It hit me suddenly—it had to beSunset Diver, where I’d jumped into the ocean, and we’d done our wall dive.
I grabbed my keys and the slate, then bolted out the door. As I drove to the resort, possibilities collided in my head. What did Eli mean about his mom giving the okay? How could that possibly be true?
I parked haphazardly and jogged toward the pier, the dive slate clutched tightly in my hand. I scanned the area, searching for any sign of Eli.Sunset Diverbobbed gently in its slip, but he was nowhere to be seen. The whole area looked deserted, guests and employees off to other things now.
Stepping aboard, my gaze landed on a wooden tray on the fiberglass bench across from me. A fabric-covered square box sat on top of the tray. The fabric was abstract swirls of blue and lovely. Picking it up, the box was warm, velvety against my hands. I opened it and spied a clear glass bottle with a rolled-up piece of paper inside the neck.
Biting my lip to keep my smile from reaching ridiculous proportions, I lifted the bottle and extracted a rolled parchment of beautiful quality from the bottle’s neck. When I unrolled it, Eli’s familiar handwriting greeted me.
“Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together.”
A gasp escaped my lips and my smile turned tender. The quote fromTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seahit me like a wave. “Oh, Eli.”
Then I noticed something else on the tray, a foldedpiece of resort stationery. After opening it, another message awaited.
I asked you to have faith in me. You helped me see that we could navigate the rough seas and find our way back to each other. Our journey is just beginning, but I promise you, I’m not letting go. Your next clue awaits where our passion first exploded (Don’t get overheated!).
A laugh burst from my lungs, and I had to blink several times to clear my blurred vision. “I can’t believe you did this.”
As I traced his words with my fingertip, the realization of what he’d done, this elaborate scavenger hunt, overwhelmed me. Each clue was proof of our connection, as well as the depth of his feelings. I held the bottle to my chest, overcome by emotion.
“You ridiculous, wonderful man,” I said with a mingled sob and laugh. “You actually understand me.”
My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of our story. The obstacles we’d faced, the doubts we’d harbored… all of it faded away in the face of this gesture. Eli wasn’t just reassuring me. He was laying his heart bare, proclaiming his commitment in a way that spoke directly to my soul.
I took a deep breath, composing myself. “Okay. Where did our passion first explode?”
Then I laughed out loud as my head turned of its own volition to the black-and-white sand beach.
And the dive shack.
With a grin, I carefully rolled up the parchment and replaced it inside the neck of the bottle. I placed it and the note, along with the slate, in the fabric-covered box before setting off toward the next stage of Eli’s romantic treasurehunt, my heart lighter than it had been in weeks. Maybe ever.
The sand shifted beneath my feet as I hurried to the yellow shack, the box of treasures cradled against my chest. My heart raced, not just from the brisk pace, but from the anticipation of what I might find next.
I paused at the door, my fingers tracing the peeling paint. When I opened the door, the familiar scent of neoprene and salt washed over me, with the accompanying blast of heat. But my eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the room.
There, on the floor where we’d collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs, sat a beautiful antique silver platter. And on it…
“Oh, sweetie,” I breathed, sinking to my knees in front of it.
Eli’s battered copy ofTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sealay before me. I reached out, my fingers trembling slightly as I lifted it.
A folded note slipped from between the pages and fluttered to the worn wooden planks. I set the book aside and carefully unfolded the paper to reveal another written note.
I used to tease you about your nickname, but now I realize it perfectly reflects your adventurous spirit and your deep love for the ocean. I should have seen it sooner. Your final clue is in the place where I couldn’t resist you any longer and finally kissed you.
I pressed the note to my lips, closing my eyes as memories washed over me. Memories from this very building, memories of the heated arguments we used to get into, which seemed so silly now. Then the memory of where we’d kissed for the first time. My eyes flew open.
The dive classroom.
Eli’s intense gaze as we’d argued about replacing the scuba kit flashed before me. Along with the electric moment when he’d marched over to give me that devastating, irresistible kiss.
I gently placed the note inside the book, adding them to my growing collection of mementos. As I stood, I caught sight of my reflection in a dusty mirror. My cheeks were flushed, eyes bright with unshed tears, and a smile I couldn’t suppress raised my lips.
“Well,” I said to my reflection. “I guess I’m going back to school.”
I couldn’t maintain a professional pace, finally breaking into a run as I rushed toward the dive shop, the box of treasures held tightly. The pale wooden boards of the pier creaked beneath my feet, but I barely heard them.
