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She covers my mouth with her hand, giggling and coughing at the same time “Stop.”

Brooke says, “Is everything okay over here?”

“Yeah, look what I found.” Becca holds up a glimmering diamond ring. Her voice is giddy and victorious.

“That’s huge. Do you think it’s real?” asks Reed.

Becca flips it between her fingers, studying it. The band is delicate and somewhat worn in places, but the diamond itself is gleaming. Water beads run off her fingers onto the facets. It’s beautiful like Becca.

I blink, wondering if I’m hallucinating from the lack of oxygen when I dove down to help her. “Are you serious?” I ask asI expel a deep laugh bouncing off the caves. “You almost drowned over buried treasure?”

Grinning like a cartoon cat, Becca’s eyes shine in victory. The ring sparkles between us, and all the fear subsides, leaving the thrill of holding a mystery in our hands.

How long has it been there? Who does it belong to? How old is it? Is it real?

Is this a sign that us being together is right?

“Let’s find Corbin and Oakley. I want to show them.”

“Get on my back. It’s a long way back.”

“I can do it.”

“I know you can, but I’ve got plans for you tonight—top secret, strictly need-to-know basis.”

“Sounds mysterious. Does it involve XL?” she asks, her chest pressing against my back. Her arms loosely drape around my neck as she whispers, “I need to know.”

Other than when we won the Frozen Four in college, I can’t recall a time I was this happy. My smile is so wide as we skim through the water that I could swallow a baby fish swimming around.

Becca slides off my back, showing Flynn, Presley, and Lettie the ring when Corbin, Oakley, and the rest of the Stallions surround us.

Oakley snatches the ring, her excitement evident. “How do we know if it’s legit? It could be a vacation diamond. I’ve heard people say they don’t wear their real rings on vacation in case it gets stolen.

“I’ve heard if it cuts glass, it’s real,” Presley says.

Harper says, “From my geology class, I remember the professor saying if you breathe on it, trying to fog it up, and it stays clear, then it’s probably a real diamond.”

Oakley opens her mouth wide and releases a long huff over the ring. “It’s not cloudy. It’s real!”

“I knew that geology class would come in handy one day,” Harper snorts.

The guide stands on the platform above us. “The picnic on the beach is ready. But you can snorkel for another half hour if you want.”

Snorkeling takes a tremendous amount of energy, and all of us want our feet to touch the ground for a while, so the group heads to the lockers to pick up our extra clothes and bags. Once we dry off, we jump into the Jeeps. Becca calls out, “I’m driving.”

“Okay, we’re riding with Dane and Lettie,” Oakley shouts as she jogs toward their Jeep.

My attention switches back to Becca who is so damn cute, having put a baseball cap on with her short ponytail catching in the breeze. When she grabs the steering wheel, I notice she slid the ring on her middle finger.

It silently knocks the wind from my chest, wanting it to be one finger over. I must be out of my ever-loving mind. We’ve been together less than twenty-four hours. Shaking the thought, another pops up. The ring my dad insisted I give to Stella. What possible reason could he have for wanting Stella and me to marry when he’s been fucking her?

As we drive around the other side of the cave, the landscape changes to rolling sand dunes. My voice loses its strength in the open-air jeep, so when we come to a stop, I say, “Why is the ring on your middle finger?”

She cackles, throwing her head back. “So, I sparkle when I give you the finger.”

I lift a brow, pull her neck toward me, and breeze my words over her ear. “Where do you plan on putting your finger, Bex?”

“Stop,” she demands, giving me a firm flip of her finger, but her eyes dance. Judging by the red tint of her cheeks, she wants to explore the possibilities.