I glanced over at him and took in the sight of his tanned skin. It stood out against his white and blue swim trunks.
“I’m sorry, Max—just five more minutes.”
“You said that five minutes ago—and five minutes before that.” Max folded his arms across his chest. “Sammy, have you forgotten that this is our honeymoon?”
“I’m so sorry—I haven’t forgotten. I’m just trying to format this book so that I can launch the darn thing. If I could just get it to do what it’s supposed to do.” I sighed.
Max walked up behind me and rubbed his warm hands over the curve of my shoulders. No matter how furious I was at technology, I couldn’t resist being relaxed by his touch. I sighed again and closed my eyes.
“We leave tomorrow for the next part of our honeymoon. I’m tempted to make sure your computer gets left behind.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“No, I wouldn’t. I know how important your work is to you, but you have to remember our honeymoon is important too. Don’t you think? I really thought you would like the surprise.”
“Are you kidding? Bermuda has been amazing. There’s nowhere else I’d have chosen. It’s perfect. And there’s still more? I have no idea where we’re headed tomorrow but I’m sure it will be just as fantastic.”
“But we’re not done with Bermuda. We have a chance to go out for that last snorkeling class, but instead we’re stuck here. Know what I mean?” Max frowned. “I’m not trying to be a nag here, but I want my time with you.”
My heart warmed at his words. It meant so much to me that he wanted to spend time with me. What kind of message was I sending him by putting my work first?
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Let me just change into my suit.” I started to stand up, but he eased me back down into my chair.
“Hold on, this is important too. Show me what the problem is and maybe we can figure it out together.”
“Really?” I smiled up at him. “I just can’t get it to format correctly. Every time I try, it does half the document and not the other half. Then I try to do the other half and the first half changes back.”
“Oh, that’s simple.” Max leaned over me and hit a few keys. Then he clicked the mouse.
Before my eyes, magic happened as everything lined up just the way it was supposed to.
“How did you do that? I’ve been fighting with this thing forever!”
“Were you watching?” Max chuckled.
I decided not to mention that I’d been too distracted by the scent of his skin and the heat of his closeness.
“All I know is that we make a great team, Max. Have you given any more thought to quitting your job and working with me?” I stood up and turned to face him.
Max glanced away toward the door of the suite.
“No more work talk, remember? I’m going to check and see if the class is still available. I’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby.”
Before I could protest he was out the door.
I frowned. I knew that he’d left so quickly to avoid the conversation.
The first few days of our honeymoon had been wonderful.
When we’d arrived in Bermuda, it was like I’d been transported to a perfect magical place. I intended for the rest of our honeymoon to be just as great as that first day. There was no need to dwell on an issue that wasn’t really an issue.
I sent off the book to my editor, then grabbed my swimsuit.
After wearing it a few times, I’d become comfortable in the bikini. Max adored me in it and requested that I wear it as much as possible. I had to oblige—it was a gift, after all.
The first day I’d stepped out on the beach had been a bit horrifying. My imperfect body in a bikini? Who wanted to see that?
It turned out that no one even batted an eye. The ground didn’t open up and swallow me whole. In fact, after a few minutes of teeth clenching and tummy covering, I’d actually forgotten that I had the bikini on. All it took was Max splashing me with the warm crystal-blue water to make me forget about being insecure. Ever since then, I’d looked forward to putting on my bikini.
As I slipped into it, I glanced in the mirror. One of my concerns was that I would end up gaining weight on the honeymoon—with the pressure of the wedding off and the enjoyment of good food. However, Max and I spent almost all of our time in the water or in the bed, with lots of fresh healthy food in between. My body looked more toned than ever.
I smiled proudly at myself, then walked out to join Max in the lobby. I didn’t even bother to wrap the towel I carried around my body.
Chapter 2
When I reached the lobby, Max turned to watch me walk down the last steps. He smiled as widely at me in that moment as he had the day of our wedding. It was easy to think of myself as the luckiest woman in the world with the way he looked at me.
I reached the bottom stop and he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” I kissed his cheek. “Did we make it in time for the class?”
“Just.”
He led me to the back door of the hotel; it opened right onto the beach. A small group of people were gathered near the edge of the water.
“Alright, everyone, we’re going to get started now that we’re all here.” The instructor gave me a look.
I pretended not to notice. He was young, slender, and very tan. His brown hair was tied at the back of his neck. I imagined him with a fish tail and a little coconut-shell bra. When I giggled Max looked over at me.
“What?” He raised an eyebrow.
I almost told him it was nothing, then I thought better of it. Max deserved to know some of the quirky thoughts that went through my mind. I leaned close and whispered the visual into his ear.
He covered his mouth with his hand and turned away from me. At first I thought he might be upset, then I saw his shoulders shake. He cleared his throat and turned back to look at me with a gleam in his eyes.
“Thanks, now I’m never going to get that picture out of my head.”
“Excuse me. We are reviewing very important safety information.” The instructor put his hands on his hips.
“Sorry.” Max smiled.
