Page 100 of Yours, For Good

I relented and we changed into our bathing suits; mine was one of his gifts, a two-piece that looked like a contemporary version of a 50s set, with a halter top printed with lemons and leaves, and bottoms in the same tone of green.

He led me to the dock, down a winding road flanked by trees and peppered with large rocks. Once at the end of the wooden structure, we kicked off our shoes.

"It's beautiful out here, too," I said.

Trees surrounded the shore, except for where rocky cliffs dropped sharply into the water. The lake was big enough for boats, and a couple of those floated away closer to the other end. The water was deep blue, and my stomach fluttered wondering if the lake was as bottomless as it seemed.

I peered carefully into the water, but Javier distracted me with a hand behind my back and a kiss on my face.

"I love it here." He kept the position, gazing down at my eyes and close to my side, his hand on my back. Like we might be posing for a picture to be published on the social pages of a New York newspaper. "I have many happy memories here. Should we make some of our own?"

I kissed him and let him go into the water first. He dove into it like a professional, to come out several moments later with a big smile.

"The water feels amazing." He ran a hand through his wet hair, pulling it back in a casual, sexy move. His eyes studied me carefully. "You look gorgeous there, but you'd still look gorgeous here in my arms."

Wings fluttered in my stomach. A smile appeared on my lips. Javier seemed to be getting better at flirting with me, and I liked it, too.

"I don't know how to swim, remember?" I said. "I can't dive like you did."

He treaded water as he watched me. "There's a ladder to the side, and some rock formations there under the water where you can stand."

I peeked and found the ladder, yet I hesitated.

With some kind of breast stroke, he approached the side and, casually, climbed up the ladder.

The muscles of his shoulders and arms popped. Water dripped down his skin, droplets glistening in the summer sun. His hair looked darker and his eyes, always a cool blue, seemed as warm as the wind playing with my hair.

Without coming fully up into the dock, he stretched forward asking for a kiss. There was something very Romeo at Juliet's balcony about it, and it melted me like wax on fire.

I bent down and gave him the kiss he asked for, hands on his face.

"Join me in the water, Nora. Let me hold you and keep you safe. Maybe cop a feel and laugh with you about it. I'll stand firmly in place on the granite bottom, and let you rely on me until you learn to float. I'll teach you."

My heart quickened, and not only from the prospect of getting in the lake. Javier's eyes held the same keen determination he'd had for weeks, and the patience he'd promised me held steady in the space between us.

"I'll be right here next to you," he added. A knowing smile tilted his lips. "You can trust me."

He meant it for now in the water, and the rest of our lives if I dared.

I kissed him again. "Okay. Let me come down."

He jumped back in the water and helped me into it; he didn't make a comment of my gasp as I got used to the cold, or how I clung to him despite touching the bottom. I had to stay on the tip of my feet to keep my neck out of the water, and what seemed like undercurrents swayed me in place. With my hands on Javier's shoulders and his hands on my waist, I'd remain anchored.

"Take a minute," he said. "Relax. Feel how much lighter it seems here. The cool of the water protecting us from the heat."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I did as he said.

"You're okay. You can enjoy it." He kissed my face, my chin, my lips. "I'm right here."

I sighed. "It does help."

"You can trust me," he said again.

A reticent smile took over my lips. "This is nice, and you are keeping me grounded."

"Are those the right things I should be doing?"

I nodded. This time, I let him see my full grin. "Keep me close."