To say that Isabel was surprised to hear knocking on her door would be an understatement. She’d been staring at the wall feeling exactly how she’d felt the couple of years—hopeless.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Hey, Isabel. You have to let me in!”

Cameron Cruz.

Her heart raced, and she sat up. Part of her wished the guy would leave her alone, and the other part of her got up and hopped on one foot to the door. When she flung it back, he was there looking amazing.

She hated herself for thinking that about him. But the man was gorgeous. Yes, she’d noticed the attraction between them while dancing the night before. “What are you doing?”

“I’m here to take you to see the stingrays.” He nodded toward the table where the list sat. “That’s next, right?”

Sudden light seemed to fill her. Yes. Light. Actually, warmth. It started in the center of her chest. “I told you no.”

He shrugged. “Did you mean it?”

She sighed, nervous angst moving through her.

“I’ll find out about a wheelchair for some of it, but until then, I’ll carry you.” He shrugged. “It’s good for my workouts anyway.”

She was flabbergasted, and her heart skipped a beat. “What? No.” She scoffed. “Seriously, listen to the jock—it’s good for my workouts,” she said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

Abruptly, he laughed. “I do not sound like that.”

She couldn’t stop smiling.

He took a step in. “Let’s go. We have to hurry so we don’t miss all the shuttles over to the stingrays.”

Panic filled her as she thought about all the logistics. “I have to get ready.”

“Hop in the bathroom and put on a swimsuit. I’ll run down and find out about wheelchairs.”

She could hardly get a breath. “Really?” More hope filled her. Yes, with him helping her, she could do this.

“Go.” He turned and jogged away.

Bewildered, she turned and rushed back into the room, not caring that she was hopping, not caring that she had hurt her ankle—only excited.

She hadn’t been this excited in a long time.

As it turned out, Cameron was not able to get a wheelchair. What ended up happening resembled a teenage Rom-Com where the guy carried the girl everywhere, piggyback style. He’d gone to the infirmary and braced her ankle, but at first, it was awkward to be on his back.

They got to the taxi that Cam hired and started the journey to Grand Cayman’s Stingray City.

“There is also a place where you can hold the turtles,” the taxi driver told them.

Cam stared at Isabel. She had on a t-shirt and shorts with a swimsuit underneath and a huge hat and sunglasses.

Once again, he noticed how pretty she was in a girl-next-door way. Not a model type, like the women who had hit on him all year. Or a cleat chaser.

No, reluctantly he thought about how she was more like Kat. Not that she looked anything like her, but she was real.

As they drove, they fell into silence.

“Thank you,” she said, still looking out the window,

Warmth filled him. “You’re welcome.” How did he describe to her how good this felt? To do something for someone else. Someone who was actually in more pain than he was.

When they arrived at the stingray place, Cam rushed around and helped her out, and she hiked up onto his back.

She grunted. “Sorry.”

He waved it off and held the backpack in his hands while carrying her. He’d brought his wallet, two towels, and sun screen. “I told you. You’re good for my conditioning.”

She let out a light laugh. “Man, you have all the lines for women, don’t you?”

The moment got awkward, but both of them ignored it as he walked into Stingray City. They bought the tickets, and soon after, a tour guy escorted them out to the stingrays. He couldn’t see his sister or Craig or his nephews. “Dang, I think we might have missed my sister.”

He put their stuff in a locker, and then he walked out toward the sectioned-off place where people were standing in the ocean with the stingrays. There were a bunch of clearly marked tour guys that were instructing people on how to touch the stingrays. They looked like triangle shaped fish with a stinger at the end.

“Ohmygosh,” she whispered as they waded out, she was on his back. “They are right here.”

Cameron literally felt one of them brush his leg. He laughed, turning and shifting Isabel’s weight to put her down. “It’s slimy.”

Gently, he put her in the water, and she leaned against him, standing on her good ankle. They were waist deep. Her eyes widened, and she laughed as swam by her. “Eek!”

He laughed again.

She reached out, and when one of the sting rays got closer and brushed her hand, she let out a rippling, childlike laugh.

It made him smile.

“Come on, touch them,” she encouraged him.

Cam wanted to, so he put his hand in the water and waited. One came over and barely brushed against him. He noted the skin was smooth and felt almost silky. He laughed. “It’s so slimy.”

She reached in and touched another, letting out squeal. “It is slimy.” She pointed to a big one coming toward them. “Cam, reach for that one.”

He reached in deep and felt the big guy brush his whole body against his leg. He laughed. “Man.”

Looking at her, he saw her eyes turn mischievous right before she leaned over and gently pushed him. It was just a little push, but with the way he was bent, he stumbled, trying to get his footing, but couldn’t.

At the last minute, he reached out, taking her hand, and she tumbled in with him.

Isabel shrieked but laughed as she fell. Then they were splashing and playing.

Cam saw there were other families there who were smiling at them. The best part, he found, was that he could keep his ball cap and sunglasses on and stay incognito. It was nice just to blend in.

She turned, hopping back a bit and sitting in the shallow water and took off her hat and sunglasses. “You got everything wet.”

He stood, taking her things from her. “I’ll put everything on that chair over there.”

“And if it gets stolen?”

He was already getting out. “A chance we’ll have to take.”

“You’re so flippant about it.”

He paused, then met her eyes. “We’re taking a chance on this, aren’t we?”