Shipwrecked with Mr. Wrong - By Nikki Logan Page 0,36

never bring it up again.’ He squatted in front of her and took her hands gently. ‘I’ll be with you the entire way and show you what to do. If you get overwhelmed, you just rise to the surface. Find the sky. Hold on to me.’ He blazed up into her eyes. ‘Let me give you back the ocean, Honor.’

His dramatic words had the desired effect. Her fear immediately went to war with her burning desire to be free of it. She’d spent so long dreading being on the ocean, she’d had to sacrifice what was under it. She knew the atoll must be teeming with marine life she’d never seen up close. Never would see.

And Rob would be with her.

Find the sky.

‘I can’t go past the reef...’ she started hesitantly.

‘Okay. No further.’ Not a flicker of victory crossed his face, as though he knew he wasn’t over the line yet. ‘We’ll stay where you’re comfortable.’

‘And you’ll stay with me the entire way?’ She trusted he’d be as good as his word, if he gave it.

‘Scout’s honour,’ he pledged with two fingers in the air.

‘The scout salute has three fingers...’

‘I was never a scout,’ he admitted.

I’ll bet.

She allowed a small smile. Could she do it? Her heart thumped a mile a minute. She’d swum these lagoon waters many times and they were a bit like home to her. How hard would it be to get a little closer to them? Get underneath?

‘There are turtles out there, Honor. The water’s full of them. This would put you one step closer.’

It was the final ace up his sleeve and he threw it down with confidence. She knew exactly what he was doing, trying to help her get over her fear of the ocean. Her eyes glanced to the north of their own accord. Suddenly she realised she was ready for that; she truly would love to see the turtles in their natural habitat. And whatever else was down there.

She nodded and a relieved smile split his face. Her pulse kicked up for a different reason. ‘When?’

‘What are you doing right now?’

Now? Her heart pounded. ‘Uh...going snorkelling?’

‘Good girl. You won’t regret it.’

Honor wasn’t so certain, but she let him pull her to her feet, his face glowing with pride.

It didn’t feel bad to be the cause of that.

* * *

Rob wondered if Honor had any idea what her trust meant to him, or how brave she was. She’d just put herself in his hands and he was not going to let her down. Asking had been a calculated risk, but the way she’d opened up after the dive gave him confidence that she might be ready to turn a corner. To take back part of her old life. The way she’d responded to his kisses and then kissed him wholeheartedly back had given him a sense of her desperation to be free from the shackles of her grief. Even if she didn’t know it.

While she’d slept, he’d wandered the beaches for most of the morning, thinking. The sea and what was under it meant so much to him, had healed him and given him strength. The rift he’d caused when he held fast to his desire to study archaeology instead of fully joining the family business. His parents’ thirty-year love/hate marriage. His difficulty in holding a relationship for more than a few months, not that his father considered that a problem at all. Time at sea and on the ocean floor had been what he needed to get his own hurdles into perspective, although they paled in comparison to Honor’s. He had an occupation he loved, financial security, brains and freedom. What did she have? Loss, grief and sorrow disguised behind those enormous, courageous eyes.

He wanted to heal her and a few hours beneath the surface might go a long way to helping that happen.

Rob shoved away any thoughts about wanting more gratitude like last night. Look how that had ended up! Getting hot and heavy had just kind of...happened. It wasn’t his goal last night and it wasn’t his goal today.

If she stepped back onto this beach with fewer emotional scars, it was reward enough.

Liar!

Mostly enough, then.

Honor paused by the pile of snorkelling gear he’d left on the sand and raised one eyebrow at him. ‘You were pretty sure of yourself!’

He shrugged. ‘Occupational hazard.’

She didn’t look angry, but her righteous expression stirred him in places he shouldn’t be stirring. God, you’re gorgeous. She stripped down to reveal a new bikini—this one was