a seat at the front of the boat when the guide went to stand behind the steering column in the middle. Then he reached for my hand and pulled me into his lap. “You’re going to be fine, Lindsay. I won’t let anything happen to you, remember?”
“I remember,” I muttered, trying not to sink back into his warm, broad chest when he wrapped his arms around my waist again.
We kept touching each other in this intimate way, even when we weren’t anywhere near the hotel. Not that it was even strictly necessary there anymore. No one was paying us much attention at this stage, except for Big Mac who came over to talk to us every night.
In spite of all that, I stayed put right where I was. Later on when we got in the water, I clung to him like a toddler without her water wings and didn’t let him go for a single minute.
The sleek, powerful predators lazily swimming beneath us hardly even seemed to notice us, simply gliding past and going about their days. I was fucking terrified, but having Jaxon next to me definitely made it much easier. Enjoyable even.
And that was why I was still hanging onto him after the dive when we got back on the boat. At least, that was what I told myself.
He turned to look at me once we were out of the water, his eyes wide and bright on mine. “You just swam with fucking sharks.”
“I just swam with fucking sharks,” I repeated, feeling the same sense of freedom and exhilaration as I had after the parasailing. It drew me to him, and for the second time in one morning, I pulled him into my arms and hugged him like I wouldn’t ever let him go. “Thank you, Jaxon. You have no idea how much I needed to meet someone exactly like you.”
Chapter 14
JAXON
After our encounter with the sharks, I figured it was time to dial the day down a notch. Lindsay was ecstatic about everything we’d done and kept telling me how much it meant to her that I’d pushed her out of her comfort zone, but I doubted we needed any more excitement today.
We spent the afternoon strolling through local markets, examining handcrafted trinkets, and ended up walking past an ice-cream shop on our way back to the resort.
“We have to get some,” she insisted. “There’s nothing that rounds off a perfect day like a good ice cream.”
“Perfect day, huh?” I smirked as I followed her into the shop. “What about plans and scheduling? Have I converted you yet?”
“Nope. I’ll just have to broaden my horizons when it comes to activities to include in my plans.”
I laughed as the bell above the door signaled our arrival. An older woman came walking out the back, clasping her hands in front of her as she eyed us.
“Ah, young love.” She smiled softly. “How would you like to try my Salted Caramel? It’s a new recipe and honeymooners are always so forgiving because they’re so happy.”
“We’d love to try it,” I said before I could give too much thought about why she’d made the assumption she had when we weren’t even touching each other at the moment. “Anything else you’d like us to sample? We’re very willing guinea pigs.”
Her smile spread wider. “Excellent. I haven’t had enough of those recently.”
She ushered us into one of the small booths, promising she’d be back in a minute with a tasting plate for us. Lindsay looked at me with excitement shining in her eyes as she clapped her hands.
“I didn’t think this day could get any better, but clearly, I was wrong. We’re about to be treated with an entire tray of different kinds of ice cream. Stuff like that never happens to me by chance.”
“That’s because you’ve got to give fate the opportunity to let stuff like this happen to you. If we were on a strict schedule today, we never would’ve stumbled across this place, which means we never would’ve been told to sit down and eat.”
“You may have a point there.” She tilted her head after getting settled on her side of the table. “Maybe I’ll think about leaving some space open in my planner for spontaneity.”
“Planning for spontaneity might not work so well.” I stretched my legs out under the table, not moving them when I felt her calf brushing against mine. “Maybe just try letting go every once in a while. You might be surprised what you find out