We swam cautiously around the ruins, examining the pieces of wood jutting out of the sand. Cork touched me and pointed up. It was time to surface.
I broke through the water, tore off my mask, and dropped the regulator from my mouth to let out a whoop of joy. I was spinning with the weight of what we had discovered.
“You found it,” Cork said, his voice rough, the awe clear in his tone.
I shook my head, breathless. “No, we found it.”
We climbed back onto the boat. The reality of what we’d just discovered settled over me like a heavy blanket. Sirena was real. The treasure was real. My father’s obsession had been realized and his theories proved true. It felt like an ending, but it was the beginning of something great. So much needed to be done now.
“Oh wow! Can you believe it? We have to plan the next steps now.” I said, and embraced the excitement as adrenaline raced through me.
He turned to me, his eyes thoughtful. “Yes, we shall see where this takes us.”
“Yes.” I nodded. My fingers trembled as I pulled off my wetsuit and draped it over a seat then stowed the dive gear. We had found the Sirena del Mar and yet an unease grew inside me. We should be jubilant, happy, instead we were subdued and quiet.
Cork silently attended to his gear. “We should get back. I only have the boat for a few hours.”
I nodded in agreement. “We can refresh our tanks and come back later. There’s so much to do now, the underwater mapping, registering the find.” I trailed off. We were caught up in the enormity of what we’d uncovered, but there was something else—an undercurrent between us that hadn’t been there before. I could feel it in the silence, in the way his eyes lingered on me before looking away to start up the boat.
On the ride back to the marina, I turned the events of the past few weeks over in my mind. Finding the shipwreck was the culmination of everything I’d— we’d —worked toward because Cork had been a crucial contributor, everything my father had worked toward. Now that we were here, that we’d found it... what did it mean for us?
Multiple thoughts jumbled through Cork’s mind as they drove from the marina. They’d found the wreck, brought up treasure, and he knew this was just the beginning. Especially with Beck’s offer to Daisy for future expeditions. Would he fit into her plans?
One thing was for sure, he wanted to. There was no doubt about that. These last few weeks with her had been life changing. He’d gone from wanting to have the treasure for his collection to wanting to secure it for her nautical museum.
It all came down to the fact he didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to say something to break the tension that had grown between them since they’d surfaced. But he didn’t know what to say, so instead he drove and watched the road ahead.
Finally, after a long pause, he said, “I think we’ve done enough for today.”
“Yeah,” Daisy agreed.“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
Cork was silent for a moment, then glanced at her before returning his attention to the road.
“I’m just...I don’t know, Daisy. It’s everything, I think. Finding the wreck was bigger than I expected.”
“How so?” She swiveled in her seat and leaned against the door to look at him.
“It’s not just about the treasure anymore. There’s so much more to it.” He drew in a breath. “There’s you, your father’s dream, the museum. And I don’t want to mess all that up.”
The words were harder to say than he’d expected. Finding the Sirena del Mar wasn’t just about treasure or glory or getting pieces in his private collection.
“You’re not going to mess it up,” she said softly, and placed her hand on his arm. “We found it together. And we’ll figure out the next steps.”
He looked at her, and the tension melted away. There was something powerful between them. Something more than just the shared thrill of the discovery. It was deeper, meaningful, and unlike anything he’d experienced before. It was as if she was part of him now and not being with her would be heartbreaking.
Did she feel the same?
Cork turned his hand over and slipped his fingers between hers, squeezing gently. He nodded and relaxed into the seat.
The sun streamed in the car windows. It was beginning to get hot, but he didn’t want to let go of Daisy’s hand.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to show you something,” she said.
Cork glanced at her and nodded. He turned up the air con and took her hand again. “Sure, where are we headed? I thought you’d want to go to the museum and drop off the coins. Shout with excitement, we found the wreck.”
“I do, but there’s something more important to do. We have about a twenty-minute drive, if that’s okay. To the other side of the island.” Her voice was soft.
She was looking out the window with a gentle smile on her lips. He followed her directions, curious where she was taking him, but didn’t ask questions.
“Just up here on the left.” He slowed down, looking for a laneway to turn into. “There, see, between the palms.” She pointed.
“Yep, okay.” He wheeled the vehicle onto the sandy laneway under a canopy of palms, bougainvillea, and frangipani. It was quite pretty, but wild, and he parked by some large rocks, the overgrowth thick. “This is as far as we can go.”
She got out. “It’s fine, come on.”
The scent of the sea and tropical flowers assaulted him. He inhaled, enjoying the moment. This would never get old.
“This way.” Daisy took his hand. They walked along a path, the sound of the surf reaching them through the foliage.
“What is this place?” he asked, definitely curious.
“Come, look,”she said, delight in her voice.
They emerged from the bushes, and he caught his breath. It was a beach house! A little worse for wear, but it was a fantastic location.
“Okay, this is incredible. Whose house is it?” He walked toward the building. It was a good size, but he could see that nature had taken it over. “How long has it been empty?
“Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you all about it.” Daisy walked onto the veranda and he followed. It had a few wobbly looking chairs, terra-cotta pots with flowers that had gone wild. But it certainly had charm and great potential.
