The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance (11 page)

Alyssa straightened. “Is he crazy? I’m still half-frozen.”

The brochure had bragged about walking on a white sand, private beach and apparently this was that opportunity. Alyssa had walked on a lot of nice beaches and was tempted to stay in the boat and wait for the snorkeling.

Beck rubbed his hands down her arms. “Guess my hug didn’t help?”

“Oh, it helped.” She smiled, grateful and a little surprised at how comfortable she was with him. She’d thought of little last night but his kiss and his offer to travel with him. She felt like she’d be an idiot not to go. If they kept getting as close over the next few days, she’d have no choice but to go, or experience withdrawals from being around him. “But I’d rather hug you than jump in that water right now.”

Beck stood and offered her a hand. “And here I thought you were an adventurous girl.”

Alyssa arched an eyebrow. She knew a challenge when she heard one. Pulling off her sweatshirt and then her swimsuit cover up, she leapt over the side and into the water. The cold liquid closed over her head and she gasped, swallowing a mouthful of water. Alyssa swam toward the surface, coughing and spitting as she hit the air.

Beck was by her side. “You okay?”

“Y-yes.” She coughed a few more times then started stroking toward the island. “I decided to taste the water. A bit too salty.”

Beck chuckled and swam close by her side. They quickly reached the island and enjoyed walking in the soft sand and exploring. It reminded Alyssa of the spots she’d read about in books where someone is shipwrecked on a deserted island—sandy beach with trees and vegetation above that looked like a jungle. She glanced up at Beck’s handsome face and wished they were alone on this beautiful spot.

Beck must’ve been feeling the same way. His grip on her hand tightened and he tugged her behind a palm tree. He smiled and trailed his fingertips lightly down the side of her face. Alyssa moistened her lips and stepped closer, waiting, hoping. She closed her eyes, savoring his soft touch as he tilted her chin up.

“Hey, Lyssa,” Stockton yelled. “I found shells! Lyssa. Where are you?”

Alyssa felt disappointment instead of Beck’s lips. He cleared his throat and then escorted her around the tree.

“Hey! I didn’t know you and Beck were hiding. Look at my shells,” Stockton said.

She and Beck walked over to the little boy and inspected his treasures. His dad, Bryant, gave Beck an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he’s kind of insistent.”

“He’s great,” Beck said. “No worries.”

Beck ran a hand through his hair and Alyssa liked that his frustration was evident, not at Stockton, but at the missed opportunity.

Stockton’s mom beamed at her son. Alyssa didn’t blame her. The little guy was so cute she couldn’t find it in her to be upset that he’d interrupted their privacy. Alyssa glanced at Beck and he met her eye. She wondered what their son would look like. Blood rushed to her cheeks. What kind of a thought was that? She liked Beck, a lot, but she wasn’t ready for some lifelong commitment. She quickly looked away and shuffled her abnormal right foot through the sand.

Captain Aaron called them back to the boat a few minutes later. The swim back felt refreshing instead of freezing. They cruised farther around the island and went to several different snorkeling spots, stopping for lunch next to some water-filled caves. Alyssa’s favorite snorkeling spot was a huge rock island that they swam around numerous times, staring at thousands of brightly-colored fish. Glancing at the wide expanse of ocean around her, she had the brief, and hopefully completely irrational, fear of a shark appearing.

She should’ve never watched Soul Surfer. Wasn’t that filmed in Hawaii? She found herself wondering what island. Was it Kauai or Maui? Shaking her head, she concentrated on the picturesque ocean spread beneath her.

She was kicking hard for another pass when she felt a tug on her arm. She turned to see Beck motioning and pulling her toward the boat. She lifted her head out of the water.

“Shark,” he said, giving her a push toward the boat.

“No!” she gargled through her mask. Darting a glance over her shoulder, she saw the fin about twenty yards away. Alyssa kicked as hard as she could toward the boat, expecting any second to feel the shark’s teeth tearing into her. Her right foot throbbed from trying to keep it in the flipper correctly, but she couldn’t quit. Her chest constricted and she cried out inside her mask. She couldn’t get enough air. Spitting the mouthpiece out, she wanted to look, but forced herself to stay focused on reaching the boat.

