Chapter Fifteen #2
“How did you spend the rest of the afternoon?” Kayla asked, forcing herself to remove her hand from Skye’s.
“Oh, just hung out by the pool. We were surprised not to see you there.”
Skye shot a hostile look at Mack. “Seems like you were awfully busy in your room.”
Kayla held her breath. Would Mack play along? She was obviously in a mood after their morning at the pool, but she had to know how important this moment was.
She needn’t have worried. Whether it was her desire to help Kayla or to antagonize Skye, Kayla wasn’t sure, but Mack played right into that jealousy.
She snatched up her wine glass and leaned back, throwing an arm around the back of Kayla’s chair and leering.
“It is our honeymoon. Sorry, you don’t have the same stamina I do, Skye. ”
Skye’s cheeks reddened. Kayla could have kissed Mack. Again.
Amy didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the sniping between their two partners. She laughed and then went right into gushing over the pool and how much more private it was than the main area. She said, “Of course, I prefer the ocean, but Skye is more of a pool gal.”
“Well, yeah, after that tumble you took on the Outer Banks, the ocean doesn’t hold as much appeal, does it?” Kayla said.
Skye had still been staring daggers at Mack, but at the mention of her childhood accident, she turned her gaze on Kayla. Her whole body softened, and she smiled. “You remember.”
Kayla said quietly, “Of course.”
Skye fully thawed in that moment, and it was incredible.
Her shoulders relaxed and so did her leg, coming to rest gently against Kayla’s.
She looked at Kayla like she used to. Like the moment of connection their eyes made was enough to keep her going.
She had a way of doing that. Of making Kayla feel like the two of them were the only ones who existed.
Like they could overcome anything together.
Kayla’s heart soared. This was it. This was what she’d been looking for.
A way in. A way to get everything back to the way it should be.
More than that, proof that Skye felt the same way.
That she still loved Kayla, too. It was exactly what Kayla needed.
She was on the right track and she wouldn’t let go.
Mack’s voice shattered the moment. “What happened in the Outer Banks? You do something stupid and nearly get yourself killed?”
Kayla whipped her head around to level an angry glare at her. “She was just a kid, Mack. Don’t be a jerk.”
Mack glared at her for a beat but then had the grace to look embarrassed. Kayla felt a little bad about snapping at her, but it wasn’t very fair of her to make assumptions about Skye. “You’re right. That was rude. I’m…sorry, Skye.”
Skye shrugged. “It’s fine. You don’t know the story.”
“Apparently I don’t either,” Amy said. “What happened?”
Skye fiddled with her napkin and Kayla couldn’t help but reach out to squeeze her hand. It wasn’t super shocking that Amy didn’t know. Skye hated to talk about her fear of the ocean. She much preferred everyone to think she was invincible.
“We went to the Outer Banks when I was a kid, around nine years old. I was playing in the ocean and not paying that much attention to the waves. All of a sudden there was this wave towering over me. I tried to swim away from it, but the undertow had me and I couldn’t get out.
It crashed right on my head, and I went under. ”
Skye went quiet, but everyone kept looking at her.
Kayla knew from experience what happened when Skye got too far into a story she didn’t want to tell.
She just clammed up and waited for the moment to pass.
But Kayla knew how it sounded to Mack and Amy.
She could practically hear their shrugs.
It didn’t sound scary when Skye stopped there, and she’d done that on purpose.
Kayla picked up the story. “She got rolled by the wave. Over and over, and she couldn’t get out.
Plus, she was underwater, so she couldn’t breathe.
When it finally stopped, she was disoriented, so she swam down instead of up and hit her head on a rock.
She lost consciousness and didn’t wake up until they were doing chest compressions on the beach. ”
“Oh my God. Skye, why didn’t you tell me?” Amy reached out and took Skye’s other hand.
Skye shrugged again. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Why the hell would you pick a beach resort for your wedding if you’re afraid of the ocean?” Mack asked, spitting the words.
“I didn’t. Kayla did.” Skye gave her a warm smile. “Or I guess I wanted to give Kayla a thing she wanted. I had this stupid notion of facing my fears.”
Kayla’s heart sped up as Skye’s eyes settled on her. How had she survived for so long without being the focus of that captivating stare? She held Skye’s other hand. “It wasn’t stupid. It was brave. And very sweet.”
Lost as she was in Skye’s smile, the sound of Amy’s voice made Kayla jump. “She really is sweet, isn’t she?”
Even with the limited light, Kayla could see the blush creep up Skye’s cheeks as she broke their eye contact and pulled her hand away. She was about to continue the praise when Mack snatched her wine glass up and grumbled, “Oh yeah, she’s a peach.”
The sarcasm was so unlike Mack and so jarring that it brought conversation to a crashing halt. Kayla glared over at her, but it was too late, the moment was gone for good. Kayla kicked her under the table, but Mack refused to meet her eye. Instead, she busied herself by refilling their wineglasses.
Amy smiled across the table, somehow immune to the grumpiness that Kayla’s obvious flattery had caused in Mack.
“So that’s how we all ended up here together.
But how did you and Skye meet? You know how this one is.
” She nudged Skye with a saccharine smile.
“She’s so closed-lipped. I’ve never heard the story. ”
Kayla laughed, her heart soaring at the memory. “Well, it was the same thing. Her being sweet.”
Mack said, “More like her being stupid.”
Skye and Amy shared a look. Kayla was going to have to calm Mack down before she ruined everything.
She turned to Mack, a smile plastered to her lips, but she hissed her words through her teeth to make her feelings clear.
“Don’t be jealous, sweetheart. After all, it’s all ancient history, isn’t it? ”
Mack squinted her annoyance, but kept her lips shut for the time being. Since she doubted it would last, Kayla dove right into the story. “We met running the Greenview Mountain trail. Well, I was running. Skye was jogging.”
Skye threw her head back and laughed. “See? That’s exactly how I got you to go out with me.” She smiled over at Amy, which forced a spike of irritation to shoot through Kayla. “I stopped to flirt, of course.”
“Of course,” Amy said.
“And she wouldn’t give me the time of day because she was timing herself,” Skye said.
“So, she figured out pretty early on that all she had to do was challenge me and that would catch my attention,” Kayla said.
“Well, you’re very competitive,” Skye said.
“So are you.”
“Guilty as charged.” Skye turned back to Amy and said, “I challenged her to a race up the mountain. If I won, she’d have to go on a date with me. Of course, I won.”