Page 52 of Finding Hope

She sent him her most lethal mock glare.

“What? Why are you giving me the stink eye? I’m the one in the hot seat here.” He turned back to Sara. “It’s called a diving helmet, and I never used one. Only scuba most of the time.”

“Oh? Did you lead people around on tours?”

“Not exactly. Mostly salvage.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I did a lot of picking up things that other people lost. It was pretty boring, actually.”

Sara took another long drink. Hope kicked her under the table. “Alex, I know you’re the one who taught Hope how to dive. I was hoping you could enlighten me about something.”

“As I said before, whatever I can do to help.” He still wore a slight smile.

“Thank you. You’re very gallant. Hope has mentioned an . . . unpleasant dive she had, but she won’t elaborate. I’d like to know I can entrust her to your care, but I can’t get her to open up much about the incident. Was it serious?”

Alex’s demeanor changed like a light switch being flipped. The smile and teasing were gone, replaced with a solemn expression, and his shoulders tensed. The change made Sara sit back in her chair. He darted his eyes to Hope and raised an eyebrow. She gave him a small nod in return.

“Yes, very serious. I’m not surprised she doesn’t want to talk about it. She probably wants to put it behind her.” The intensity of his stare made Sara squirm.

Good, let someone else feel the effects of those eyes for once!

But being the older sister, Hope came to her rescue. “It’s ok, Alex. I don’t mind talking about it. And I have put it behind me.” Well, mostly. “I’ve gone on plenty of dives since.”

Sara looked at Alex, motioning for him to continue.

“She had an out-of-air emergency. Her regulator got knocked out of her mouth so she couldn’t breathe, and she lost her mask too. You should be very proud of your sister.”

His words were directed at Sara, but he watched Hope. “With little experience, Hope reacted to a really dangerous situation better than most divers I’ve ever known. I can’t imagine any new diver handling that situation better than she did. Within minutes, she was breathing calmly and had put her mask back on.”

It was as if she and Alex were the only two people left in the world—the rest faded away. He leaned more toward Hope. “She went through a very scary and dangerous experience. But it didn’t stop her from going again immediately afterward. That’s the definition of courage in my book.”

He stopped talking, and the two of them sat there with their eyes locked together. Hope’s heart pounded in her chest. The throbbing pulse in his neck told her he felt the same. Finally, Alex leaned back in his chair and took a drink of water, the spell broken. Sara sat there, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“The whole thing was my fault,” Hope said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “I wasn’t watching where I was going, and I collided with his fins. It was only a freak accident, so I didn’t let it get the best of me. But I’m damn lucky Alex was there, or it might have ended very differently.”

And then I acted like a child and ran off.

“Lots of people let one-off freak accidents rule their entire lives. But not you.” He raised his glass to her and finished it. Turning to Sara, he asked, “You’re not a prosecutor by any chance, are you?”

She laughed. “No. I work at a hair salon in Charleston. I just like to look after my sister.”

“You missed your calling.” Alex pushed back with a teasing smile. “I’d better be off. Sara, it was great meeting you, and I’m really looking forward to our next conversation. But I need to get back to work. You wouldn’t believe what a hard-ass my boss is.” He waved as he walked out.

“I hope you’re happy,” Hope hissed. “You chased him off before he even had a chance to eat!”

Sara finished her beer in several long swallows and slammed the bottle on the table. “Hope, it is high time you pulled your head out of your ass!”

“Keep your voice down! What specifically are you referring to this time?”

Sara leaned toward her, eyes fuming. “How many years have I been telling you to stop settling for these men you’re not that interested in and find a man who deserves you? That—” she waved an arm in the general direction Alex had departed, “is exactly what I mean. And don’t give me your bullshit about you guys just being friends. There’s enough electricity between the two of you to light up Chicago! Why are you so afraid of being happy?”

She sat back in her chair, relaxing a little. “And I’m not only saying this because he is a very fine-looking man. Hope, after one conversation, I’m more impressed with him than with every other boyfriend you’ve ever had—combined. And don’t think I didn’t see that he wasn’t going to tell me anything about your accident without your approval.” She grabbed Alex’s untouched beer and drank.

“Sara, it’s complicated, even without . . . the rest.” Hope picked at her fingernails. “What if it didn’t work out? He works for me—it would be sexual harassment or something. If we broke up, then I’d have to find a new divemaster—forget about an instructor—and good ones aren’t that easy to find. It could really affect the resort.”

Sara sighed and counted on her fingers. “One, it’s only harassment if it’s unwelcome. I recently had to take my annual training on this, so I know all about it.” She snorted. “Trust me, the way that man looked at you, unwelcome is the last thing you need to worry about. And two, we’re on a tropical island. You could probably throw a rock and hit three divemasters. A good man isn’t easy to find, and you’ve got one right in front of your nose.”

When Hope said nothing, Sara reached out and squeezed her hand. “Hope, I get it. I know you better than anyone. But you can’t go through the rest of your life being afraid to get close to anyone. There are still good men out there. Sweetie, you need to lead with your heart on this one. Your head has gotten you nowhere.”

CHAPTER 27

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