Waverly stood at the rail of the main deck of the Divemaster as Captain Alex and the harbor pilot navigated them safely out of Kralendijk. They’d dropped off the guests, who would take the Banks Foundation’s private jets back to their regularly scheduled lives. Despite the events of the past few days, the passengers had assured them the initial run of the program had been a success.

Part of her was still raw, and probably would be for a while. Her new family here onboard the ship was doing their best to help her forget and move forward. In time, she would.

“I really do love this place,” Archer sighed from beside her as he said goodbye to the island that had been his home for a little while.

“At least this time goodbye doesn’t have to be forever.” Miguel put his hand on Archer’s shoulder and squeezed. “We can always come back.”

Waverly thought about how she’d returned to Archer and couldn’t agree more.

Banks nodded at the guys from where he stood on Waverly’s other side. “If there are any special requests, just let me know and I’ll adjust the schedule.”

“Where are we heading next, anyway?” Tosin wondered. It didn’t matter much to them so long as they were together and doing what they loved.

“Eventually, we’ll sail to the Panama Canal and out to the Pacific for a while. The season is right over there for great diving,” Banks said. “But first we’re going to take a detour up to the US Virgin Islands, where the planes will meet us with our next round of passengers in a week or so. It’ll be a nice break for the crew. I think everyone could use a few days off.”

They all seconded that.

“Am I the only one who’s never been before? I’ve heard it’s beautiful.” Waverly smiled at Archer, excited to investigate a new place with him. Hopefully one that didn’t involve almost getting killed. But did involve lots and lots more of the mind-blowing sex they’d been having since he’d introduced her to the clubroom. Or underwater sex. Or ultra-romantic sex.

Or just plain sex in general.

He’d officially turned her into a sex fiend.

“It is,” Archer assured her. “Sorry, though, I need you to do some boring business stuff with me when we get there. After that’s done, I’ll take you on a sightseeing tour if you want before we have to start the next trip.”

“What kind of business stuff?” Something about the way he’d said it tipped her off.

Banks encouraged Archer to continue when he paused. “Go ahead, tell her.”

“As partners in the Banks Foundation’s Divemaster Project, we’ve agreed. You deserve a reward for how you handled the situation last week. So Banks helped me buy a new helicopter. An upgrade. A six-seater Eurocopter EC 155.”

“Oh my God.” Waverly thought that might be better than sex. “I’ve always wanted to fly one of those.”

Archer spilled the beans. “We’re picking her up at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix. And…she’s yours.”

“What?” Waverly might have jerked away if he hadn’t had his arms around her.

“You’re free.” He smiled softly. “To be honest, from the beginning it didn’t sit right that you were tethered here, to me, by the thing that allows you to do what you love most. If you stay—and God, I hope you will—I want it to be because this is where you belong. Where you choose to be.”

“I…” She couldn’t believe what he was saying, or that he might think she felt obligated to remain in his presence. A helicopter, especially one like that, was a ridiculous thing to just give someone. With the chopper itself, she could open a charter business, using the income to cover the operating costs and still make a healthy living. “I don’t have anything to give you that could compare to that. Except—”

“I don’t need anything in return.” He stole a quick kiss, trying to shush her attempts at fairness. “Your happiness is all I ask for.”

“What if I want to give you my heart?” Waverly swallowed hard but continued. There was no going back now. “Hell, Archer. You’ve had it all along. I hope that’s enough.”

“It’s everything,” he whispered, his hand trembling where it rested on her neck. “I love you, Waverly.”

“I love you, too.” It felt so good to say it out loud. She had nearly worn out the words since he’d appeared on that beach to save her ass. She intended to keep being obnoxious about it, too.

“So you’ll stay? Let us hire you as an independent contractor. Will you keep traveling the world and hanging out with these crazy shitheads, too?” He waved at his friends and Banks, who were grinning like fools.

“Hell yes!” she shrieked as she flung herself into his arms.

They kissed and kissed while the divemasters cheered them on, until Banks cleared his throat.

“Oh. Hi, Banks. Are you still here? Sorry.” Waverly blinked as she returned to reality, hopefully only for as long as it would take Archer to lug her off to their cabin.

“There’s one other thing I need you four to do while we’re there. The lawyer has contracts for another arm of the Banks Foundation that’s been recently established. It will be responsible for the salvage and protection of artifacts from shipwrecks. The organization’s first order of business is to retrieve the treasure you discovered. So it’s only fitting that you be joint owners of the venture. Early estimates based on the data we sent in say this wreck alone could be worth eight hundred million dollars, give or take. I’d recommend refinancing the next excursion with the profits then splitting the rest between you equally. There will be plenty to go around. Operating expenses for a chopper can be astronomical.”

Waverly knew the kind older man was looking out for her, more than her blood relatives ever had. He loved Archer like his own son. And since it seemed that Archie was really into her, she had no doubt Banks was finding ways to make her feel like an equal in his company.

An asset instead of a freeloader.

The last of her anxieties eased. She would be forever grateful.

“Thank you,” she murmured, then squirmed from Archer’s hold to kiss Banks on the cheek.

“You are so very welcome.” He hugged her then. Maybe it was possible that after all this time they had managed to shake off the lingering effects of their shady beginnings, and triumph.

Every bit of good the Banks Foundation wrought blasted shadows from the world one by one. She was proud and thrilled to be part of bringing sunshine to people living in the darkness any way possible, seeing as she’d once been a night dweller herself.

Waverly couldn’t wait to see where life would take them next, or in ten years. The only thing she knew for sure was that wherever it might be, Archer would be with her.

“I love you,” he whispered again while he hugged her tight, as if she might forget.

Sailing off into the sunset with him was as magnificent as she’d always dreamed it would be.

Only, she had never imagined that would be the start of their adventure, not the end of it.