I took his hand in mine. It was rather fun to get into trouble with Max.
Once we all understood the instructions and had the equipment fitted onto our bodies, the instructor led us into the water.
“Now the most important thing to remember when you’re underwater is not to panic. No matter what you see, the best way is the calm way.”
Those words made me a little nervous. What might I see that would make me panic?
Max winked at me from behind his mask. I reminded myself not to let paranoia creep into my mind.
As we waded into the water I focused on its warmth and color.
Under the water, a new world opened up before me. I never thought much about what hid beneath the waves. Now I was amazed that I’d never thought to look before.
The colorful fish, the coral, and the plant life all blended together to become one of the most beautiful scenes I’d ever witnessed.
Max brushed his hand lightly over mine. I smiled around the mouthpiece. Now I understood why he was so anxious to get into the last class. I never would have known what wonders I was missing.
A plume of sand, brushed up from the bottom of the sea by the instructor’s flipper, blurred my vision for a moment. When it cleared, I caught sight of something unexpected. A smooth silvery surface drifted by only a few feet away from me. When I caught sight of the long tapered snout my heart pounded.
It couldn’t be a shark, could it?
I was sure that the instructor wouldn’t bring us out to an area where sharks would be. Then again, it was the open sea. What would stop a shark from swimming wherever it wanted to?
I grabbed Max’s hand and started moving backward.
Max looked at me with narrowed eyes behind his mask. He must not have seen the shark. The instructor was further
ahead with the rest of the group. Max and I fell further and further behind.
Max tugged at my hand in an attempt to swim after the instructor. I shook my head and pointed in the direction of what I’d witnessed.
Max again narrowed his eyes. He pointed up toward the surface of the water. I nodded. We both swam up toward the surface. If the instructor noticed, he didn’t turn back.
Once I broke through into the sunlight, I pulled the mouthpiece away from my mouth and took in fresh air. Max broke the surface beside me and did the same.
“Sammy, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you sick?”
“No, I’m not hurt. I saw a shark!”
“A shark?” Max half-smiled. “Seriously?”
“Max! I’m serious! I saw a shark swim a few feet away from me!”
“There’s no way you saw a shark. We’re in shallow water. Sharks don’t come this close to the shore.”
“Max!” I stared at him. “Do you think I’m lying? Do you think I’m making up seeing a shark?” My voice rose. “I know a shark when I see a shark, and that was a shark! I can’t exactly shout shark underwater!”
“Sammy! Keep your voice down!” Max pointed past me to the beach. All of the people that had been swimming or playing in the water ran out to the safety of the sand because of all my shouting about a shark.
“So? They should get out of the water and so should we! I’m telling you that I saw a shark! You can stay here and tell that shark to its face that it doesn’t belong here, but me—I’m out of here.” I turned and started to swim. When I didn’t hear Max splashing behind me I looked over my shoulder. “Are you coming?”
He glanced back down at the water and then up at me. “I guess so. I still say it wasn’t a shark.”
He swam after me.
Chapter 3
I didn’t feel secure until we were back on the beach. About that time the instructor surfaced and scanned the water. He waved to Max and me.
“What are you doing? I thought I’d lost you!”
I decided not to point out that he had.
“She thinks she saw a shark.”
“Thinks? Thanks a lot for the support, Max.” I shook my head.
“A shark?” The instructor laughed. “Where?”
“There!” I pointed to a flash of silver. “Right there, behind you! Shark!”
The people on the beach shrieked and ran further up the sand as if the shark might grow legs and crawl. The instructor spun around in the water. Then he shook his head.
“Do you mean Dolly?”
“Dolly?” I looked over at Max. “He’s a mermaid, he named the shark.”
“Sammy, sh!” Max tried not to laugh.
“Dolly is a dolphin that we rehabilitated. She’s part of our experience, and you would have had the opportunity to pet her. She is most certainly not a shark. Now what was the first rule?”
I gulped as I recalled the instruction not to panic. Apparently that rule had not stuck in my mind.
“Sorry.” I winced and looked over at the terrified people on the beach. “My mistake. No shark—just a dolphin.”
“A vicious, deadly, Sammy-chomping dolphin.” Max wrapped his arms around me. “I’ll protect you from that horrible beast.”
“Ha ha.” I frowned. “I’m sorry I ruined the whole experience.”
“Are you kidding?” He kissed my forehead. “I’ve never swum for my life before. Now I can check it off my list.”
“You’re so sweet to me.” I kissed him.
He held me close and our kiss deepened. It wasn’t until I heard the splashing of swimmers getting back into the water that I remembered we had an audience.
“I guess we should get back in the water.”
Max looked into my eyes. “Or we could get back into the honeymoon suite.”
I grinned. “I like the way you think, Max.”
“Well, you did just save me from a shark—there are ways I should repay you.”
We both laughed as we walked back toward the hotel to turn in our equipment.
The next morning—very early—after we’d check out of our hotel, Max hailed a cab to drive us to our next destination. I had no idea where it was.
“Are you going to give me a hint?” I stuck out my bottom lip.
