Page 63 of Visions of You

My smile turned wicked. “You’re stealing my line.”

With a laugh, she rose onto her toes and touched her lips to mine. “I think we’ve got everything. Let’s get our kits set up.”

After several months of driving the dive boat, I was an expert at this and assembled my equipment quickly. April did a final equipment check to make sure we weren’t forgetting anything, then turned to me and rubbed her hands together. “All right. We’re ready. Any site in particular you want to dive?”

Anything but the goddamnBenson.

But I wouldn’t voice that thought out loud. I smiled and traced my fingers down her cheek. “I’ve always liked Central Park. How about that?”

“I love that site! Great choice.”

April’s smile helped dispel the last of the negative thoughts, and I concentrated wholly on the present. And the woman right here in front of me. The past couldn’t compete with her.

Central Park was only a ten-minute boat trip from Calypso Key. The site consisted of a long sloping wall that nature had divided into sections—different varieties of coral inhabited distinct areas within the site. As we approached the mooring ball resting on top of the ocean, April used the long hook on the bow to bring a length of attached rope aboard. A metal clip attached to another clip on the end of our line, ensuring the boat would stay firmly attached while we were underwater.

After tugging on our wetsuits, we slid our BCDs on and stood up. I tried to give her a hand with the heavy tank, then grinned when shestood up before I could get to her. After putting on our fins at the stern platform, we pulled our masks down, stuck regulators in our mouths, and jumped into the ocean.

As I floated back up to the surface, butterflies were fluttering steadily in my gut. The seafloor was only twenty feet below, but I was unaccountably flustered.

April turned to me. “Ready?”

I nodded, putting more confidence in the motion than I felt. She held out her fist and gave a thumbs-down, and I deflated my BCD. Immediately, I sank below the surface. I cleared my ears every few feet, trying to remember everything I was supposed to do. April sank next to me. To calm my nerves, I concentrated on her.

She descended like a free-falling parachutist, with her legs behind her. Completely relaxed, her head moved on a swivel as she took in the site and any animals that might be in the area. Then she turned to me with raised brows and gave me an okay signal.

My heart was beating faster than I was happy with, but I returned her signal and added several blasts of air to my BCD to keep from crashing into the rapidly approaching coral reef. April beckoned me to follow, and I stayed by her hip, letting her choose our course.

Our depth gradually increased. April turned when we hit fifty feet and swam parallel to the slope, holding our depth steady. I was more comfortable now and able to relax as she swam at my side.

That was when I realized I was relaxingbecauseshe was near. I didn’t have to worry about anyone else or be responsible for them. Indeed, I was the one she was watching closely. And that fact gave me confidence—she was an expert, and I only now realized just how good she was underwater. She stopped to show me several lobsters hiding under an overhang. She hung motionless in the water and held my arm so I could use her to steady myself.

Ten minutes later, I spotted half a dozen fish that had always been favorites of mine. I couldn’t remember what they were called, though. The yellow, black, and white fish were the size of my hand and vividly colorful. A long, black snout protruded in front of them.

April saw me studying them and unclipped her magnetic dive slate. She wrote on it, then turned it around.

Longnose butterflyfish!

I slapped my head and smiled, then pointed to a different pair of butterfly fish. These were black and white. With white bodies, speckled diagonal lines decorated their sides, and a large round black dot lay near their tails. April wrote for a longer time, and I couldn’t help admiring how still she remained in the water. Anytime I stopped moving, I started sinking or rising. She flipped the slate for me to read.

Four-eyed butterfly fish. The large spot at the back looks like an eye and fools predators into chasing the wrong end!

We smiled at each other. April clipped her slate back to her BCD and turned to lead once again. With two powerful kicks, I moved up to her side and took her hand. Turning to me, she made sure I was doing okay before she squeezed back.

I was doing more than okay. A huge school of yellow-tailed snappers appeared as we came around a bend. How could I have forgotten how much I loved this? And all because April had refused to back down when I said I wanted Corbin to teach me. Looking back, my reluctance to let her see me as a fumbling novice seemed stupid.

I’d built some pretty strong walls in the past couple of years.

Good thing April packed a mean sledgehammer.

As soon as we were back on the boat and out of our gear, I swept her into my arms. Kissing her deeply, I smiled at her appreciative hum.

“Thank you,” I said, cradling her head against my chest. “I loved that.”

“So did I. Diving with you meant a lot to me, Gabe.”

“Me too. I feel like I got a monkey off my back today.”

“Diving’s always awkward after a long layoff. It came back to you really quickly.”

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