Page 48 of The Tides Between Us

I slowly opened my eyes to look at him again. A burning sensation pricked my eyes but I refused to let the tears break free. This was it. This was the end. Everything was crumbling around me. It felt like my world had come to a screeching halt. How could I have let myself be so delusional? How was I not prepared for this?

Because I went and fell in love with him.

“I wanted to tell you before I called my sponsors. I don’t want this to end, Giana, and I don’t expect you to give up everything you have here to move across the country with me.”

A lump was lodged in my throat. My soul was shattered into a million pieces. There was a part of me that knew if Declan asked, I wouldn’t hesitate. He was the love that set my soul on fire and I would have given everything up for him in a heartbeat.

“I would never ask you to stay when you need to go back to California.”

His gaze burned into mine. His lips parted but he quickly shut them. I wanted to reach inside his mind and pluck out the words he was keeping to himself.

“We can make this work, princess,” he assured me as he closed the distance between us and cupped my face with both of his hands. “I know long-distance relationships are never easy, but I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you.”

I tilted my head to the side as his words seeped into my bones. I thought he was here to say goodbye, but he surprised me. It was the opposite of what I was expecting.“We can still see each other whenever we get the chance.”

“I’ll fly back here every chance I can to see you.” He let out a ragged breath. “You’re mine, Giana. I’m not giving you up. If you want me to give it all up, I’ll do it. I’ll stay here in Orchid City and never leave.”

“I won’t ever ask you to give up your surfing career for me.”

A shadow passed through his expression. His jaw tensed and he nodded. “I know.”

“When are you going to call your sponsors?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I have to sooner rather than later, but there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.” Panic instantly flooded me and Declan could sense it. “The rehabilitation facility. Since I won’t be here to volunteer, I want to sponsor a charity event for it.”

My eyes widened as they traveled from his lips to meet his gaze. My brain wouldn’t work to form words. My hands refused to work and my mouth was hanging wide open. We had always done small charity events that never really generated a lot of donations or attention. Having someone like Declan sponsor an entire event could be life-changing for us.

“I want to make it an annual thing. I’m sure it’s probably too short notice for us to have it at the actual facility, so I called my brother and he suggested Orchid City Golf & Country Club. Since he is a member, he put me in touch with the president there. They had another event scheduled for this weekend, but it ended up being canceled.

My brain was struggling to process all of the words he was speaking. I could read his lips, I could understand everything he was saying, but my mind was almost in a state of shock.“How? How did you do all of this already?”

A smile pulled on his lips. “That’s why I didn’t stop by to see you today, princess. I ended up having impromptu meetings and had to work through all the details. I spoke to your boss and he is on board with the entire thing.” He paused for a moment, wiping a tear from my face I hadn’t realized had fallen. “They are going to host a golf outing on Friday and then we will have the actual charity event on Saturday. I ran into Malakai when I was at the country club and he wants to sponsor the golf portion of it. He reached out to Nico and the Orchid City Vipers want to be involved.”

“How are they going to get people to come? It’s not an event without people attending.”

“They already had people who signed up to golf and with the connections everyone has, it’s going to take nothing to draw in the right people.” His eyes were trained on mine, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips. “These are the kinds of people you want. They are all loaded and just looking for another tax write-off.”

“Declan,”I whispered his name. His eyes widened at the sound and I ignored the self-conscious feeling that threatened to flood me. I never spoke. I couldn’t even remember the sound of my voice. I wasn’t even sure if the voice in my head was what my voice actually sounded like, but in that moment I didn’t care. I couldn’t stop myself. Lifting my hands, I signed to him.“This could be life-changing for the entire facility.”

“I know, princess. We’re going to get you guys the help and funding you need.”

Tears fell from my eyes without warning and Declan caught every single one with his fingers. He brushed them away, his touch delicate like the wings of a butterfly.“I don’t even know what to say. I feel like saying thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

He shook his head and his smile reached his eyes. “You don’t have to say anything, Giana. Let me help you. Let me do everything I possibly can.” He caught the last tear and wiped it away. “I hope you have a nice dress for the event on Saturday, because I’ll be needing a date.”

I smiled back at him, feeling borderline giddy. My mind was still struggling to process it all, and I didn’t have a dress. I needed to get one, and I would have to call Winter and Harper to see if they wanted to go shopping.“What can I do to help?”

“We’ve got it all covered. Maybe if you could just get some informative things together about what you guys do that we can share with the guests?” His fingers grazed my skin as he tucked my hair behind my ears. “The rest of your team is constructing a presentation, so anything you can add to that would be great. The most important part is your presence. That’s all I really require.”

The sadness still lingered in my heart at the thought of him leaving. I couldn’t help but feel like this was going to be his send-off. He wanted to try long-distance and to make it work. I couldn’t help but feel like I was signing myself up for a heartbreak, even though it was far too late to prevent something like that from happening. My heart was going to break whether we ended things now or later. Long-distance never worked—why would it be any different with us?

“Why are you doing all of this? You could have just gone back to your life and forgotten you even volunteered to help at the facility.”

A soft chuckle rumbled from Declan’s chest and his gaze was filled with love as he stared back into the depths of my soul. “Because this is what you’re passionate about, Giana. This is what you pour your heart into.”

His eyes glimmered.

“And you are my heart.”

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