“No, no hints.”
“Why not?”
Max patted my knee. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
“I thought being in Bermuda was the surprise.”
“Oh, that’s just the beginning, sweetheart. You’ve been talking so much about how you want to travel—how life should be an adventure—so that’s what I thought I’d give you for our honeymoon.” He smiled.
I smiled back at him. I wanted to believe that he had something wonderful in mind, but his words concerned me. Did he think that a whirlwind honeymoon—as amazing as it was—would be all that I needed for the rest of our lives? My chest tightened with dread at the thought of being pinned down to one place for too long. Part of my life plan had always been to have the freedom to roam.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to love it.” Max moved his hand from my knee to take my hand.
I smiled at him through the flickering of the early morning darkness. He said, “It’s a bit of a drive, you might want to take a nap.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. The rock of the car, the warmth of his body, and my exhaustion from our active few days swept me right into a deep slumber.
I awoke to the jolt of the brakes. My eyes flew open. Max still held me in his arms.
“It’s okay, we almost missed the turn.”
“It’s not an easy road to see.” The driver looked in the rear-view mirror. “Sorry, miss.”
“It’s okay.” I smiled, though I wondered just where we were headed. A glance at my phone showed me that it was close to dawn. “Max? Any hints now?”
“No need to give hints when we’re so close.”
“Fine.” I pouted.
The cab wound its way up a curvy road. I didn’t see the beach—only trees. Then we drove out of the trees into a wide-open clearing.
“Is it a picnic?”
“Not exactly.”
The cab turned down a road with a sign that showed a helicopter on it. I thought that was strange, but I was sure it had nothing to do with where we were going. Then the cab pulled into a long driveway. At the end of it, there was a large hangar. Beside the large hangar was a small helicopter.
“Max?”
He grinned.
The cab pulled to a stop. Max hopped out and ran around to the other side of the car to open my door for me.
I almost refused to get out. There was a lot I was willing to try. A helicopter had never been on any of my lists.
“Aren’t you excited?” Max offered me his hand to help me out of the cab.
I took it and hoped he didn’t feel the tremble in my grasp. I looked at the helicopter as he led me toward it.
“Uh, this is a surprise.”
“Isn’t it great?” Max smiled so wide that his eyes squeezed almost shut. I knew he was proud of himself.
“It’s something.” I cleared my throat and stared at the helicopter. “It’s small, isn’t it?”
“It’s a helicopter, not a jet.” Max laughed. “Ready to get on?”
“Uh, maybe in just a minute.” I squeezed my hands tight together and then released them. “I think that we should talk about this.”
“Talk about what?” He frowned. “I thought you would love this. You’re always so daring. Wait until you see the view!”
“Max, I know how much effort you put into this surprise, but I just don’t know if I can do this.”
“Sammy, you flew on a plane to Bermuda.” Max shook his head. “This is the same thing.”
“No, actually, it’s quite a bit different. A plane is big—and it has lots of seats—and you don’t have to look out the window if you don’t want to. This is not a plane at all. This is like a bubble—a
bubble, Max.”
“I can assure you—it’s stronger than a bubble.” He grinned. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
Chapter 4
My heart pounded against my chest. Max’s bright smile and reddened cheeks made it clear that he was excited. Unfortunately, I did not feel the same way. In fact, I felt as if I might throw up before I could even get on the helicopter.
A man walked out of the hangar.
“Hello, folks, are you ready for your flight?”
“I think we might need a minute.” Max frowned.
“A minute is about all you have. We have to fly out soon or we’ll miss our window.”
“Okay, just one minute.” Max assured him. Then he turned back to me. “What do you say, Sammy, can you try this?”
“Max, really—I just don’t think this is for me.”
“Please?” He took my hand in his. “I promise, once you’re up there, you’re going to forget all about your fears.”
I looked into his eyes. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint him. I took a deep breath and nodded. “Alright. But don’t blame me if I scream and cry the entire time.”
“You’re going to need these.” The pilot handed Max a set of headphones.
“Well, that’s quite rude!” I frowned. “Do you treat all women this way? Giving their husbands headphones to block them out?”
“Uh.” The pilot looked from me to Max, and then back to me. “These are yours.” He held another set of headphones out to me. “The chopper can get pretty loud.”
I blushed and took the headphones. “Thanks.”
“It might drown out some of the screaming though, right?” Max winked at me.
“Ugh.”
Max hugged me tight. “It’s going to be great, I promise.”
I looked over at the helicopter. I tried really hard to believe him.
Max slid his headphones on and then helped me get mine straight. He smiled at me and leaned in for a kiss.
My heart fluttered—but for once, not out of passion. I wanted to be as excited as Max was, but I couldn’t bring myself to overcome the fear that boiled within me.
Against my better judgment, I climbed into the helicopter. It was smaller than I'd expected. That didn’t make me feel any better.
“Is there a weight limit on these things?” I frowned as I settled into my seat.
Single Wide Female in Love Complete Bundle: Books 1-4 Page 29
