The snorkel cruise was much better than Tom had thought it would be, considering the fact that he’d never snorkeled before and that he was feeling all these crazy things about Emily. Once he and Emily dropped into the water together, he figured out how to breathe through his mouth. Emily helped him fix the mask so it wouldn’t fog up on him, and he realized he could be underwater all day.

They kicked off toward a group of sea turtles, hoping to catch up to several other people from the snorkel cruise. Unexpectedly, Emily grabbed his hand, then made some noise he couldn’t really hear and did a thumbs-up with her other hand. He grinned, and they swam faster.

The turtles pushed through the water with their flippers, moving with surprising power and grace. As Tom drew closer, mesmerized, he knew he could reach out and touch one. Even though everyone in the training had said it wasn’t allowed, he really wanted to. He thought of the movie Finding Nemo. Yes, they looked exactly like Crush. Tom could almost hear the surfer accent.

Emily pointed to the right, and they took off, still hand in hand. Tom admired the schools of fish and let himself enjoy the world under the waves—until he saw a fin, the exact thing he’d seen on the National Geographic channel. Shark! The sight struck him with the same alarm he felt when a building he was on a call for exploded with fire. Run! He tugged her hand and swam back to the boat.

With a splash, they surfaced. They both had to pump their legs to stay above water.

Emily pulled off her mask and laughed. “It’s amazing, right?”

Tom fumbled to rip his own mask off. “It’s a shark!” he yelled, projecting his voice for all to hear. “Shark!”

“Shark!” A woman who was treading water without a mask started freaking out. “Shark! Shark!” The more she freaked out, the more she splashed. She cursed. “Get me out of here!”

One of the workers from the snorkel cruise paddled over on a surfboard, grinning. “Calm down, ma’am. Calm down. It’s a whitetip shark. It’s not dangerous.”

Emily laughed.

Tom didn’t think it was funny. “You knew?”

“If you would have been paying attention, they told us there might be sharks that weren’t dangerous.” She was cracking up in giggles.

The worker continued. “It’s a privilege to see a shark, and now you can tell all your friends back on the mainland you saw one.”

The hysterical lady still floundered in the water. “Take me back to the boat. I didn’t want to come out here anyway, and this stupid thing—” She threw the mask at the worker. “—doesn’t work.”

The worker dodged the mask, frowning. He reached for the lady, and she scrambled up onto the surfboard and held to the guy.

Tom was relieved the shark wasn’t dangerous, and now he found this semi-rescue kind of amusing.

Emily nudged him, grinning widely. “Should we go see if we can find the shark again?”

“Yeah.” Now that Tom knew for sure they were safe, his sense of adventure returned.

Both of them put their masks on, and she reached for his hand. It felt so natural to take it. It was easier to snorkel with her hand in his than have to keep looking for her. They swam past the cluster of sea turtles and searched for the shark.

Emily pulled him a different way, and Tom couldn’t help but notice how amazing she looked in her red one-piece swimsuit. Sure, he knew she’d kept up the running after they’d met on the beach the other day, but as she swam a bit in front of him, he had a chance to check her out more fully.

Every hour spent with her just increased his attraction. She could be a realist, but he was tired of real life if that meant they had to be apart. He wanted her back. She was the one for him. Truthfully, she’d always been the one for him, but now that he had another chance, as he had warned her, he was going to take it.

He grinned and thought Will would approve. Then he thought of all of his pig-headed brothers talking about him. What were they doing—having chick calls about him? Talking about his love life? Pfft!

Tom and Emily suddenly found themselves in a school of fish, and he wanted to laugh at the vibrant colors. A huge black whiskered fish brushed past them without fear.

Emily squeezed Tom’s hand. Though he couldn’t see her face, he knew she loved this. He thought this was how their lives could have been for the last ten years.

An hour later, he found himself back on the boat, guzzling back a water bottle at a table on the top deck. Emily sat across from him, wearing sunglasses and a white sun hat. He couldn’t stop thinking that she looked like a movie star.

“What?” She turned to meet his eyes.

“What?” He shrugged, wanting to say so many things but also wanting to just enjoy this day, being with her, taking it for whatever it was.

She shook her head and sighed. “I’ve always wanted to come to Hawaii and do this.”

“Remember, married by Christmas.” He said it softly.

“I remember, Tom,” she said, and her gaze drifted toward the ocean.

The moment went quiet.