Please, please, keep us all safe
, she prayed over and over again.

Something brushed against her leg. She screamed and jerked away, certain the shark was right next to her and would rip her apart. Turning, relief rushed through her when she realized it was Beck swimming next to her. He’d inserted his body between her and the shark. The fin was coming closer and Alyssa continued to pray for their protection.

The ladder appeared and Captain Aaron’s hand. Beck pushed her up from behind and she scrambled into the boat, Beck right behind her. She wrapped up in the towel that Aaron’s assistant handed her.

“Is everyone in?” Beck asked over her shoulder.

“Stockton, Janie, and Bryant are on the other side of the island,” Aaron said, already putting the motor into motion and cruising around the rock.

“Is that a great white?” Aaron’s assistant asked, sounding almost excited.

“Yes,” Aaron replied, expertly spinning the wheel. “They travel here in the winter months.”

Alyssa searched the water and saw the tell-tale fin moving parallel to them in the ocean. She thanked her father in heaven for her and Beck’s safety and continued praying hard that they could get to the little family before the shark decided to attack. Could they scare it away somehow? They rounded the island and the three snorkels were right there in the water.

Someone screamed and Alyssa saw the shark’s speed had increased. Aaron positioned the boat between the shark and the family. Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief until she noticed the shark slowed and then veered around the boat.

Bryant, Stockton’s dad, jerked his head out of the water.

“Shark!” several people screamed. He shoved his wife toward the boat. She looked up, confused, but responded to Beck’s outstretched arm and was pulled quickly to safety. Cute little Stockton was completely oblivious to the approaching danger and had his head down. He’d been so intrigued by the fish and was probably focused on them. His dad reached for him, but wasn’t close enough. Alyssa cried out in panic as the shark sliced through the water toward the little boy. Beck picked up an oxygen tank and hurled it at the approaching shark. It bounced off the shark and barely missed Bryant.

Stockton finally looked up from the water and screamed in surprise. The shark was temporarily thrown off course and Aaron had managed to get the boat close enough for Beck to lean over and pluck Stockton from the water. He ushered him into his mother’s waiting arms and turned around to help Bryant. Bryant started scrambling up the ladder with Beck yanking on him. The shark swam toward the boat.

Alyssa panted for air. It was a scene out of a horror movie, and Bryant was about to become a real-life victim. Captain Aaron threw the motor into gear. Beck flew over the side of the boat and toward the waiting jaws of the shark. The screams and shouts of panic pressed in around Alyssa. She knew she was screaming louder than anyone, but she felt like everything was frozen except the boat and that horrible shark coming straight for Beck.

Bryant darted back down the ladder and reached out a hand. Beck grabbed onto him and hung on. A sharp tug from Bryant and Beck was able to secure a leg around the ladder and pull himself up. The boat flew away from the shark as Beck clung onto the ladder next to Bryant. Bryant climbed the remaining steps and then helped Beck over the side.

Alyssa hurried to Beck’s side, flinging herself at him. They sank down into the cushions at the back of the boat. She hugged him and couldn’t stop the tears racing down her face.

“Oh, Beck, you’re okay.”

Janie made her way to them with Stockton hanging on her. “You saved us,” she said. “Thank you.”

Bryant nodded, offering his hand. “I owe you everything.”

“You saved me too,” Beck said, shaking Bryant’s hand.

“You’re both heroes in my book,” Captain Aaron added, turning around to give them both a salute. “Maybe the pretty lady can give you a reward for all of us.” He winked at Alyssa and Beck.

Alyssa kissed Beck right in front of everybody. The boat exploded in cheers and she pulled away in embarrassment.

“Mommy, I want ice cream for a reward for being brave, not a kiss from Lyssa,” Stockton said.

