose. Every swaying piece of seaweed played a role in something larger than itself.
He made her see things differently. That was the problem.
Alex gestured for her to follow, leading her toward a section of branching coral that looked different from the rest—fuller, somehow, the polyps extended and reaching toward the surface like thousands of tiny fingers.
He pointed, then made a gesture she'd learned meantwatch closely.
Lily trained her camera on the coral, not sure what she was looking for. For a long moment, nothing happened.The water was still. The fish continued their endless patrols. Her lungs began to burn with the need for air.
Then—
A cloud. A tiny, shimmering cloud of something releasing from the coral into the water, catching the light like underwater snow. Then another. And another. Until the entire formation was exhaling these delicate plumes of life into the current.
It was, without question, one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.
She looked at Alex, eyes wide behind her mask, and found him watching her instead of the coral. Even underwater, even with half his face obscured, she could see his smile.
He wanted me to see this, she realized, something cracking open in her chest.He wanted to share this with me.
This wasn't just a research trip anymore. This wasn't just documentation or professional curiosity. He was letting her into his world—the world he'd built specifically to keep people out.
This is what it could be like, she thought suddenly, the fantasy unfurling before she could stop it.Traveling together. Him showing me the hidden wonders. Mehelping the world see them. Partners in work and life and?—
