Page 31 of Diving In

Trying to pull my shit together, I managed to muster the confidence needed to redirect my gaze to Cal’s. As soon as I did, I felt a tight embrace engulfing my frame. His strong arms wrapped around my upper half, making me feel safe.

I tensed, not knowing how to respond for a few moments, and then I felt my entire body relax. I felt like I could stay in this moment forever and be perfectly content. Even with how much I craved control, required it even, in this moment right now, I felt more stable than I had in a long time.

The musky scent of sandalwood perfectly mixed with the fresh hint of evergreen wafted through my nose and I felt myself clutching onto him a little tighter. No words were shared between the two of us, but we both knew that I didn’t need words. I just needed this. I needed comfort, and most importantly, I needed understanding.

Really, I think I just needed him.

Breaking our embrace with the softest touch, Cal looked down at me with those beautiful blue eyes and the tiniest smirk. “Want to feed some fish?”

“Are you serious?” I giggled.

Cal was calm, compassionate, and completely unpredictable. He was thewant to feed some fishguy exactly three seconds after he was the hold me tight and make me feel things guy.

“Georgia James, you’re going to realize that I’m always serious when it comes to you.”

I blushed. “Callahan Thomas, are you flirting with me?”

“And what if I am?” he casually said.

The sound of something falling caught our attention and I glanced in the direction of the commotion. Kennedy and one other worker had dropped a couple of tin feeding buckets. “Sorry,” she yelled.

“You’re good,” he responded.

I finally had a chance to take in the aquarium in all of its birthday glory. Balloons, confetti, party favors, and one sparkly “Happy 10thBirthday, Samantha!” banner decorated the entire room, along with one long table that was prepped with party hats and paper plates.

“Did you do all this?” I asked, astonished by the amount of time this must’ve taken.

“Yeah.” He peered down at his feet, seeming uncomfortable to take credit for the extravagant display.

“This is amazing, Cal. My ten-year-old self would’ve died to have this as her birthday party,” I encouraged.

The warm and fuzzies were growing at the thought of this man spending his time decorating this place just so one little girl could have the best day ever.

Embarrassed by the praise, Cal changed the subject. “So, are you coming with me?”

“Let’s do it,” was all I could manage.

Still trying to catch my breath from the embrace we’d just had and doing my best to process what just came out of his mouth, I followed closely behind him as we walked across the main entry of the aquarium. “Where are we going?”

“Trust me,” Cal said as he pushed through an unknown door, but the familiar feel of frigid air rushed over my arms and legs, immediately resulting in goosebumps.

The penguins.

“You asked if I wanted to feed the fish? These are not fish.”

“No, these are not fish, but they are penguins, and they do eat—”

“Fish,” I cut him off, mocking him. “They eat fish.”

“Exactly. They eat fish, and we need to feed them because they’re hungry.” He laughed. “Behind that door is a changing room. I guessed your size just like I guessed you’d show up here. Clearly, I’m pretty good at all things Georgia James…” He trailed off with his signature wink, and I swear my lady parts were seconds away from leaving my body and chasing after him.

I didn’t ask any questions even though my mind was spinning with what he could possibly mean bychanging roomandsize. As I pushed through the double doors, I spotted it immediately, perfectly perched on a hanger.

A wet suit.

CHAPTER 13

There was no way in hell I was going to put on that wet suit. As I turned to go back through the doors to inform him of this, I heard Cal’s voice come through the speaker.

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