“So, who was that man you were talking to earlier today?” Becki asked, reaching for a French fry, sprinkled with truffle salt, from the basket in the middle of the table. She popped it in her mouth and wiped her fingers on the white cloth napkin.

Laney stopped sipping her Chardonnay. She and Becki had met for late-night happy hour at their favorite bistro and she’d hoped for a fun night out—not an inquisition. She knew Becki would make a bigger deal out of her talking to the stranger than it had been. “What do you mean?”

“Earlier tonight. I was finishing up at work and through the open window, I heard someone shouting the name Marshmallow. I figured it had to be either a sugar-obsessed Spring Break-er or someone calling your dog’s name.” Becki eyed her. “By the time I got to the window, you were standing next to him holding Marshmallow.”

“Oh that.” Laney traced the ridges of her salad plate with her fork. A group of college kids at the table next to them cheered loudly, giving her a moment to think of what to tell Becki. No matter what she said, her sister wasn’t going to give up easily.

“Yeah, so who was he? He was cute.”

“Eh. I didn’t notice.” At least that’s what she wanted to believe. The man had been nice to look at, but he was a tourist—not someone she wanted to get to know better. She’d been burned in the past and didn’t feel like repeating that mistake. Plus, he’d been a total jerk to her. He’d just assumed that she hadn’t had Marshmallow on a leash, and then he’d laughed at her dog’s name.

“Are you blind?” Becki narrowed her eyes. “It seemed like you two were getting along quite well. And Marshmallow seemed to like him.” She laughed.

Laney sighed. “Marshmallow likes everyone. You’re just love-struck with Mac. You think everyone should be in a relationship. Anyway, he’s just some tourist and you know how I feel about tourists.” She remembered how the man had smoothly gone from handing over her dog to asking her out on a date. She’d briefly considered it because he had rescued her dog, but with his too-handsome looks, he was probably used to having every woman he met fall at his feet. Well, not her.

“Uh-huh. They’re not all bad—look at Mac.” A glow came over Becki’s face when she talked about her boyfriend, who’d recently moved to Fortune’s Bay.

The waitress stopped by and delivered a steaming hot flatbread pizza, positioning it on a round pedestal in the center of their table. Laney’s mouth watered at the delicious smells emanating from the dish, but Becki got to the serving utensil first.

“Yeah, well you had your doubts about him in the beginning.” Laney took a slice of the pizza too and delicately nibbled the edge of it, savoring the flavor of the figs and prosciutto.

“True, but still. You’ve got to give people a chance. They won’t all disappoint you.” Becki slid the last piece of pizza on to her plate. “And remember, there’s the legend of Destiny, who is waiting forevermore for her pirate lover to return and who is bringing together soul mates in Fortune’s Bay until he comes back to her. I’m pretty sure it was Destiny that brought Mac and I together.” She winked at Laney, who gave her a withering glance in return.

“It doesn’t matter. Marshmallow got away from me and the man caught him. That’s all. I’ll probably never see him again.” Besides, even if the legend was true—which of course it wasn’t—there was no way that the man she’d met in the park was her soul mate. Fate wouldn’t play such an evil trick on her. That man had been rude and conceited.

“You never know. This is a small town.” Becki winked at her.

“Not that small. Every hotel is jam-packed with college kids out on Spring Break.” As if to prove her point, someone in the booth next to them jarred the back of her seat. She wrinkled her nose. “I hate this time of year.” She glanced around, hoping none of them had heard her. She didn’t have to worry as the noise level was increasing by the minute.

“You’re getting to be a crotchety old lady,” Becki joked. “Pretty soon you’ll be waving your cane at all the young whippersnappers tanning on the beach.”

Laney glared at her. “I’m barely over thirty. I think I’ve got some time before that happens.”

“I don’t know. With the way you’re going…” Becki looked directly into Laney’s eyes, suddenly serious. “I do worry about you. You can’t let past experiences color everything in your future. You need to give people a chance. Maybe not this guy, but the next one you meet, or the one after that. They’re not all going to be bad.”

Laney’s stomach churned. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Becki sighed. “Fine. What’s new with you?”

“Well there is something…” Laney said, dragging out her words for the suspense factor.

Becki’s eyes lit up. “What?”

“We got a settler’s journal donated to us at the library and it has a hand-drawn map on it. I think there may be a shipwreck shown on it that hasn’t been formally discovered. That is, if it has survived for this long.”

“That’s great. I’m sure the tourists will love getting to go scuba diving around the wreck.” Becki picked up the drink menu and perused it, then set it back down on the table. “Anything else going on?” While she waited for Laney to answer, she flagged down their waitress to place her drink order.

Laney stared wide-eyed at her sister. Becki didn’t understand how important of a find this could be.

“This isn’t just some wrecked ship from the twentieth century. It’s much older. This is the type of thing that gets your name into history books.”

“Hmm. So, did you call someone about it? Who would you call anyways—the state?”

“I did. I contacted a professor at Ambright College, but I didn’t hear anything back from him. With Spring Break going on, I doubt I’ll hear from him until he returns to work next week. If he doesn’t call back soon, I’ll call someone from the state on Monday.” She took a deep breath and looked into Becki’s eyes. “But first, I’m going to take a boat out to the site of the shipwreck that the settler mentioned and check it out myself. Besides, I’d like to know if there really is something there before the state laughs me out of the building when I report a nonexistent shipwreck.”

“Is that safe for you to go out there by yourself?” Concern filled Becki’s voice. “I mean, I know you love history and all, but should you go diving alone?”

Laney shrugged. “I’m an expert diver. All those swimming lessons Mom and Dad made us take really paid off after I moved down here to Florida. Don’t worry, I’ll hire a boat and take someone with me.” She stopped. This was going to get expensive. Working as a small-town librarian didn’t exactly bring in the big bucks, but she had always been good at saving money. She did a quick mental calculation. If she used the money she’d earmarked for a trip, she should be able to rent a dive boat. Was it worth it to miss traveling to Italy?

Excitement bloomed in her stomach, coupled with a touch of fear that she pushed away. Of course, this was important enough. It could be the discovery of a lifetime. Italy would still be there later.

“Okay.” Becki regarded her. “But I still don’t think this is a good idea. Maybe you should leave it to the professionals.”

Should she? It was probably the most prudent thing to do, but for once in her life, she didn’t want to take the sensible route. She’d been playing it safe for her entire life. This could be what she’d always wanted—a chance to be a part of the history books. Unfortunately, she’d never be able to express to Becki how amazing this opportunity could be.

“I’ll be fine.” She grabbed the dessert menu and ran her finger down the list of enticing choices. “Now, do you want to get dessert?”

“Of course.” Becki grinned. “When have I ever said no to that question?”

Laney laughed, and after much squabbling, they picked out a chocolate lava cake and a slice of cheesecake, topped with strawberries and blueberries to share. For the rest of the evening, she enjoyed spending time with her sister—an event that had become more and more infrequent as Becki and Mac’s relationship had developed. With a twinge of envy, she remembered how she and Becki used to spend several nights a week hanging out together until Becki met Mac.

But, she was happy that her sister had found love, even if it meant fewer opportunities to spend time with her. At least one of them should be lucky in love— she didn’t see it ever happening for her.