I grab his hand, refusing to let him walk away from this. “New York doesn’t have the most important thing of all—it doesn’t haveyou. I want sunrises on the water and lugging all of our gear. I want bonfires on the beach with the neighborhood kids. I want the turtles, the ocean, and the crew. I want a life with you. None of that requires a big house and a fancy car.”
For a moment, I can see hope in his eyes, but it’s quickly shuttered.
“Go tie up your loose ends. You know where I’ll be.”
He turns away from me, clearly wrestling with something. My chest is exploding with panic signals. He’s been hurt so badly by someone who was supposed to love him. How can I convince him that I’m finally choosing me, and that means choosing us? I can’t leave him alone here on the island, doubting everything we have, letting him sit and stew and build all of his walls back up. Not after how far we’ve come.
It might not make sense. It’s not easy or simple. It probably isn’t what a responsible adult would do, but I don’t care anymore. I don’t want it to be easy or obvious. I don’t want to ask anyone else what they think or to make a pro/con list. For once, I want to leap without looking. I want to take something for myself, evenif it’s impractical and messy. So I reach out, and pray he’ll jump with me.
“Then come with me,” I blurt. The ocean breeze nearly tears the words from my mouth.
He stiffens then turns to look at me. “What?”
“Come with me to Eastern Pines. Come see this glamorous life that you think I can’t live without. An empty house, a loud family, a soul-sucking job. I’m drowning in mediocrity. Maybe you’ll believe me then.”
His eyebrows rise. He seems to think it over, thoughts flashing across his face rapidly. “But you leave in two days.”
“Can the sanctuary run without you for a few weeks?” I ask, heart pounding. This is the solution; I know it. He doesn’t want to feel isolated, like a vacation fling. So I’ll let my two worlds collide.
“I—I can talk to Mike,” he says, still shaking his head in disbelief.
“You should do it now.” I put my hands on my hips. “He’s probably still at the hatching, let’s go.”
I hold out my hand for him, but he moves past it, cradling my face in between his big fingers and kissing me so thoroughly, it leaves me breathless. My legs are shaking as we walk back down to the beach.
I’d set out to have a one night stand, now I was bringing my scuba instructor home with me. Is everyone going to think I’ve lost my mind?
As we approach the group, Steven squeezes my hand then pulls Mike aside. Victoria catches my eye, but I turn away, fightingback my smile. I watch the baby turtles scramble toward the open ocean, fighting for life, and cheer them on silently.
Chapter 24
Steven
We land in Albany after three flights and nearly 30 hours crammed into a flying tin can in the sky.
I’m cramping in muscles I didn’t know I had, but nothing can bring me down because I’m here withmy girl.
For the first time since my sorry ass washed up on the beach in Indonesia, I’ve taken some time off from the dive shop to follow her to the United States.
I’m going to meet her family, and help her transition to the next chapter—one that includes shacking up with me on a little beach halfway around the world.
I couldn’t be happier.
As the taxi brings us closer to her hometown, the scenery becomes thick with trees just beginning to change into autumn colors. It’s like living in a postcard. I’m surprised she would want to give this up.
“Are you nervous about seeing your parents?” I ask, nudging her with my elbow. We both need time to recover from traveling but we have dinner with them planned for tomorrow.
“No,” she says, her breath coming out in a sigh. “I don’t think they really care what I do anymore. I thought they had all these expectations for me, and I thought that I was meeting them. That I was being a perfect daughter. But now that Lisa has had her baby, I’m less important.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” I say, my heart breaking for her. The jet lag seems to be weighing on her, making her more vulnerable than usual.
“They may not like what I have to say, but at least they’ll hear me say it.”
“If it’s too much, I can hang back. Meet them another time,” I offer for probably the dozenth time. As much as I want to start a life with her, I don’t want to take any steps she isn’t ready for.
“No.” She pulls my hand into both of hers, stroking her thumbs across my knuckles. “Having you here makes it so much better. You’re real, you matter, and I want you there.”
“Good.” My grin slowly stretches across my face. She’s so cute when she’s tired. I want to commit her every microexpression to memory.