He opted for being optimistic and not bringing up all their crap right now. “Hey, I guess you’ll be a bigwig attorney on your way to partner. I’m sure there’ll be more trips to Hawaii.” Already he could imagine her with him the next time they went to Hawaii. Maybe the Big Island, but he didn’t want to freak her out.

“I don’t think so,” she hedged. “At least not for … I don’t how long. Maybe never at this rate.”

He was sucked in a breath, wanted to grill her for facts about the last ten years. “Why?”

She tugged off her sunglasses and wiped her eyes, exhausted all of a sudden. “Tom, there’s something you need to understand. I know I hurt you.” Her voice had dropped down to a whisper. “But I have had a lot of insecurity in my life.”

This dance was growing tiresome. He knew he was solid. He knew he could be there for her. Reaching out, he put his hand over hers. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

Emily searched his eyes, then absently twirled her hair with delicate fingers. The gesture reminded him of when they were younger, when she would get upset and sit in his garage and watch him fix his motorcycle. She used to talk and talk and twirl and twirl her hair. He’d loved it.

She looked away. “Dad left, Mom broke down. Then I left. Trina got married and had little Elliot. Mom went in the care center, and that’s good. We … Trina shouldn’t have to be the one to take care of her. But now Trina’s getting a divorce, and I told her I’d pay for her to go back to school. I mean, she gets state help with tuition, but she needs help for her and Eli.”

“I’m sorry. That is a lot to handle.” He hadn’t known all of that, and he couldn’t imagine how overwhelming it must be for her.

She shrugged. “Trina told me the other day I run when I’m scared, and I guess I did run from you.”

Tom wanted her to realize she didn’t need to run anymore. “Like your dad,” he said softly, remembering what she’d said the other day.

“I never thought I was like him, but I guess I was with you.”

He let out a breath. “You’re not your dad, Ems.”

She scoffed. Apparently, she didn’t want him to let her off the hook. “Maybe part of me was. I didn’t do the hard thing and wait for you.”

He didn’t argue there. It had sucked not to have her.

She bit her lip. “I took advantage of that scholarship, and I made a life, but it came at a price.”

“Yes, it did, but we can change all of that.”

Emily let out a rippling laugh. “Tom. I can’t just leave my job.”

“Why?” he pressed. “There are attorneys in Park City. In fact, I know one—Luke Freestone. He has a big law firm. I know the guy. He would bring you on, especially since you have the kind of experience you have.”

“Is …” She sputtered. “Are we going there?”

“I’m already there, baby.”

She hesitated. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I’m paying for my mom’s care, and I’m helping Trina.”

“I know. We’ll figure it out.”

“And I still have some loans from law school. Law school wasn’t on scholarship.”

“So what?”

“Tom?” She sounded like he was a child and didn’t understand how to pay bills.

“I don’t care. We’ll work it out.”

Giving him an exasperated look, she stood and walked over to the side to grasp the rail.

Tom followed her and took her hand to kiss the back of it. “Remember, I’m the dreamer.”

“Yeah.” She looked doubtful, but she didn’t move away, and he took that as a good sign. “You’ve always been the dreamer.”

Gently, he traced her jawline, stopping on her lips and feeling the tension between them. “I believe we can figure anything out together.” Slowly, he leaned in and brushed his lips to hers. “It’s so right, Ems.”

She blinked, then pulled back, using both hands to hold to the railing. “Trina told me yesterday that the care facility needs an extra fifteen thousand because my mom got sick last month.”

Tom frowned. “That stinks.”

“I don’t know when the last time you saw her was, but on top of the dementia, she’s been having seizures.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she swallowed. “They don’t know how to help her. That’s kind of why this wedding is so important. I mean, not just for the junior partner title. I would also get a twenty-thousand-dollar bonus if I get it.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of money.”

She shrugged. “I was going to pay student loans, but she comes first.”

Feeling her pain, hearing her worries, Tom could only do one thing. He opened his arms and enfolded her in them. At first, he thought she would move out of them, but then she relaxed against him. They stayed that way for a long time, her in his arms, him gently stroking her hair, which was silky and still damp from swimming.

So many thoughts whirled through his mind. He wondered how he could have thought her life, although not perfect, was somehow easy.

“I’m sorry for telling you this.”

Pulling her back, he studied her face. “Never tell me you’re sorry for sharing your life.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “Thanks,” she said, her voice cracking.

Tom knew that Will had been right: he still loved her, and he wanted to know it all. To know everything. “What about Brett? Did he help you?”

