Page 25 of Diving In

“And how’s that?” I questioned, surprising myself with my boldness.

“You might not have seen me, but Ialwayssaw you.”

I took a bite of my breakfast, trying to pretend I wasn’t completely freaking out. I started looking around, heeding Jack’s suggestion to try to enjoy everything I saw.

Staring out the café window, I was brought back in time, back to when I didn’t have a care in the world. I saw so much bliss in everything around me. One older woman was carrying a bag of fresh fruits and veggies that I imagined she’d gotten from the farmer’s market down the street. Another giddy couple held hands as they sipped on their coffees, nothing but smitten grins splashed across their faces. I kept scanning my way down the sidewalk, past little kids with enthusiastic giggles and couples out for their morning stroll.

I observed everyone with a genuine smile painted on my face until I landed onhim.

OnFletcher.

The air was instantly ripped from my lungs, leaving me gasping. I slammed my eyes closed, keeping them like that and effectively ignoring the fact that he was walking directly toward the restaurant. I only hoped that when I opened them, he would be gone.

CHAPTER 11

The walls were closing in on me, leaving nowhere to escape. Any fragment of positivity that I’d managed to conjure up during this breakfast with Cal was now long gone.

As I heard the bell above the door ding, I tried to muster enough courage to turn around and properly look at the boy. He had been young, maybe fifteen? I couldn’t be sure, but given his age and the fact that my brother was, in fact, dead, the person I was staring at obviously wasn’t Fletcher. I let my curiosity get the best of me and finally glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but as I took him in, it felt like I’d seen him before.

“Are you okay? It looks like you just saw a ghost,” Cal said, and while I knew it was a saying and he didn’t mean it literally, it shook me to my core.

“I did,” I mumbled under my breath before realizing I needed to get it together and act like a normal person. “Sorry, no, I’m good. Just got lost in my thoughts for a second there.”

Instead of allowing my anxiety to take over, I calmly took my fork back in my hand and loaded it with another bite, pretending what I just saw wasn’t completely fucking with my head. Or the fact that I didn’t have even a hint of an appetite anymore, the mere sight of the burrito stuffed with eggs, bacon, and an ungodly amount of cheese almost making me run to the bathroom.

I shoveled an entire forkful into my mouth, hoping to buy myself a few more seconds before I had to speak again. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to try too hard to keep the burrito down because it was actually the best damn breakfast scramble I’d ever tasted.

“Holy shit, this is amazing. Mmm,” I moaned around the food, unable to contain myself. I realized that I hadn’t eaten a single thing since landing in South Carolina yesterday afternoon.

“Enjoying yourself?” His voice was a low rumble, affecting me once again. He had a way of doing that. “I told you,” he said proudly. “I know a thing or two about finding the good spots.”

“Oh, is that so?” I taunted before changing the subject. “Speaking of, this place seems new. Less Sullivan’s Island, if you know what I mean. Which family owns it?”

“Family?” Cal huffed. His body tensed and the muscles underneath his shirt appeared more prominent than before. “A corporate company took over. They swooped in a couple months ago because the local family couldn’t keep up with the bills. This used to be The Surfer’s Coffeehouse, which is probably how you remember it.”

“Oh my god, yes! I was trying to figure out why I recognized it. I loved that place. They had the best homemade pop-tarts,” I said, my enthusiasm quickly dwindling as I processed what he’d said.

“But I was afraid you were going to say something like that… As soon as I stepped into this place, I suspected as much.” My fork clinked against the plate as I sat it down, picking up my coffee in its place, the mug still warm against my palms. “It breaks my heart when corporations come in and wipe these places clean, eradicating them of all their charm and personality. And even worse, when they swoop in and take away these mom-and-pop shops, they leave the families who run them with nothing.” I scoffed, my irritation even taking me by surprise.

“I didn’t realize you had so much fight left in you when it came to this island,” he said. “I like it.”

Sullivan’s Island hadn’t meant anything to me in over a decade, and I wasn’t entirely sure why being back here for a mere twelve hours was bringing up such strong opinions.

“The locals are doing everything they can, but it’s just not enough,” Cal replied as he fumbled around with his fork. “We all hate what’s happening around here and we want everything to be like it used to. Without the resources though, it feels impossible to get back to that.”

“That’s too bad. Hopefully everything will work out,” I offered, understanding where he was coming from but also knowing I wouldn’t be around long enough to help with anything. Trying to lighten the mood, I asked, “What are you doing today?”

“I have to head to the aquarium to take care of a few things, then I need to go check on the sea turtle nests.”

Of course he cared about turtles… Why wouldn’t he?

Every word out of his mouth had me more and more convinced he couldn’t possibly be real. Cal seemed to be a man of all trades. He carried luggage, or rather demanded I let him carry mine. He loved my cookies, and he looked fucking delectable eating them. He really cared, enough to come checkon meafter a storm. He was able to comfort me with just one touch, even the slightest warmth of his hand hovering above my thigh, easing my nerves. And most tempting of all, he’d known exactly what I was thinking on more than one occasion.

“Hey, um…” Cal paused, visibly uncomfortable with whatever he was going to say next. “Did you find the letter?”

“You mean the letter where Jack tried to guilt me into facing my so-called fears by claiming that Fletcher would’ve wanted me to? Yes, I did find that letter. I should’ve known you’d know about it,” I said, struggling to hide my irritation.

I turned my gaze away from the table, immediately locking eyes with the boy from earlier. He’d already been staring at me too, which only deepened my interest in him.

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