Inside dust motes floated on the rays of sun through the windows that sorely needed a good cleaning.
“It’s mine,” she said.
Cork swung his gaze to her. “Yours? I don’t understand. I thought you had a little place in town.”
“I do; it’s rented and not mine. This was our family home. I grew up here. There are so many memories held inside these walls.”
“What happened to it? Why are you not living here, aside from the obvious?” He gazed around.
“Well, because it’s a mess and I haven’t had the funds to fix it up. Dad’s estate will be released to me in a couple of months, then I can focus on the renovation.” He saw the love for this house in her eyes. “I want to live here.”
“I can understand why, but why did you ever leave?” He asked and wandered around the room, which was larger than it looked from the outside, and into a kitchen had a beautiful view of a lagoon out the windows.
“When Mom died,” Daisy hesitated, and Cork turned to her. “When she died, that’s when Dad became even more obsessed with hunting for treasure.” She pointed to the lagoon out front. “Not only was he convinced about the Sirena , he was sure that there was something out there too.”
Cork walked over to her and took her in his arms. She melted into him and he tightened his hold. Waiting for her to tell him more.
Her cheek rested against his chest, and she continued her story. “This place reminded him of her. He loved her with all his heart, but he also loved his treasures. They did a lot together, and one day, there was a freak accident and she drowned. He never forgave himself and that’s why he let this place go.”
“Such a damn shame. You’d think he would want to keep it up to honor her memory,” Cork said, and led her out to the veranda.
“That’s what I tried to tell him. All the time, and so I gave up. I came here and did what I could, but there never seemed to be enough time to do all the things.” She ran her hand along the white railing, twined with creeping flowers.
“Well, no time like the present.” Cork said and jumped down from the veranda. “Come on, show me the rest.”
“W-what do you mean?” She took his hand and kicked off her shoes. He followed suit and they walked through the powdery sand to the water.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said quietly, his voice thoughtful. “About everything we’ve done. About you. And now this place.”
She was quiet, listening to him.
He faced her and gently turned her as the waves lapped around their ankles. “Daisy, you’ve been on this quest for so long—focused, determined, alone, and I totally understand.” Her eyes met his, and it would be way too easy to lose himself in them but he cleared his throat and continued. “You fulfilled a deathbed promise, and it took you years to do. Now you have done it. Isn’t it time to let all that go? And think of your future, your plans, which direction you want to go in?” He didn’t want to say too much until he got an idea what she was thinking.
“I guess I never thought about it that way,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “I was so focused on the goal that I never stopped to consider what I would do if I succeeded.”
Cork took a step closer, his gaze unwavering. “You’ve done it now, Daisy. You’ve completed your father’s dream. But that doesn’t mean you have to live your life for him any longer.”
She swallowed and looked up at him. “You’re right. I’d spent so much time trying to fulfill my father’s dream that I’d forgotten to live my own. And now, standing here with you, the house I grew up in, I do want more. More than just treasure hunting and archaeology, which I won’t stop doing of course.” She smiled and continued, “I’m not really sure what comes next, other than the Sirena . But after that, I’m not sure.”
Cork reached out and brushed his thumb over her chin. A tremor of warmth rumbled through him. He was, correction he had, fallen for her, and just how hard became evident in this moment.
“You don’t have to know right now,” he murmured. “But I think...whatever comes next, you don’t have to do it alone.”
His words hung in the air between them, thick with meaning. His heart pounded that he’d said the words meaning he wanted to be with her. Words he’d never spoken before and thought he never would.
“Oh, are you saying…” her voice barely a whisper. “Us.”
He nodded his head. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Daisy. Not just because of what we’ve found, but because of you, who you are. You’re incredible, and I don’t want to walk away from that.”
His heart raced. For so long, he’d kept a staunch wall up when it came to relationships. He didn’t want one, but she had found a way in and changed all that. And it felt right.
She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to walk away either,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “But I don’t know how to do this, Cork. I’m used to being on my own.”
He smiled. “Me too, so why don’t we figure it out together?”
Slowly, she nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Together. I want that so much. A life together with you.”
Cork’s smile widened, and before either of them could say anything else, he scooped her up and swung her around. She laughed, her arms closing around his neck, and he cradled the back of her head. He found her mouth with his and they kissed, a newfound passion rising between them as they stood knee deep in the turquoise water. Happiness filled him.
“This is just the beginning, Daisy. Whatever comes next...we’ve got this,” he told her.
“Yes, oh Cork, I haven’t felt this good in years. You’re right. This is just the beginning. This treasure hunt might be over, but our journey—our story—is just starting.”
“You bet, and I think we should begin with the beach house behind us.”
She laughed, and his heart filled with love for her.
“Deal.” Then she jumped out of his embrace, kicked up a spray of water at him, and ran off into the surf.
“Hey!” he shouted, wiping water from his eyes.
He chased after her, caught her, and they tumbled into the warm water, arms wrapped around each other, happily soaked.
“Together,” they said at the same time, and burst out laughing.
Thank you for reading!