The sound of a horn going off in the diving area brings our heads up. We lock eyes, both of us realizing how long we’ve been trapped under one another’s spells. We’re out of practice time now. It’s time to compete.
Reluctantly, I allow Margot to slide down between me and the locker, her feet finding the floor. I help her fit her suit back into place, unable to keep myself from stroking every inch of her skin as we complete the task. When we walk out of the locker room a minute later, I am still in the process of zipping my pants, but I don’t hesitate to look her father straight in the eye.
I’m done hiding my obsession with Margot.
Now that we’ve ripped the lid off our lust, there’s no going back.
Stalking was only the beginning.
Her father averts his gaze. “Is she ready to win?”
“Definitely felt like it,” I say, tight-lipped, striding past him with a hand on the small of Margot’s back, guiding her toward the pool. God, I don’t even like him asking about her anymore. Who is he to show concern for her when she’s mine to care for? The voice in my head that reminds me he’s her father is now being drowned out by the roar that I’m her Daddy. I’m the man in her life now. There will be no one else.
Half an hour later, I’m standing in the coach’s box watching Margot walk to the end of the diving platform. My heart seizes up with pride in her. With hope. I want this gold medal for her, not myself. She’s worked so hard for years to achieve this. She’s practiced every single day. Fought through hard obstacles and injuries and remained positive. I’m privileged to be in love with her. I never had a chance to be anything but in love with this incredible girl.
Her eyes tick to mine just before she dives, a small smile hitching up one corner of her mouth. Gone is the tension that has been plaguing her shoulders, the restless wiggle of her toes. She’s present in the moment. Relaxed. With my heart banging up against my rib cage, I watch her take a deep breath and center herself, then fling herself off the platform.
Her form is perfect. So perfect that the crowd takes an audible gasp. On the way down to the water, she executes three flawless somersaults. Her posture is so straight that she breaks the surface with barely a splash. And I know we’re pretty much a shoo-in for the gold medal before she even comes up for air. It’s the best I’ve ever seen her dive, and with emotion crushing my windpipe, I can’t stop myself from jogging to the edge of the pool, pulling her out of the water and drawing her roughly against my chest.
“You did it, sweetheart.” I kiss her temple. “I’m so proud of you.”
“We’re not even finished with the competition yet,” she giggles, snuggling into me.
“You just set the standard. And you’re the only one here who can live up to it.” I give her a final hard hug. “A couple more dives like that and we’ll have the gold medal. You can do this.”
There’s a fleeting shadow in her eyes, but I don’t have time to question it before she gives me a tight smile and heads off to warm herself in the designated off-camera hot tub. There is part of me that wants to call her back. To tell her that if she never dove again, I would still be the man in her life. To tell her that I’m encouraging her because a gold medal is what she wants. But if she never got a medal at all, I would still think she is the most extraordinary girl on this planet. Those sentiments will have to wait until after the competition, though.
As will my marriage proposal.
I’ll calm down once she’s wearing my ring. I won’t have to stalk my wife, will I?
Yeah right.
She won’t be walking down the goddamn street without me, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I was treading water for so long in the deep end of this obsession. Now it has sucked me down, down. Past the bottom. I’m never coming up for air.
Chapter 7
Margot
I win gold.
I can’t really believe it. All this work. Years of it. Of course I had the obligatory fantasies of Olympic glory, but so did everyone else. I didn’t think mine could be the one to come true.
Yet as I stand on the podium with the medal around my neck and a bouquet of roses cradled in my arms, the national anthem playing over the loudspeakers, there is a heavy sense of disappointment in my gut. Everett is talking to news reporters, shaking hands. Other diving coaches are coming up and congratulating him, slapping him on the back. And I haven’t seen him look this happy since I’ve known him. He’s usually very tense and reserved. Not now. His eyes have taken on a brighter tint of blue. There is a bounce in his step.