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I glance at him, hesitating. “I just… I didn’t expect this.”
He tilts his head. “Didn’t expect what?”
Didn’t expect you to remember. Didn’t expect to feel like this again.I shake my head, offering a small smile instead. “Nothing. It’s just… nice.”
Bryan watches me for a second longer, something unreadable flickering in his eyes, but he doesn’t push. Instead, he motions to the cushioned deck, where a picnic basket sits waiting.
“Come on,” he says. “Figured we could eat before I throw you overboard.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His smirk turns wicked. “Wouldn’t I?”
We settle on the deck, the gentle rocking of the boat a steady rhythm beneath us. The spread is simple, fresh fruit, sandwiches, lemonade but it feels like everything. We eat, talk, fall into something that feels dangerously close to what we used to be.
“I can’t believe you still drink lemonade,” Bryan says, watching as I take a sip. I raise a brow. “What’s wrong with lemonade?”
“Nothing.” He leans back, arms propped behind him, his gaze fixed on me. “It’s just… you haven’t changed as much as I thought you might.”
The words send a flutter through my chest, my fingers tightening around the glass. I glance at him, at the easy way he watches me, like I’m something familiar. Like I never left. “I have changed,” I say softly, more to myself than to him.
Bryan’s expression shifts, something thoughtful settling into his features. “Maybe. But the parts that matter? They’re still here.”
His voice wraps around me, and for a moment, I don’t know what to do with the warmth spreading through me. So, I do the one thing I know won’t let me think too hard.
I stand. Bryan blinks. “What are you…?”
Before he can finish, I kick off my sandals, step onto the edge of the boat … And jump.
Cold. Bitter cold.
The ocean swallows me, cool and endless, pulling me under before I push myself back up, gasping. Bryan’s voice is somewhere above me, a mix of shock and laughter.
I wipe water from my eyes, grinning. “What? You looked like you needed to cool off, so I took the first leap.”
His smirk turns sharp. Dangerous. “You’re asking for it, Em.”
Before I can react, he’s peeling off his shirt, stepping to the edge, and …
Splash. A second later, he surfaces, close. Too close.
Water glistens on his skin, dripping from his hair, rolling down the strong lines of his shoulders. His eyes lock onto mine, and the playful tension shifts, becomes something heavier.
The world narrows. It’s just us. The ocean wrapping around us, the quiet between waves, the pulse pounding in my throat. Bryan’s gaze dips to my lips, then back up.
I feel myself sway toward him, and his smile is the last thing I see as his mouth closes over mine.Delicious. That’s all I can think of.Delicious. As my arms wrap around his neck the only thing that I can imagine at this moment is never having to let go. His hold on me is so much more than physical. I feel like our souls are intertwined, that our hearts are beating as one.
Then a splash right between us makes me shriek. Buddy. Of course. He paddles toward us, tongue lolling, completely oblivious to whatever just happened.
Bryan groans, running a hand through his hair as he glares at the dog. “You have the worst timing, you know that?”
I laugh because what else can I do? As we swim back to the boat and as Bryan helps me up, his hands linger around my waist and that magical smile wraps me in a different kind of warmth.
I know we’re not done. Not even close. As the sun begins to set, I feel lighter. Less afraid. Less guarded.
I recognize that Bryan is the most important part of my world. So why fight this?
Chapter eighteen