Page 46 of The Tides Between Us

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

DECLAN

She looked so peaceful, so angelic and perfect, as she slept. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted slightly. Her breaths were soft and quiet. I studied the way her face was so relaxed and innocent. There wasn’t a single furrow of worry or wrinkle of the stress of life written across her expression. She looked just as ethereal as she did while she was awake.

There wasn’t a single thing about her I would ever dream of changing. She was the literal definition of perfect. Perfect for me, at least. Sure, we all had our flaws, but they didn’t mean a single thing when it came to Giana. I was hopelessly in love with her and it was one thing in my life I would never regret.

I slowly pulled my arm from under her head. I hated leaving her like this. I didn’t want to leave her, period. I wanted to stay in bed with her for the rest of the day, but I had to get to my physical therapy appointment. Touching the side of her face, I gently trailed my fingers across her soft skin. Her eyelids fluttered open and she gave me a sleepy smile.

“Sleep, beautiful,” I murmured as I tucked her hair behind her ear. I was half sitting up, half laying down. She lifted her head to look at me, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “I have to get to physical therapy.”

She blinked her eyes open before glancing around. “Shit,” she mouthed the word. She quickly twisted her body and I watched the way she moved. She was still naked from last night, and fuck. I wanted to bury myself inside her again. As she tapped on the screen of her phone, she quickly began to scramble out of bed. My brow furrowed as I watched her rise to her feet.

I followed after her, climbing out from under the blankets. She moved in a flurry around the room, finding clothes and pulling them on in a haste. I took my time and slowly dressed. Giana looked over at me with her eyes wide.

“I’m late for work,”she signed to me, shaking her head.“I’m never late. I was supposed to be there thirty minutes ago.”

My long strides closed the distance between us as I moved to where she was standing. My hands found her biceps and I looked down at her. “Breathe, princess. I’m sure no one cares that you’re late.”

She shook her head at me. “They’re counting on me. We’re short-staffed as it is.”

“Giana.” Her eyes moved from mine to my lips and back to meet my gaze. “What can I do to help?”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. I released her arms and her hands began to move along with her lips.“My boss wants you to come volunteer, but he wants there to be publicity.”

My heart sank as I watched her expression transform into one that was filled with disappointment. Giana was the good in the world. She wanted the rest of the population to want to save the ocean of their own accord, not because someone in the spotlight brought attention to the work they were doing at the rehabilitation center. I knew her well enough to know that was exactly where her mind went.

“It could be a good thing, Giana. I know you hate it, and I do too, but we have to try and think of the positives here. It could bring in donations and even more people to the facility. That’s the main goal, right? We need to educate the public one way or another, and we can’t do that without drawing them in.”

She contemplated my words. Her body visibly relaxed, the disappointment vanishing from her expression. She gave me a knowing look, one filled with understanding as she nodded her head. A sigh escaped her and she pursed her lips.“I know. You’re right.”She paused for a moment.“Text me after your appointment and we can figure it out.”

I nodded and followed Giana into the bathroom. She handed me a brand-new toothbrush and I couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment. After we stood side by side and brushed our teeth like a domesticated couple, she slid mine into the holder with hers and we both walked down to the kitchen.

Pausing, I turned to her and grabbed the sides of her face as I pulled her in for a swift kiss. It was quick and I knew if I let myself indulge too much, there was no way either of us were leaving. She tasted like mint and smelled like fucking heaven. I breathed her in before pulling away from her.

“I’ll text you when I finish my appointment.”

Her lips parted like she was going to say something but she abruptly closed them. She held both of her hands in fists with her thumb across her knuckles in the sign of anS. Crossing both of her arms in the shape of anX, she abruptly pulled them away from one another.“Be safe.”

I stared at her for a moment, my mouth twitching. I wanted to know what she was actually about to say, but it was clear with her substitute. She wasn’t ready to say it back to me and that was okay. I wouldn’t want her to feel pressured or rush into anything. I wanted to say it to her. I wanted to tell her every goddamn chance I had, but I was afraid that would make her feel like I was forcing my feelings on her.

I pointed at her and formed aYwith my right hand and shook it as I winked at her.“You too.”

I left Giana standing in the kitchen before leaving her house without another word. The air was thick and the moisture was palpable. I looked up at the clouds, the sun burning brightly in the sky. There was a thick haze. We were getting into the days where storms were predicted daily. The sky looked angry already with the threat of an impending thunderstorm brewing.

Disregarding the pending weather, I hopped into my Jeep and drove across town to Gabriel’s office. He was already waiting for me since I ended up getting there about ten minutes late, but he didn’t comment on it. Gabriel knew I operated on my own time and I always had. Things always moved a little slower in my world for me.

Gabriel had me do a few exercises before calling me into a private room to talk. He sat down on one of the chairs and I took a seat on the recovery bed. Gabriel handed me an ice pack for my shoulder, as he did after every session.

“You brought my boat keys, right?”

“Oh shit,” I mumbled as I forced my hand into my pocket, hoping they were still there. Much to my luck, they were and I pulled them out and gave them to him. “Thanks again for letting me borrow it last night. I promise I didn’t crash it or ruin it at all.”

Gabriel laughed. “I would hope you’re a little more mature than you were ten years ago.”

Ten years ago, when I was just sixteen, Gabriel let me take his boat out with some friends. In my defense, it was a mistake on his part for letting a bunch of kids take out his most prized possession. Needless to say, it didn’t end well when I ended up running it into the dock.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You said you were never going to bring that up again.”

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