Page 98 of The Mistakes I've Made
I playfully punched him. “Seriously, aren’t we going to drift off or something? I’ve seen movies. I know how people get lost at sea.”
“Okay, first, ow.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Second, I’m kind of hurt on how little you trust me. I do actually know what I’m doing.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“Waiting,” he explained. “Did you even notice that I’d shut off the engine?”
I listened for a moment, and indeed, the world was quiet, free of the loud roar I’d grown accustomed to. “Oh, huh. How about that? What are we waiting for?”
He ignored me. “And, third, we’ve got a pretty sophisticated navigation system back in the office. Even if I didn’t know what I was doing,” he said, holding up a finger to silence me before I even had a chance for a rebuttal, “which I do, my brother could find us. So, are you happy?”
My lips pressed together. “I would be if you told me what we were waiting for because, right now, I’m envisioning sharks.”
He chuckled again.
“Not helping, Taylor!”
I watched as his eyes scanned the water, the boat gently rocking back and forth. Grabbing my waist, he turned my body, angling my head to where he was looking, and said, “There. Do you see them?”
I squinted, but the glare was almost blinding. “See what?” I asked.
Reaching up, he pulled off his sunglasses and placed them on me, shielding my vision from the brightness.
“You’ll have to wait a second for them to surface again, but—”
“Oh my gosh!” I nearly screamed as two dolphins popped up out of the water.
“Shh!” He laughed. “You’ll scare them away!”
“Really?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Do I look like a marine biologist?”
I laughed, my eyes still trained on the spot he’d pointed out. “How did you know they’d be here?”
His arms wrapped around mine. “There are several spots I bring some of my fishing tours to if it’s the right time of the year. I actually wasn’t sure we’d see them; it’s pretty late in the year. They migrate to Florida for the winter.”
“Smart animals.” I smiled, rising to my feet to take a closer look on the other side of the boat.
There were only a few of them, but they were magnificent, and I couldn’t help but watch how they moved and played in the water as a single unit.
A family.
“Thank you for this,” I said, turning back toward him.
He pulled me close, tucking me beneath his chin, like we were two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.
“Anything for you,” he answered, making my belly flutter.
“Anything?” I found myself saying.
“Teach me to fish?”
Laughter broke from his lips. “What?”