Hesitating, she clasped her hands together in front of her and played with the ring on her pinky finger. “Ah. Do you really want to hear this?”

Part of him wanted to tell her to just forget it, but he knew there was no turning back for him. “Yeah, tell a ‘friend’ about it.”

“Pfft. You were pretty clear that friendship is not what you want.”

It was true. He could never imagine a world he would have Emily in his life and they would only be friends. He decided follow Will’s advice and check his pride. “Maybe I’ve always been your friend. It’s just been buried deep.”

She didn’t respond right away. Then she said, “Yeah, you buried it beneath a lineup of models.”

Was it stupid how happy this made him? He couldn’t deny the surge of delight inside his chest at hearing she was at least a little jealous. “I haven’t dated that much,” he protested.

“I’ve seen the pics, Tom.”

He rolled his eyes. “A lot of times girls just want their picture with me because of my brothers. Let’s focus on the fact I haven’t had a girlfriend or dated anyone in six months.” He said it like he’d called out checkmate. “You just broke up with a lame boyfriend.”

“Hey, Brett is very passionate about protecting life and making sure we’re meting out justice to the right people.”

Did he detect a bit of defensiveness? Tom nodded, feeling a glimmer of respect for the guy. “So how did you meet?”

“Uh, no, I don’t want to do this with you.”

“Why? ’Cause I think we should just go through it all.”

Emily sighed. “No.”

“How did you meet him?”

Rubbing a hand across her forehead, she said, “I was part of that pro bono program, and we got to know each other.” She huffed. “I can’t talk about this.”

He squeezed her hand. “No. Finish.” Now he was invested, and for better or worse, he had to know.

“I think I liked all of his passion for the powerless. I thought I was in love with him, but he’s …” She rubbed her neck, just like she used to do when they were growing up and she didn’t want to talk about something.

“What?”

“The past couple of months, he’s been busy. I’ve been busy too, and it’s like any relationship. You start to notice all the real parts of them you don’t like. Brett doesn’t really have a religious foundation and doesn’t believe in God.”

“Doesn’t believe in God?” This was crazy talk to Tom, because Emily had always been a very devout Christian.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Then why does he care about death row?”

“Because for him, this life is all people have.”

Tom let out a sigh. “That’s sad.”

“I blamed God for a lot things,” she said, tears misting in her eyes, “but there were so many times I needed comfort, and prayer was the only place I found that.” She looked up at him. “I prayed for you.”

This touched him. “Thank you.” Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Ems, tell me now if you love him.” This hadn’t really seemed like a possibility, that she would love someone else. Until this moment.

“No. I don’t know. We were never together that way.”

Tom couldn’t believe this. “Really?”

She looked embarrassed. “Don’t.”

He took her hand and couldn’t believe this woman had been alone, completely alone, for the last ten years.

“I told you I wanted to wait for marriage. I didn’t, but I couldn’t just be with anyone. That’s not me.”

For a moment, they were silent.

“So you don’t love him?” Tom’s heart pounded. He had to be sure.

“It’s complicated.”

“No, it’s not. Do you love him or not?”

She sputtered out a breath. “I told you it doesn’t matter. I ended it.”

“It matters,” he argued.

Emily sagged a little. Quietly, she said, “A couple of weeks ago, I found some texts on his phone from a woman that sounded seductive. I mean, it mentioned kissing but didn’t say he kissed her. It was weird.”

“Not cool.” His protective side kicked in, and he wanted to slam this Brett’s face into the wall.

“I asked him right away, and he denied it all. Said it was about a case. But I don’t know.” She laughed bitterly. “This probably makes you feel justified, right? Happy. That I’ve been suffering proves I should have married you, right? That our lives would have been better. Maybe we would have a couple of kids, a dog, a white picket fence, live in Greeley next to my sister, go visit my mama.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Is that what you think? Is that how you think our life would have been together?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, Tom, what would it have been like?”

For years, he’d wondered the same thing. For days and weeks when he’d been alone on assignment, he’d thought of her. Carefully, he reached out and took her hand, the spark of her skin pulsing between them. “I have thought about it. About us. What could have been. A lot. But one thing serving in the Army taught me was that yesterday doesn’t matter.”

Her hand squeezed his in return, and tears shimmered in her eyes.

Goose bumps rippled up his arms as he embraced her. “I’ve missed you, Ems. Every day.” He stared across the ocean, and all he could think was that Emily Times had always been his destiny, and now he had to fight for her.