Chapter Seven

THE insistent chirping of a bird woke Adam the next morning. He slipped out of bed and made his way to the window. Outside, the sun had already risen over the perfectly manicured grounds. He opened the doors to the small balcony overlooking the neatly tended grounds and inhaled the scent of the ocean.

A perfect morning. With one exception: he hadn’t expected to sleep alone. When they’d kissed, he thought Jonah wanted him too. But Jonah had led him back to his room, squeezed his hand, and said only, “Sleep well.” Then he’d left.

Apparently fantasy was just that: fantasy. His fantasy. It was probably for the best. He had too much shit going on to focus on a relationship, even a temporary one.

He checked his phone for text messages but found none. The short e-mail from his sister was reassuring and to the point:

Mom’s flying in tomorrow morning. I’ve got things under control. You know I’ll call you if I need you, but for the time being you damn well better enjoy yourself. We’ll need you to be sharp at the Entech meeting.

Love you,

K

Karen was right. He needed his shit together for the meeting at the end of the month, and worrying about things he couldn’t control wouldn’t help. He always worked better when he had space to breathe. He’d been running on empty since his father’s death. This vacation was about recharging.

After showering, Adam grabbed a light breakfast and made his way to the dive shop. This time he remembered to bring the map and managed to arrive without having to ask for directions. Small victories.

“Good morning, Mr. Preston,” the woman behind the desk said as he walked onto the concrete patio.

“Good to see you again, Viola.”

“Your rental gear’s in a crate by the benches,” she said and pointed to the long concrete benches. “You’ll find your crate number on the board, as well as your dive group. Be sure to check that your gauge is in PSI and feet. Most of them are in bar and meters. We get a lot of European divers here.”

He glanced at the whiteboards on the side of the building. “Got it.”

“We only have two groups this morning,” she continued. “Three beginners in one. You’ll be in the other with your own instructor.”

“Just me?” He’d always preferred diving in smaller groups, and it didn’t get smaller than a group of two.

“You’ll be diving on the Sylvie Marie. It’s a wreck about ten minutes from here. Your instructor will fill you in on the details and go over the dive plan once you’re ready. You’ll need to carry your weight belt and flippers to the boat.” She smiled. “Enjoy yourself.”

“I’m sure I will.” He grinned as he spoke the words.

He walked over to the whiteboards and located his name, then found the crate with his gear. He’d once thought about buying his own rather than renting, but for as often as he dove—which was hardly anyone’s definition of “often”—it didn’t make sense. By the time he’d dive again, the equipment would be out of date. Maybe someday when things at the office were a bit less stressful.

Another fantasy.

He took off his T-shirt and pulled the wetsuit over his swim trunks. In the cool morning air, it wasn’t as big a struggle as it would be in the afternoon heat. Donning a wetsuit when hot and sweaty was like stuffing sausage. But even in the warm waters where they’d be diving, the neoprene was comfortable.

“You can leave it around your waist if you want,” said a very familiar voice from behind him.

Adam turned to see Jonah standing a few feet away, wetsuit half on, the sleeves dangling from his waist. In the light of the morning sun, Jonah looked like a surfer with his bleached hair tied into a high ponytail and tendrils of pale curls framing his youthful face. And those eyes! Bright blue, nearly the color of the Caribbean when the light penetrated to the white sand below. In spite of himself, Adam followed the line of Jonah’s jaw downward, to his bare chest, and lower, finally settling on where his body narrowed at the waist, outlined in neoprene.

“Jonah. Good to see you.”

Jonah grinned, forming tiny lines around his eyes. “I’ll be diving with you today,” he said.

“I…. Great. I didn’t realize you were a divemaster here.”

“Instructor,” Jonah corrected with a smile.

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Dive instructors had more training and outranked divemasters.

“Don’t sweat it. As long as I get to dive regularly, I’m happy.” In spite of this statement, Jonah’s eyes flashed with pride. “Ready for the briefing?” he asked.

“I’m ready.”

THEY descended on the wreck using a long rope tethered to a buoy at the surface. Stripes of sunlight penetrated the surface nearly twenty feet down, but as they made their way closer to the wreck, the color of the water changed from the color of sea glass to a deep green.

Jonah joined Adam at the bottom, about ten feet from the wreck. Adam gave a quick thumbs-up to confirm that all his equipment was in working condition, and followed Jonah toward the skeleton of what was once a ferry.

“It’s not much of wreck,” Jonah had told Adam as they’d prepared their gear aboard the boat, “but the fish are amazing. If you look carefully, you’ll see tiny crustaceans on the metal surface.”

Adam watched as Jonah reached the top railing of the vessel and gently brushed a gloved finger over the surface. Tiny creatures disappeared inside shells, cartoonlike in their movement. Jonah turned and flashed Adam a thumbs-up, and Adam nodded and returned the gesture.

From there they followed the upper deck to the bow. Here the metal decking was still intact. Small corals had already attached themselves to the surface, and fish swam in and around them. Jonah pointed at an enormous queen angelfish—a colorful mix of yellow, blue, and green with a spot on its head reminiscent of a crown. Several black-and-white butterfly fish darted in and around holes in the decking, and lots of smaller colorful damselfish created a rainbow backdrop.

