Page 5 of Finding Hope

Hope closed her eyes, drained. “I’m trying, Sara. I just . . . can’t.”

“There’s someone out there for you. But you have to take a chance to find him. What’s your idea of your perfect man?”

“Not Kyle.” In fact, if Hope were being honest, she’d always thought Kyle was something of a boy pretending to be a man. Maybe that was why she considered him safe.

“There’s a revelation. I’m serious. Do you even know what you want in a guy?”

“Yes! He’d be a man who’s strong enough that I always feel safe with him but had no fear of him myself. He’d be smart and funny, and good looks would be a bonus. A man who believed in honor and being faithful, and who loved me above all else, of course.”

“Good God, Hope. No wonder you’re single. Where do you propose to find this paragon?”

“I don’t. I’m done with men for a while. I need some time alone.” She grabbed a tissue and wiped her face before changing the subject. “I do have some good news, though. I interviewed for a new job today. Maybe this will be the new direction I need.” Making her way to the kitchen, she opened a bag of chips.

“Ok, this sounds promising. Was your interview for a totally new job?”

“It was for a promotion to assistant general manager at the Rosemont Inn.” Hope collapsed onto the couch again and closed her eyes. “Oh no, that sounds kind of boring, doesn’t it?”

“Well, maybe the universe is telling you it’s time for a change. You’ve been in Chicago forever. Let’s brainstorm a major life shift for you. Any ideas?”

“No! I’m pretty confident about this promotion.” She bit a chip in half. “This job could be exactly what I need, even if it’s not the most stimulating thing in the world.”

“You’re no fun. And stop talking with your mouth full.” Sara paused. “You know . . . I might have an idea.”

Oh no, this conversation had been going so normally for Sara. “What idea might that be?”

“Remember Marissa, the friend I work with?”

“Yes. Should I be scared where this is going, Sara?”

“Of course not. You know I only have your best intentions at heart. Always. Anyhoo, she just got back from a vacation in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. And there’s a dive resort there being offered up in a raffle. The current owner is retiring or something. She told me all about it and gave me the brochure.”

“So what?”

“Think about it. You buy a raffle ticket for $100, then the owner picks a random ticket. And voila—you own your own resort. In the Caribbean! Well, after they make sure you’re not an axe murderer, of course. You could enter that! I mean, really—white sand, warm sea, cabana boys. Scuba diving in the clear blue sea . . . You have the hotel experience to make it work, you know.”

Hope froze, a chip midway to her mouth. “Have you lost your mind? What if I won? I can’t pick up and leave my life behind. Besides, I can’t even scuba dive. An entire life shift might be fine for you, but it would never work for me.”

“You need to give yourself more credit. Seriously, you are one of the most capable people I’ve ever known.” She stopped for a big breath, and her voice got firm again. “Stop settling. You have been doing this for years! How many more will it be before you finally start living?” She paused as Hope put her feet up on the coffee table. “Hope, things have a way of working out. I’ll say it one last time—you are definitely better off without Kyle. You deserve a man a lot better than him.”

“Thanks, sis. You can be a bitch sometimes, but you can also be right on occasion.” Sara laughed. “If I get this promotion, maybe it will be the change I need. Love you.”

After the call, Hope went into the kitchen to make a cup of chamomile tea before drawing a hot bath. As she slowly sank into the bubbles, she snorted.

Winning a resort in the Caribbean. How ridiculous . . .

CHAPTER 4

Sunlight filtered through the clear blue water, casting rippling beams onto the vibrant coral reef. But dive leader Alex Monroe was immune to the beauty at the moment. He blew an irritated stream of bubbles out of his regulator.

Where is that guy?

He craned his neck. The man’s wife was right where she should be, following behind Alex, but her husband wasn’t. He looked up. Sure enough, the guy swam right along, but thirty feet above the rest of the group. Alex signaled to Bob (or was it Bill?), asking if he was ok. The guy signaled back ok, so Alex gave him the submerge deeper sign and turned around to lead on.

He checked his wrist dive computer. They were at sixty feet. Even at that depth, the reef glowed with soft and hard corals in shades of green, pink, and purple. Alex led the group out of the coral channel as a large school of blue tang swept by, swooping down to eat algae on the reef.

His destination was a large outcropping in the middle of the sand that housed two leaf scorpion fish. The white one was out and easy to spot as it sat motionless on a coral branch, looking iridescent with its long serrated dorsal fin, its body waving back and forth in the gentle surge. He showed it to the rest of the group and hunted for the bright purple one. There! It hid deep in a crevice. Alex pointed it out, then swam off a short distance to wait while the divers enjoyed it and took photographs.

No one had indicated to him yet that they had half a tank of air left, which was a good sign as they had been down for over thirty minutes. Still, this group wasn’t very experienced and might not be tracking their air closely. Alex tapped his open palm in the standard signal for an air check and pointed to BillyBob, who fumbled with his dive console and looked at his computer. His eyes grew large behind his mask before he hesitantly held up three fingers.

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