The following morning, Regan poked at the bags under her eyes. They really should have come a few days earlier, but she hadn’t wanted to get in the way of all the family celebration before the wedding..

Although, she hadn’t considered the idea that her and Kylee, and maybe Colby and Lara, would be the only ones on the island aside from the honeymooners after the wedding.

Her chest pinged again, for the strangeness of Matt finding his partner.

Kylee snored in their room. Regan slipped on running shorts and a tank before heading outside. The morning sun cast soft colors over the small cabins, the grass, the sand…She started back toward the marina. At some point in their conversations, Lara had mentioned sharks that hung out in the harbor, and she wanted to see them.

The bright building came into view after a two-minute walk, and Regan stared down at her bare feet, wondering if anyone on the island ever bothered with shoes. She probably wouldn’t. More hassle than they were worth, probably. The cushion under her feet went from sand to worn wooden dock.

Signs about places to visit in the Bahamas rested on the wall next to a window and a small bell. She considered ringing it for fun, but her and Colby weren’t in high school anymore, and that was a kind of a high school move.

A hand-painted sign with simple colored sharks sat on a post, and Regan started down steps toward a dock that was about a foot underwater. And then she stopped still. Three sharks, at least as long as she was tall, rested on the dock, their fins sticking above the water in classic shark fashion.

“Wow,” she breathed as she sat on a step, her feet still one step out of the water.

Four more swam lazy half circles around the small section of dock.

How had this come to be? Were the sharks always here, or just sometimes? Was the dock set up for them, or had it been a happy accident?

“Morning,” a low voice whispered behind her.

Regan spun to see Colby smiling at her.

“I see you’re meeting the locals.”

“I am.”

“They eat well here, so you can walk right in with them.”

She shook her head. “Nope. But thanks.”

He stepped past her, into the water, and stepped over the first shark, the water nearly to his knees. Turning around, Colby held out his hand. “Come on.”

Could she? “You’re serious?”

“I come out here all the time. It’s fine.” He paused just long enough to deepen his dimple. “Would I lead you astray?”

She narrowed her eyes but couldn’t stop her mouth from pulling into a smile. “I don’t know.”

He rolled his eyes, and for the first time, she saw some of the high school boy that she’d known. In that flash, he was once again Lara’s goofy little brother. “There is no way I’d purposefully bring anyone out here if I thought they’d get bit by a shark, okay?”

Regan folded her arms, but her heart was already dancing at the thought of standing in the water with sharks.

“It’s all over your face, Regan. You wanna come over here.” He flipped his fingers in a ‘come here’ gesture. “Just come.”

Slowly, she reached her hand toward him and he grasped it, their palms pressed together. His arm was unbending in its strength, so she took a large step over a shark to where he stood on the dock. Her heart sped as she stood there, their hands finally breaking apart.

Colby crouched down and pet the one closest to them. “They feel so interesting. Like sandpaper.”

Her cheeks warmed. Exhilaration was the word she was looking for. She bent forward and ran her hands over the shark. With an easy swish, it swam off the dock and she jumped back, running into Colby’s solid chest.

Turning, she peered at him, but now her front was pressed against his, and her cheeks felt flushed for a totally different reason. “Sorry,” she whispered.

Smooth, calloused hands ran down her arms in a gesture that was decidedly more than friendly. “It’s fine.”

In one short move, Colby’s warmth was gone. He sat on the dock, the water up to nearly chest level. “Come sit with the lazy beasts.”

She spun a slow circle. Two more sharks still rested on the short dock, and several were below on the pale sand. Could she?

No, she wasn’t going to think, just do. If she went home without experiencing the sharks, she’d be furious with herself.

Regan sat, the water now up to her chest as well. Their shoulders, hips, and thighs touched, but she wasn’t about to scoot away from the safety of him.

“They’re fine,” he whispered. “I promise.”

Yeah. Easy for him to say. He’d been here long enough to get to know them. Probably.

“How are you being here for the wedding?” His voice was still low and mellow, vibrating in the air between them. “Is it weird? You and Matt…You two were kind of a fixture for a long time.”