God, it had been too long since he’d been in the water! The popping sounds of microscopic shrimp sounded like bubbles bursting in a glass of champagne. The cool water against his cheeks, the way it seemed to draw the tension from his body—all of it felt so damn good. He would have moaned in pleasure but for the regulator in his mouth.

Adam caught Jonah’s questioning look and gave him a wholehearted thumbs-up, then pointed at the large hole in the rear of the ship where the engines had once been. Jonah nodded, and they swam downward. The hull of the ship had been torn away and smooth white sand was visible below. A green moray eel peered out from a mound of coral, took its measure of them, then withdrew into its den, perhaps having decided they were foe and not friend.

They circled the wreck again, following a school of brightly colored fish in and out of the larger openings. By the time they made it fully around a second time, a quick check of his dive computer revealed that they were already twenty minutes into the dive. Jonah held up his air gauge and tapped it. Adam glanced at his gauge and signaled that he had 1500 PSI left. Jonah flashed him the sign for OK, then swam over to one of the walls and motioned for Adam to join him. He held out his hand, palm up. A delicate shrimp moved slowly up to his wrist and arm. Jonah gingerly moved the shrimp to his other hand, then offered the spindly creature to Adam. The shrimp walked onto Adam’s palm, tickling his skin, and traveled on to his fingers. Adam moved his fingers near the hull and the shrimp climbed aboard the wreck and continued on its way. Jonah nodded and smiled back at Adam, then gestured to Adam to follow him back up.

Back aboard the dive boat all too soon, Adam released the pressure on his tank and began to disassemble his gear.

“How was the Nitrox?” Jonah asked as the boat started to move.

“I didn’t notice the difference,” Adam admitted.

“You’re not supposed to. Although I’ve had people tell me they feel better after diving on it.” Jonah shrugged. “In the States it’s a better bet because we do back-to-back dives. Longer bottom times, shorter surface intervals. Here, I’m not sure it matters much, especially since we dive on a European schedule, with a long break for lunch in between.”

“Jury’s still out on the schedule,” Adam said with a chuckle. “Although I’m always hungry after diving, so I’m liking the idea of lunch.”

They arrived back at the dock a few minutes later. By now, nearly every chair on the beach had someone sunbathing in it, and the sun was overhead.

“After you’re done rinsing your gear, you can leave it in the crate for this afternoon.” Jonah pointed to one of the tubs filled with water. “Feel free to hang your wetsuit.”

By the time Adam finished with the freshwater rinse, Jonah was nowhere to be seen. Adam waved at Viola and started down the path toward where he hoped he might find the nearest restaurant serving lunch. The all-inclusive resort had been Karen’s suggestion, and he decided he liked not having to worry about where to eat. The food so far had been delicious. He hadn’t asked what Karen had charged to his credit card when she’d booked the trip, but he guessed the place didn’t come cheap.

He could afford it. Their recent contract with Yellow Zinger had been lucrative. At first he’d hesitated to include his own programming work as part of the deal, but he and Karen had met with the owners, and Adam had been impressed with their business sense as well as their attention to detail. They could do what Prestco Inc. could not: reach a broader market for Adam’s computer programs and apps.

But getting his name and work out there had brought Entech into the picture. Adam knew they only wanted Prestco because they wanted his work. When they made the offer to buy the company, he’d already made it clear he wasn’t interested in freelancing. He loved his work, he loved working with his sister, and he felt good knowing he’d salvaged his father’s failing company. He’d given his mother and his family a safety net, something they needed. He’d even managed to find new jobs at a wine bottling facility a few miles from Prestco’s company offices for the three employees he couldn’t use after the transition into software.

Adam stopped and looked around. He’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Prestco and he’d lost track of where he was. He was sure the restaurant was supposed to be right in front of him, but instead a dozen children shouted and chased each other around on a small playground with brightly colored climbing structures.

“Shit.”

“Lost again?”

Adam shook his head in mock disgust. “It’s a damn good thing you’re around to rescue me.”

“You didn’t seem to have any problems navigating underwater,” Jonah pointed out. He put a gentle hand on Adam’s shoulder and pointed him to a path that circumvented the playground.

“I can’t explain it.” Talking made it easier for Adam to ignore the sensation of warmth engendered by Jonah’s touch. “Maybe I was a fish in my last life.”

“Better a dolphin than a fish,” Jonah said as the restaurant came into view. “At least they’re mammals. Warm-blooded and a hell of a lot smarter.”

“Join me for lunch?” Adam asked.

“Can’t today. I have to man the pool.”

“Pool?”

“We set up the gear and offer free scuba lessons,” Jonah explained. “If the guests like it, they sign up for an open-water dive.”

“Got it. So you won’t be diving this afternoon?”

“I’m assigned to a group of newbies. They’ll probably send you out with Henri instead.”

“Oh, right.” Adam hoped his disappointment didn’t show. Jonah must get so many propositions.

“Tomorrow?”

The word took Adam by surprise. “Lunch?”

Jonah chuckled. “I meant diving together. But lunch sounds good too. I only have pool duty once a week.”

“Sounds great. Both diving and lunch.”

“Good.” Jonah smiled, then added, “Think you can find your way to the restaurant?”

“It’s right in front of me. Even I’m not that directionally challenged.”

“Just making sure.” Jonah winked, then waved and disappeared down yet another path.

Adam sighed. He really needed to learn his way around the place. On the other hand, he liked getting rescued by Jonah. So maybe there wasn’t a rush?