Beck grinned at the little boy. “When we get back, buddy, I’ll buy you ice cream, and I’ll take all your kisses from Lyssa.”

Alyssa enjoyed the salty taste of the ocean as Beck proceeded to kiss her again and her heart thumped in excitement that had nothing to do with sharks or near-death experiences.

Beck escorted Alyssa off the boat and they took their time saying goodbye to the group. The shark attack had bonded everyone together. Stockton was still insistent that he didn’t want kisses, but he did accept a hug from Alyssa after Beck found an ice cream shop and bought them both an ice cream.

“You sure you don’t want a lick?” Alyssa asked, her tongue drawing patterns in the chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream.

Beck might’ve drooled a little bit. “A lick of what?”

“The ice cream, you silly.” Her face reddened. “I look awful.” She tried to fluff her hair, but spending the day in the ocean had it plastered to her head.

“You look great,” Beck reassured her and he meant it. He’d never seen his former girlfriend, Belle, without makeup so thick she must have applied it with a painter’s trowel. Alyssa didn’t need makeup to look beautiful. He hadn’t realized how much he’d dreamed of finding a woman who was not only beautiful but genuine. Alyssa didn’t have an agenda where he was concerned and she wasn’t selfish and manipulative.

His phone rang. He checked the caller I.D. before saying to Alyssa, “Excuse me, I need to take this.”

She nodded her understanding.

“Hey, Linli. You doing okay without me?” Beck asked.

“Of course.” Linli huffed and he knew he’d offended her. She could and did run the office without any help from him and it irritated her when he acted like he helped out. “But I have to tell you, Beck, I’m more certain than ever that somebody took your itinerary and I’m afraid it’s Belle.”

“Belle?” His voice pitched up in surprise.

Alyssa looked at him strangely and he tried to smile like nothing was wrong.

“You don’t think she’d come here?” he asked more quietly.

“I wouldn’t put it past her. The woman thinks she owns you.”

“She knows we’re just friends.”

Linli harrumphed and Alyssa’s eyebrows rose.

“Okay. Thanks for the heads up, boss.”

“You’d better remember who the boss is. Stay safe. It might not be her. It could be anyone—gold diggers, photographers, or any other kind of horrible people like that.”

“Photographers?”

Alyssa took a step back, not licking her ice cream any more. Beck shook his head and smiled like his assistant was crazy.

“You know how they are, trying to take pictures of you in your skivvies and disgusting stuff like that. Just be careful.”

A chill ran through him at her warning. He looked at Alyssa. She was a photographer, but a beautiful and considerate kind of photographer. She’d never take unwanted pictures of someone for profit. Her talent was a gift to the world, not smutty pictures for the tabloids.

“Thanks, Linli,” he said to his assistant.

“It’s what I do.” Linli hung up before he could say goodbye.

“Everything okay?” Alyssa asked.

“Yeah. My assistant is a bit paranoid. She thinks someone stole my itinerary and is trying to exploit me.”

Alyssa swallowed and stared at him. A chocolate drip ran over the back of her hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. There’s nothing the tabloid rags can do to me that they haven’t already done.” He thought of the pictures taken after his parents’ funeral. They’d twisted a situation with his sister, Anna, and made it look like he was restraining her and then she was hitting him, when in truth he’d been holding her as she sobbed and then she’d accidentally elbowed him when they both bent to pick up her son. To think that someone had intruded on their grief and made them fodder for gossip, that was completely untrue, still upset him sometimes.

“Oh, um, okay.” A panicked look filled her eyes and the ice cream was still dripping down her hand.

Beck smiled to reassure her then the realization occurred to him. “You’re worried they’re going to photograph us together.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine.” She shook her head quickly, failing to convince him. She was famous in her own right. Of course she wouldn’t want some smart tabloid writer to piece together that A.A. was with Beckham Taylor and though he was thrilled to be with her, he didn’t want his private life on display, ever.

“It’s not fine. We’ll watch out for them.” He wrapped an arm around her then took her napkin and wiped her hand off.