Page 39 of The Billionaire Love Match

She set her jaw and put the snorkel back in her mouth. Was it called a snorkel? She couldn’t remember.

Just before she went under, she felt his fingers tapping on her shoulder.

E-A-S-Y

Her eyes snapped to him and he gave a quick smile. She composed her face, not wanting to reveal the moment, but her eyes felt the sting of grateful tears. Morse was the only thing she and Colt had and she didn’t want to reveal it. Thankfully the cameras had been mostly following Colt at the other side of the pool with the other three girls. Who, by the sound of splashing and laughing, were having a good time.

Casey eased her face back into the water, trying to let the sudden echo-y silence as her ears went under calm her nerves.

Easy. Breathe. Slow.

She kicked her legs up behind her and began the long smooth strokes. Ty’s hand stayed steady on her back, tapping out E-A-S-Y over and over again.

She could do this. For Colt. She could do it for Colt.

But she realized with surprise as she managed to take her first breath and keep her head submerged, that this wasn’t just about Colt. It was about herself. Taking on her fears and forcing her mind to own her body was about her.

And when her fingers crushed into the wall and she lifted her head out of the water, it was an amazing feeling. Ty had a huge grin on his face and she wanted to hug him. If she hadn’t been gripping the sides of the pool, that is.

Her head snapped up as she heard clapping. Colt leaned down, offering his hands and a great big smile to mirror her own. “You did great,” he said. Ty helped lift her hips and she was out of the pool, dripping and grinning. She wrapped her arms around him without meaning to and squeezed him something fierce.

“I did it.”

“Now that she finally finished can we get on with the real part of the date?” Becca said.

Casey felt the words like a punch in the gut, realizing that the other girls were standing right behind Colt, already geared up for the next part—actual scuba in the big pool.

Ty was beside her suddenly. “We’ll be right behind you,” he said. “At our own pace.”

Colt nodded, not arguing silently this time. And with a last backwards look at Casey, he followed the other girls and instructors to the deeper part of the pool.

“Thank you,” Casey said to Ty and now she did give him a hug. “I never would have thought I could make myself do that.”

“You did great,” he said, pulling back and eyeing a cameraman who stood close by. “I could see how hard it was for you and how hard you pushed through.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks.”

“I was just the steady hand. You were the one who had to make the decisions. I’m really proud of how well you did.”

“I feel like there is a ‘but’ in there.”

“I’m not sure we should move to the next part.”

Casey’s face fell. Sure, it was terrifying. But she just did something so incredibly good and still had the high from it. She put a hand on his arm. “I’d like to at least try. Will you help me?”

He looked at her for a long moment, as though trying to read something in her face. He looked off toward Colt and nodded. “Let’s get you geared up.”

There was so much more to scuba. More equipment, more things to remember. Casey tried to focus as Ty went through the things one by one, but as they walked into the deeper pool, the only relief was the physical one when the water lightened the load of the tank on her back.

“Before we can do anything fun like swimming freely, you need to demonstrate a few skills first. Okay?”

“Got it.”

And she did have the first few skills. Adjusting the buoyancy of her vest and clearing her mask. Maybe because she could hold her breath while doing them and not actually use the regulator in her mouth.

“Not so bad,” she said, still feeling the high from her snorkel accomplishment.

His face grew serious. “This next one is a biggie,” he said. “I don’t want to throw off your mental game—which is clearly strong—but you’ll need to pull your regulator from your mouth, find the hose and put it back, clear the water from the regulator, and then take a breath.”

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