“I haven’t found the right word for it yet,” Regan said. “But yeah…weird works for now.”

He sat silent next to her.

“I don’t want it to be weird, though, you know?”

“Yeah.”

She stared at their feet in the water, the shadows of the sharks resting below them. “But I’m more shaken than I thought I’d be.”

“You can do hard things,” he said quietly. “I tell myself that all the time.”

“Sometimes tricky to believe, isn’t it?” she asked.

He nodded and then in another swift move, pushed forward and began to tread water.

With the sharks.

“Get up!” Regan reached for him, but he pulled slightly away. Her heart skittered in her chest. “Get back on the dock, Colby. This isn’t funny.”

“Get in,” he countered with a smirk.

Regan shoved her jaw forward. “I don’t remember you being this stubborn.”

“Maybe I always did what you said, and now I’ve grown up.” He eased a few feet farther away.

“So, now you won’t be nice?” she asked.

He shook his head, that infuriating smile still on his face. “I didn’t say that.”

Even not having him next to her, made the sharks seem bigger.

“Nurse sharks.” Colby continued to tread water.

Two sharks left their spot on the sand and weaved their way through the water. Her heart jumped. “They’re coming for you!”

Colby laughed. “They just wanna check me out. Once they settle, you need to get in.”

“No way.” She shook her head. “I do not need to get in.”

“Think about how much easier tomorrow will be if you know you can swim with sharks.”

When did he get smart?

“What?”

“How much easier will wedding day be, if all day you can tell yourself, I swam with sharks?”

Noooo. Nope. Nope. No. She shook her head.

“Trust me.” He inched closer. “You can do this, Regan.”

How could he know that? How could he know that she could do this? That she wouldn’t be eaten?

“You are one of the most remarkable people I know.” Same calm, quiet voice. “I’m sorry we didn’t always stay in touch.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Kind words from someone who wants me to risk my life.”

“Get. In. Regan.” So much for his kind tone.

Could she? For real? “Sharks.”

“Nurse sharks,” he corrected.

Could she?

“Just slide in,” he said, using that soft voice again. “Slide right in.”

Regan inched forward, amazed at the small step she’d just made. “This seems not smart.”

Another shark swam near Colby, and he reached out, running his hand along the beast’s side as it passed.

“As much as I don’t want to put myself back in the little brother position, I’m going to.” He stopped for a moment. “Are you really going to let Lara’s little brother one-up you here?”

Geeky, pale, little brother Colby besting her at something? Something athletic and adventurous?

Nope. No, she was not. “Eeee!” she squealed as she pushed off the dock and let herself drop into the water. She swam close enough to Colby that their legs bounced off each other underwater.

“They’re gonna wanna come meet you,” he warned.

“Oh…no…” The warm water swirled around her as she floated next to him. “I don’t like that…You didn’t warn me about that!” She slapped his shoulder and was met with a laugh.

“Swim with sharks. Can handle anything,” he reminded her.

Swim with sharks. Can handle anything.

Nerves rippled across Regan’s skin as one of the smaller sharks swam by, its tail flicking so close that the current pushed against her legs.

“See? They’re just curious. And they’re well-fed and used to people.”

“I can’t believe I’m here.” But even with her dancing nerves, her cheeks began to ache from her smile. “I’m swimming with sharks.”

“I mean,” he began in a mock-serious tone, “it gives you some serious street-cred.”

A nervous chuckle bounced in the air between them. “I’m not sure I care.”

“We should snorkel out here before you leave, or I can lend you some equipment, and you can do a short scuba-dive.”

Well, he’d gone too far with that one because she’d never gone diving, but seriously, she was swimming with sharks.

“You’re feeling better, aren’t you?” he asked.

She was. “This place is incredible.”

“I love it.” His voice dropped.

Regan allowed herself to move slightly away from Colby so she could face him more easily. Her attention shifted to the creatures under and around her. Amazing. “I’m swimming with sharks,” she said again.

“You can handle anything.”

And she almost believed him.