“That’d be sweet if I wasn’t worried about Vander being torn to shreds and eaten,” Anya snaps.
The men are within a dozen yards of the ladder, and there’s no fin in sight. We all breathe easier when they climb on board.
Vander shakes the water out of his blond hair. “That sure got the blood pumping, didn’t it?”
Anya wraps her arms around herself, her boobs in jeopardy of popping out of her top. “Oh, thank God.”
Fedor laughs. “I only saw it for a moment. Looked like a blacktip.” He looks to me. “You get a better look?”
“Blacktip, for sure. Sorry for leaving you hanging with no warning.”
I didn’t need to explain to him why I did it. It’s clear when he looks at Kat and nods. “Not a problem, sir. It is our duty to make sure you both get home safely.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Kat shifts in my arms.
“Would it have helped you get out of the water faster or slower?” I ask.
“I don’t know! But the next time you know there’s a shark in the water, I feel like I deserve to know. That’s not the kind of thing you keep from someone.”
Oh, baby. If you only knew. And how the hell am I going to tell you?
“I think this calls for a round of drinks,” Captain Tisdale announces, and the tension-filled moment lightens.
“Yes to the drinks! I’ll take a vodka tonic. Light on the tonic and heavy on the vodka,” Anya says.
“Heavy on the rum and light on the pineapple juice for me,” Kat chimes in.
I turn to find Vander looking at me with interest. “Not sure whether I should be pissed that you didn’t bother to warn me there was a shark in the water, or impressed that you’d sacrifice others to save your wife.”
Something about the way he puts it rubs me the wrong way. “I can’t apologize for that. I’d do it again.”
He gives me a measuring look. “You seem like the kind of guy that could take care of his own. You ever been a soldier?”
“I’ve been a lot of things.” My reply is vague, but he’ll have to live with it.
“Indeed. Haven’t we all?” His response sounds like there’s a lot more going through his head, but I’m not about to try to figure out what he’s getting at.
After Fedor fixes the drinks, they raise the anchor and we move away from what will be known as the shark spot. Kat ventures out onto the bow, gripping the handholds as I carry both our glasses behind her, ready to toss them in the ocean if it becomes necessary to catch her from falling.
Thankfully, she makes it without incident and sits with her feet dangling over the trampoline netting strung between the two hulls of the catamaran. I hand her the Panty Ripper before I take the seat beside her.
“You going to hold this against me for the rest of our lives?”
She shoots me a look before she takes a sip. “I might only have eight and a half more days to hold it against you.”
The reminder of the deadline I put on what could be the end of our marriage is unwelcome.
“Fuck the eight and a half days. We both know this isn’t over.”
Kat’s blue gaze shines with emotion. “Are you sure? I’m not going to force you to stay with me if you’re not happy. I might be selfish in some ways, but I’d never do that to you.”
“You’d give me up even if you still loved me if you thought it would make me happier, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course. That’s what love is.”
“And that’s why we’re going to make it.”
Her grip tightens on her drink until her knuckles turn white. “Are you sure? Because I’m not sure I can handle you getting my hopes up now, only to decide at the end of the trip that you’re done. I need to know either way.”
She needs to know whether to start building up her walls again.
“I’m sure. No more walls, Kat. I let you have them after Benjie’s funeral because I thought you needed them to keep it together, but you can’t bury yourself in work to escape from feeling everything. You have to talk to me. You have to let it out.”
She nods slowly. “I know. I’m bad at this.”
I wrap an arm around her hips and pull her closer to me. “You can’t be bad at something you’ve never tried. The woman I know and love kicks the ass of every problem put in front of her. Where did she go?”
“She got scared after losing too many people who mattered, and it almost cost her the best man she’s ever known.” Kat drops her head on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
The wind whips around us, and I lower my lips to speak into her ear. “We’re going to fix this.” I hold up my glass and clink it against the rim of hers. “That’s a promise.”
Before she can take another sip, I lean in and press a kiss to her lips.
“Sorry, I hope we’re not interrupting.”
Vander’s voice doesn’t sound the least bit apologetic as he and Anya make themselves comfortable on the trampoline only a few feet away, drinks in hand.
Kat stiffens.
“Captain Tisdale asked if we wanted to stop and snorkel more. I took the liberty of answering for everyone when I said no fucking way,” Anya says in the most serious tone I’ve heard her use.
“I seconded it. But if you want to go, definitely let him know,” Vander adds.
“I think I’ve had my fill of water activities for the day,” Kat replies.
“Fine with me.”
“So I guess that means we’re ready to get drunk. I have the perfect idea,” Anya says, excitement in her tone. It takes everything in me not to groan and drag Kat off the bow. “Absolutely perfect. We need Fedor to bring us bottles, and we’re going to play a game.”
“A game?” Kat asks, her tone wary.
Anya nods. “We’re going to play Never Have I Ever. It’s so much fun, and this is the perfect venue since we’ve got a few more hours of sailing.”
The suggestion of a game I remember playing my freshman year of college makes me wonder exactly how old Anya is.
“I don’t know,” Kat says.
“Come on, Kat, don’t be a wet rag. Have some fun.”
I’m about to intervene at the younger woman’s taunts, but Kat sits up, her shoulders going straight.