Page 7 of The Sunken Truth
His gaze was fixed on the horizon and she could have sworn he’d been thinking the same as her, given how forlorn he looked.
After a few minutes of silence, she leaned closer. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Why?”
She shrugged. “You’re quiet.”
Opening his mouth, it seemed he was going to say something, but he merely sucked in a breath that puffed his chest up before shaking his head. “I’m fine,” he said again.
Lily was unconvinced. “You must be so hot.”
“It’s all right.”
Playfully, she knocked her shoulder against his and was rewarded with a shadow of a smile.
“Look!” he said, pointing ahead.
Bishop Rock Lighthouse really lived up to its name – a tall lighthouse sitting on a tiny rocky islet that rose out of the water. Not too far from it, a cluster of boats bobbed close together.
“I thought they’d all be spread out,” Lily remarked loudly, turning to Kit and Seren.
“They tie the boats together,” Kit told her. “It’s more fun for the non-divers that way – it’s like a little floating island. It also means the boats keep some distance from the shipwreck. That way no one accidentally drops anchor on it or anything.”
“That makes sense,” Lily replied.
“The red buoy will be the marker for the wreck,” Seren said, pointing.
As they got closer, Lily felt a stir of anticipation for the dive. It had probably been five years since she’d dived, but when she was younger it had been one of her favourite pastimes, and one which she’d shared with her uncle. They’d learned together and had both got the bug for underwater adventures. She felt a pang of sadness as she thought of how much he’d have loved to dive the shipwreck with her.
“Any news on Maria?” Flynn asked, leaning close to speak in her ear.
She sighed at the mention of the owner of the ice cream shop. Maria had gone for a trip back to the mainland right when Lily had wanted to question her about her connection to her dad. “No. Glynis is sure she’ll be back soon, though.”
“Are you definitely going to confront her?”
“Yes.” Admittedly, hearing that Maria had left the islands had been a bit of a relief. Her slowly returning memories led her to believe Maria had been having an affair with herdad, and getting confirmation of that didn’t exactly fill her with joy. “I need to know the truth, once and for all.”
“Hopefully, she’ll be back soon.”
Lily nodded, but her attention was on the collection of boats ahead of them. The hum of the engine quietened as Kit slowed the boat. A few familiar faces greeted them from what appeared to be a tiny floating village. Every age group occupied the boats, from kids to old people. Some people sunned themselves in bikinis, while some had elaborate picnics and others were busy gearing up to dive.
“Who called the police?” a man called jovially. “Don’t tell us you’ve come to break up the party.”
“Must’ve been someone complaining about the noise,” a woman joked.
Despite his smile, Flynn’s eyes looked more annoyed than amused. Usually, he’d have a bit of banter, but apparently he wasn’t in the mood today. Maybe the heat really was getting to him.
“Glad you’ve joined the party!” Ted called, throwing them a rope from his fishing boat.
“Please tell me we can put our wetsuits on in your boat,” Keira said, rocking their considerably smaller vessel. “We’ll likely all end up in the water if we attempt it from here.”
“We’re going to end up in the water anyway,” Kit pointed out. “That’s sort of why we’re here.”
Keira rolled her eyes. “I’d like to have my wetsuit on before I get in the water.” She had her suit slung over her arm when she stepped over onto Ted’s boat.
“Rhys is down there too,” Ted said, taking the diving equipment from Kit and setting it beside him. “He’s convinced he’s going to find gold.”
“He better not get to it before me,” Lily said, stepping onto Ted’s boat to change into her wetsuit.
