An elevator rested next to the door we’d come through—non-operational but available for when I stopped being so paranoid about infiltrators or flooding. It wasn’t fair for such an incredible space to have access only through the storage area.
Eventually, guests would be able to sail down in the lift, but for now...this place was a private jewel, hidden deep inside my home.
“I don’t know what to say.” Pim spun on the spot, taking in the splashes of artwork and the expensive toy sitting pride of place in a large sunken rectangle next to the couch. It took up most of the space, proudly ready to be the main attraction to any party.
“This is incredible.” Her hands covered her mouth as a purely innocent squeal escaped. “I can’t believe you have a submarine!”
Tension siphoned from my spine at the untamed rapture on her face. When she spun to look at me, her eyes held an unfiltered joy that I’d never hoped to earn.
I’d never seen something so guileless or angelic in my life. She was happy. For the first time, the hardship she carried had been eradicated. Whatever nasty wisdom previously chiselled into her turned into a mischievous charm, allowing her to be juvenile.
Today, right here, I glimpsed what she might’ve looked like as a child. A gorgeous trickster with spun chocolate for hair and new leaves for eyes.
If that was the magic of revealing the three-person cab submarine, then it was worth the expensive price tag a thousand times over.
The large bubble-headed aquatic adventurer looked out of proportion and almost comical out of the water. Large bolts and portals granted rigidity along with as many viewing angles as possible.
“Wait until you’re inside.” I prowled toward the control panel that operated the secret of this place. I’d had a week tutorial on how to use everything required, including driving the sub, but that was years ago.
I should probably have bought Jolfer or someone down to help, but the sub represented too many things I’d given up hoping for. My heart barely tolerated having Pim here, let alone insensitive staff who didn’t know my soul ache.
“Are we going to watch the dolphins in this?”
I nodded, pressing a button. Instantly, the colossal noise of ocean water spilling inside deafened us. Pim jumped as large pumps spurted twenty thousand litres of sea into the space.
“Holy...” She backed up, coming toward me. “That’s why you said it could flood.”
“The hydraulic jets are meant to keep water out when it’s not required, but I’ll never trust anything one hundred percent.” I nudged her shoulder with mine. “Three minutes to fill that pool to the brim. If it can submerge so quickly, imagine what it could do to the rest of the yacht.”
She shivered as the dry-docked submarine that’d been tucked into bed with protective pads on either side slowly began to float.
We didn’t speak as the eight metre long holding tank went from dry to soaking. Finally, the pool reached capacity and the gushing-noise silenced, leaving us in a sparkling new world. The walls glittered with threads of water. Blue and silver and navy and turquoise all rippled over the ceiling and furniture—including us.
Pim held out her hand, twirling her fingers as water reflections danced over her.
Her beauty transformed from stunning to something that reached into my chest and ripped out my useless heart.
Clearing my throat, I grabbed the intercom. I waited for someone to respond on the bridge, then said, “Stop all engines until further notice.”
“Right away, sir.”
Hanging up the receiver, I waited for the constant power whir to dwindle and the forward momentum to be replaced with stationary rocking.
Only then did I press the second button.
A loud click and hissing sounded, slowly transforming the room we stood in.
“Oh, my God, it’s a garage,” Pim murmured as the side of the Phantom opened like any other garage door—ready for us to reverse the submarine then sink into the depths below.
It had to be done with no speed applied; otherwise, the door wouldn’t open due to pressuring currents. It was a risk to cease creating the wake—the dolphins might swim off—but if we hurried, Pim would get to see something extraordinary.
“Come on.” I headed toward the small terrace where loungers and tables were set up.
The submarine hovered, perfectly level and buoyant. I’d bought this thing on a stupid whim thanks to the inventor setting up shop in Monte Carlo and holding an expo right beside my warehouse. It was an idiotic thing to buy, but I hadn’t suffered buyer’s remorse even when I’d had to task my engineers to come up with the floating garage.
Pim spun to face me. “You know? I’m having a moment where this all feels so familiar.”
“Familiar?” My eyebrows rose. “You mean you’ve been in a situation like this before?”
Shit, I owned the bloody thing and hadn’t played with it yet. This was as new to me as it was to her. I couldn’t deny the small rush of jealousy at the thought that I wasn’t the only one with flashy things to impress her with.
Such a superficial want but where Pim was concerned, I no longer held rational thought.
She laughed, shaking her head. “No, not me personally but one of my favourite movies growing up as a child was The Abyss.”
I froze, my bare feet digging into the kwila deck beneath me. “The Abyss?” I did my best to hide my sharp interest.
Finally.
Finally, a tiny glimpse into who she’d been before me and what affections she harboured.
She nodded all bright eyed and happy. “Yes. I loved the water aliens and the way they had those exploring robots.” She laughed, shaking her head. “Not that I’m saying this gorgeous place is anything like the sterile white lab they had.”
I couldn’t move.
Should I tell her?
Should I admit that after weeks of spending time together, of desperately wanting to know more about her, she’d finally given me a scrap of what I ultimately desired? That she’d successfully struck me dumb, given me a pill, and allowed some addictive part of me to relax.
What would she say if I admitted that her favourite movie was one of mine, too?
That as a kid—before all the shit I put my family through—my mother called me a water sprite. She had a hard time getting me out of the bath, the ocean, a pool. Any movie beneath the sea was my ultimate. And The Abyss was every good plotline in one.
Pim continued toward the submarine, a wistful smile on her face. “The romance between those two main characters...Bud and...I can’t remember his wife’s name. They were divorced, but you could tell they still loved each other.” She glanced back at me. “I always loved the bits when they were arguing. In my mind, those fights were saying they still cared. They just didn’t know how to work past everything keeping them apart.”