CHAPTER5
mariella
Seriously? The man kissed me like his life depended on it, and all I could do was think about deli meat? I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the sun behind him.
“You pick. I’m fine with either.” He pulled the towel from around his shoulders and lifted it to dry his hair.
Relieved to have something to focus on besides the way his pecs felt under my palms, I left him standing there while I retrieved the cooler I’d packed. My heart lurched… ragged, uneven beats like it was tripping through my chest.
I set the cooler down on the built-in table and picked up half of a turkey sandwich. “How about we share? We can halve them both.”
Kaiseemed to shake off the kiss as he smiled and sat down on the bench. “So, tell me a little bit about yourself, Mariella. Are you from around here?”
“No.” Thinking about the past would suck me down into an emotional black hole, so I opted to share nothing but brief, generic info about my past. “I grew up in Florida. My Dad ran a store on the beach, and I practically grew up on the water. How about you?”
Kai swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “I grew up all over the south, just about as far from here as you can get. What brought you all the way from Florida to Saltery Bay?”
How could I explain my need to get as far away as possible from home after everything went wrong? Trying to keep the conversation light, I shook my head. “I guess I was just ready for a change. What about you? How did you get started in underwater photography?”
“Would you believe me if I said one of my brothers dared me to do it?” Kai laughed to himself.
His soft chuckle brought a smile to my lips. “Sounds like there’s a story there. How did that come about?”
“It involved a couple of bored teenagers, an illegal case of beer, and a beat-up old Nikon.”
“Now you've got to tell me the rest.” I settled into the corner of the bench and waited for him to share a piece of his past.
Kai took a sip of coffee from his travel tumbler. It had probably gone cold. Then he set it down on the table. “Believe it or not, I used to be a real pain in the ass. I guess one day my brothers had had enough. We were hanging out in the woods behind my foster mom's house, and my brother Kane showed up with a case of beer he'd convinced an older girl he'd been dating to buy for him. We shared some laughs, but I kept complaining that I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school the following year. I loved working with the old camera my foster mom gave me, but I knew I wouldn't make it as a traditional photographer.”
“Why’s that?” He had such a confident attitude, I imagined he’d be good at anything he set his mind to. I could picture the easy smile he might use to coax someone to open up in front of his camera.
“I couldn't imagine spending my days photographing happy families or wedding parties.” He looked out over the water, his mind clearly engaged in the past. “We were sitting on the edge of a pond and Kane dared me to dive to the bottom and take a photo of what I found. He'd always been afraid of swimming and refused to jump in himself. So, I put the camera into a couple of gallon-sized plastic bags and jumped in.”
I wasn’t sure which direction his story was headed, so I took in a deep breath and tried to loosen the apprehension tightening my chest.
“Once I went under the surface and the quiet of the underwater surrounded me, I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to visit that secret world again.” He turned back to face me, a distant look reflected in his gorgeous green eyes.
“Did you get any good pictures that day?”
Kai chuckled. “No, they sucked. But… I discovered I loved taking photos and escaping into another world underneath the water. After that, I became obsessed. I turned one of the old sheds on the back of Mama Mae’s property into a dark room and spent every moment either behind the camera or developing photos. When I graduated from high school, I didn't even consider college. I hitchhiked down the coast and found a dive shop that would let me get certified in exchange for working on the weekends. I spent a few years there, then took off on my own. It's been ten years now and I guess you could say I'm making it work.”
The way he talked about his life made me wonder what it would be feel like to be so free. I’d spent most of my life in the shadow of my dad, expecting to take over the dive shop when he was ready to retire. Even now, though I’d moved thousands of miles away, my obligation still anchored me to Florida. After the accident, I’d made arrangements for my uncle to take over until I could decide what to do. The day I’d need to make my decision was quickly approaching. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, but I also couldn’t bear the thought of going back to the place where I lost everything.
“How about you?” Kai asked. “I got the impression you know your way around the dive sites here. Do you have your certification?”
How could I explain the tragedy that had turned me away from diving? There was no way I’d blab about it with a complete stranger. Instead of divulging one of my deepest, darkest secrets, I tried to keep the mood light.
“I used to dive,” I said. “Then I got freaked out once and haven't had any underwater adventures since.”
“I don't know any divers who haven't been freaked out at least once,” he said as he unwrapped the other half of his sandwich. Iwatched while he bit into the thick bread.
“It was more than that.” I glanced out over the calm water, wishing I could go back in time and ensure a different outcome.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Kai asked.
“No, thank you.” I’d paid good money to a therapist to help me get my life back on track. If working with a professional hadn’t helped, there was no way a conversation with a stranger would make a difference.
“Well, if you ever do, let me know.” He studied me thoughtfully while he finished the rest of his sandwich.
As I gazed into his eyes, I wondered how it might feel to share my burden with someone. As soon as the thought entered my head, I shook it away. Kai was in town for a few days of diving. He’d paid me to play tour guide, and I’d do best to remember that was the only thing he needed from me, even if that kiss might have made me crave more.