Page 147 of Unconditionally Yours

I fold deeper into the lounge chair, clutching the armrests.

Okay. Okay. Everything’s fine.

Susan’s not a threat. Kira’s not a threat.

Unless they’re both threats. Together. In a power-couple, gay sea-witch kind of way.

And Benji… sweet Benji… is just smiling at them.

He glances over and spots me.

And just like that, his smile goes from polite lifeguard to there she is, and I forget how breathing works. It’s that real smile. The one that makes me want to take his last name, embroider it on my underwear, and not even hyphenate. Full surrender. Take me, Coach Dandelion. I’ll wear the merch.

Susan and Kira are still kissing like they’re auditioning for a synchronized porn team, and if you can hold a kiss that long without dying, you don’t need swim lessons. You need a medal and maybe a defibrillator.

I feel lighter.

Maybe that dandelion on his nightstand knew something I didn’t. The universe looked down at me trying not to unravel and went: okay, babe, here’s a bonus level. We’re tying off your weird Rhys triangle. You earned it.

Sticker heart. Two tasks complete.

Because now Kira can come model for Rhys again. Susan can keep her shitty desk job. And that’s fine. That’s totally fine.

I’m not threatened.

I’m enlightened.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Benji

She smiles at me like I put the stars in the sky and personally turned on the sun this morning just for her. And maybe I did. Or maybe I just finally got lucky enough to be the one she looks at like that.

Either way, I’m toast.

And she’s here. Willingly. To face one of her biggest fears with me.

Her anchor. Her rock.

I want to kiss her. Right here, in front of god, lifeguards, and everybody. Full-body, can’t-walk-after kiss. Rhys deserves a damn Nobel Peace Prize for not throwing professional boundaries out the window and kissing her senseless every time she pouts or says his name.

I’ve already failed that test. Repeatedly. Happily.

She may be my student in the water, but she’s my lover on land. And it’s all I can do not to pull her into me and remind her of that with my mouth.

I stride over, keeping a respectful distance that feels stupid and unnecessary because my body already knows hers by heart.

“You want to get in the water today?” I ask.

She glances at the pool, then flicks her gaze back to me. Her nose scrunches, suspicious. “I didn’t know you knew Susan.”

My mind searches for the name and comes up empty. “Susan?”

“Yeah. Eyebrow lady. You were just in the water with her.”

I snort before I can stop myself. Those eyebrows. “That’s Rhys’s office assistant. I didn’t realize it until this week, but she’s been coming here getting ready for her Caribbean honeymoon. With her fiancé. They’re getting married this month. Her name’s not Susan though.”

Delilah laughs, biting her lip, and the sound shoots straight down my spine. I’m not proud of how close I am to pitching a tent in my swim trunks. Again.