“Confident.”
“Always.” I grinned, falling into our easy banter as I brushed a kiss over her lips. “You trust me. I have written proof.”
“I reserve the right to revoke that if you take me somewhere terrible.”
“Noted.” I started the engine, the familiar rumble vibrating through the deck. “But you won’t.”
We motored out of the marina, the early morning calm broken only by the engine and the cries of gulls. I guidedOdysseynorth, away from the popular dive sites. Tessa stood beside me at the helm, her face turned toward the horizon. She looked peaceful in a way I rarely saw—no laptop, no data sheets, no pressure to perform. Just a woman enjoying the ocean she loved.
“I’ve missed this,” she said.
“Missed what?”
“This.” She gestured at the water around us. I turned to pass parallel to the Key. The gleaming exterior of the renovated Heron House could be seen distantly behind the pebble and sand beach that stretched along this section of the island. “Just being on the ocean without an agenda. Without having to collect samples or document findings. Simple enjoyment.”
The admission made me grip the wheel harder. “When’s the last time you did that?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Honestly? I don’t remember. Years, maybe. Even recreational dives are usually scouting trips for potential research sites.”
“That sounds exhausting.” We passed the residentialdistrict and continued to the wilder northeastern quarter of the island with its thickets and mangroves. Big Pine Key loomed to the north.
“It is.” She turned to face me, leaning her hip against the console. “I didn’t realize how draining it was until I came back here. Until I remembered how to just… breathe.”
Her vulnerability made me want to promise her she could have this peace every day. But that wasn’t our deal. Instead, I pointed ahead. “We’re here.”
Her eyes widened as a distinctive rock formation came into view. “Braden, is that?—”
“Yeah.” I cut the engine and dropped anchor. “Our spot.”
The grotto’s entrance was still hidden behind a curtain of arching mangroves and rock, invisible unless you knew where to look. We’d found it by accident as teenagers, and though others surely knew of it too, it became a place that belonged to us.
“I can’t believe you remember how to find it,” Tessa said with a giant smile as I secured the boat.
“Never forgot.” I started pulling on my dive gear, the movements automatic. “I come here sometimes. When I need to think.”
Gearing up beside me, she studied me but remained quiet. When we were ready, I caught her eye. “No work today. Just us and the ocean. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. Only you and me.”
We jumped off the boat, and the warm water enveloped us. The world above disappeared the moment we submerged. Underwater was our element. Our shared language.
I led the way to the hidden entrance in the coral wall, checking over my shoulder to make sure Tessa was behindme. She followed with the easy grace of someone completely at home in the water. The entrance was a narrow channel, and I went first. A moment later, Tessa emerged behind me.
And then we were inside.
The grotto opened into a submerged cathedral. Walls of ancient, pockmarked limestone curved upward to a jagged skylight—a natural oculus that funneled the sun into thick, shimmering columns. The light didn’t just enter the water. It pierced it, dancing over a floor of pure white sand. The limestone walls were alive, encrusted with orange sponges and purple coral that glowed in the ambient light. Schools of glassy sweepers hung suspended in the shadows, their transparent bodies catching the light like diamond dust.
I turned to Tessa. Her eyes were wide behind her mask, her head tilting back to follow the sunlight. A sound—half laugh, half gasp—bubbled from her regulator. Then she looked at me, and emotion was raw in her gaze.
She pressed her hands together and nodded solemnly. Thank you.
I gave her a deep, slow nod in return. Welcome home.
We floated in the quiet, the only sounds our breathing and the whisper of water. This place held our history—lazy summer afternoons, whispered confessions, making love in the golden light.
And now, it held our present.
Tessa reached out and took my hand. We explored the grotto slowly, swimming through the shafts of light. At one point, Tessa spotted a juvenile octopus in a crevice and signaled me over with excitement. We watched it for several minutes, marveling at its delicate movements.
