Page 47 of A Girl and HER Prince
Achilles shook his head, and gave Deedee a mischievous glance. “And risk having to go back?”
Deedee laughed merrily in return.
If Livvy didn’t know better, she’d think they were perfect for each other.
Venice checked the weather on his phone. “We should have about two hours before the weather gets bad.” He glanced over at Livvy. “You okay with that?”
He was asking her? Feeling a new weight of responsibility, she glanced up at the sky again. A storm was brewing farther away, but overhead the sun was bright and cheery, and Achilles had talked up this shipwreck so much that she was actually eager to see it. Why not take this day for what it was worth and have some fun? She could handle that, right?
Livvy nodded.
Deedee cheered and Achilles turned to the lively redhead with a knowing grin. “You ready for me to get you alone in one of those caves down there?”
Her giddy laughter was answer enough.
“Come and get me, Flipper.” Achilles went over the sidelike a maniac, barely doing a check before sinking down into the waves.
Deedee didn’t even glance at Venice this time as she dove into the water after him.
Bris’s hands were on the wheel. Despite her demands that Turner abandon Livvy to help her on with her gear, Bris still hadn’t gotten on her vest, and judging by the way she settled into her seat, she wasn’t intending on exploring the deeps any time soon. “Turner,” she cooed over at him. “You can’t tell me youreallywant to go in that cold water?”
Of course, he did! Turner was already suited up to see the infamous shipwreck. Was Bris really going to pressure him into staying behind?
Luckily, Venice caught the exchange. “Hey, just let him go, Bris. Stay with the boat until we get back. We won’t be long.”
She let out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, but only if you can tear yourself away.” She gave Turner a coquettish smile, and when he didn’t immediately answer in the way she wanted, she rolled her big doe-like eyes—they were the same color as Venice’s. “Fine,” she said. “You’d better hurry and catch up to Achilles. You don’t want to get stuck behind with the newbie.”
Livvy scowled. That would be her, wouldn’t it? She could see that the buddy system would make it kind of a drag to be stuck with her, and yet, Venice didn’t act resentful at all. His fingers pressed into hers. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. You ready for this?”
He was genuinely concerned for her welfare—just another thing she liked about him, and…no, stop thinking that.And still she smiled like a fool at him. “I can’t wait…”Sorta.
Turner opened the hatch where they could dive off, and after putting on his mask, he was all business. “I’ll let you two do your thing. Achilles and Deedee won’t be too far.” He dove in, quickly sinking down.
And that was that! Turner had just surrendered her completely to his boss.
Livvy felt Venice’s hands against her back while she put air into her vest. Making sure there were no sharks or other man-eating fish waiting to lunge at her, she jumped in.
The refreshing water washed over her, sending her heart into a thrilling race. This was it—she was doing her first real dive, and in Greece!
Water splashed against her in a wave when Venice went in after her. Judging by the ease of his every movement, he’d been doing this since he was a kid. She put the breathing apparatus in her mouth and pressing down a button, fully inflated her vest before she switched to the snorkel.
She put her fingers up in an “okay” signal to Venice.
True to his word, his attention was on her as she changed from her snorkel to her regulator. She signaled she was okay before he did the same with a thumb pointing downward to start their descent.
Unlike his more reckless friends, he was doing everything by the book. She was infinitely grateful. Checking her watch for when they started, Livvy saw her air tank was full. They’d have plenty of time to enjoy the dive before the storm hit.
Pressing deflate on her vest, she began her slow drop into the water, doing her best to equalize her ears by blowing out with her nose as Venice helped her slowly lower to fifteen meters.
The world was completely different in this underwater world. Her flashlight glanced past coral reefs with colors so bright she could never have imagined them. She continued to deflate her vest. As soon as they descended to the silty sea floor, Venice signaled for her to stay neutrally buoyant. She began her scissor kick as they swam horizontally across the bottom.
She’d always been a doggy paddler, and so she did her best to only use her legs as her instructors had taught her, holding her hands in front of her to carry the bright light.
Venice kept checking his tubes to make sure they were streamlined and she did the same. Deedee had shown her too many documentaries where divers died after their tubes got caught on the rocky bottom.
Her fear of not performing proper maintenance soon left her as the beauty of the marine life overcame her. She didn’t see any sign of this shipwreck, but there were more than enough schools of fish and wispy, floating seaweed to keep her interested.
Venice signaled for her to stop.
