He wasn’t nervous—he could certainly handle his own against a drunk tourist. But he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.
Because Caleb was doing something he’d promised himself he’d never do.
He was leaving.
Caleb had officially closed up his diving school, and he’d hired Jessie to run the store for the remainder of the season. And then? Who knew.
But one thing was now clear. If he ever expected to stay with the people he loved, he’d have to leave his small-town life. Caleb had lost too many people because of his inability to consider a life outside of Starlight Ridge. A lot of the town had.
And Caleb wasn’t going to be yet another casualty. Not anymore.
Who knew, maybe he’d like New Mexico.
He pulled himself out of the water, first noticing that all his stuff was still where he had left it. At least he wasn’t going to have to deal with a thief.
Then he noticed a dark figure sitting on a small ledge a few yards down from where he was. Caleb switched on his headlamp and illuminated another diver preparing to slip into the water. Except they seemed nervous, rocking back and forth, like they were afraid of what they’d meet in the dark ocean.
“You ever been diving at night before?” he asked as he approached the tentative diver. It could be dangerous if it wasn’t something they’d done before. There were different precautions one had to take, and Caleb had a feeling this diver didn’t know about any of them.
The diver’s head snapped in Caleb’s direction, obviously startled, then they lifted their mask to better see him. Caleb stepped closer.
Those eyes.
“Bree?”
The diver stood, fully removing the mask and dropping it on the ground. “Hi.” She slipped off her fins and walked quickly toward him, but then winced. “Ouch. Shoes. I need shoes.” She did a little hopping run as she returned to where she had left her belongings.
“What are you doing?” he asked, approaching her. Love and yearning flooded through him, and all he wanted was to take her up in his arms and kiss the heck out of her.
“Protecting my feet,” she said, lifting a pair of flip flops and dangling them in the air.
Caleb glanced around. Bree hadn’t come with anyone, from what he could tell. “No, I mean—” He waved a hand through the air, like that would better convey his meaning. “This. The diving equipment. You. Here.”
Bree looked down at the wetsuit she wore. “Oh. That. Well…” She gave a small shrug, seemingly embarrassed, though once she started talking, it didn’t seem like she’d be able to stop. “I stopped by your place, but you weren’t there, and Jessie said you were leaving tonight and that if I wanted to talk to you, I’d have to go dive after you. I’ve never been night diving, but she said it was no different than diving in the day. And she gave me this cool headlamp to wear down there…” She paused to suck in a breath, and Caleb took that as his opportunity to break into the conversation.
“First off, I’m having a talk with Jessie about sending you out here, because you shouldn’t be night diving, especially alone,” he said. “Second…what are you even doing in Starlight Ridge in the first place?”
It may have come across as harsh, but his heart couldn’t handle beating around the bush and pretending everything was okay. Yeah, he had told her to take the job. It wasn’t like he had wanted to, though. He wasn’t going to be the one to keep her in a place she didn’t want to be—Bree deserved more than that. And she deserved a good job that challenged her skills rather than life as a glorified cashier. It had been hard to accept, but Caleb hadn’t wanted Bree to resent him for what she could have had.
Like his mother had resented his father.
It was also why his car was packed and ready for the long drive to New Mexico. He couldn’t hold Bree back, but he could go to her. It would mean a life away from the ocean. The thought of it tore at his soul, but it would be worth it.
Except, Bree was back. Caleb thought she was supposed to start her new job that day. He didn’t dare allow himself to hope, or at least he tried not to. The quickening of his pulse and the surge of excitement that swept through him betrayed him.
Bree looked away into the black night, and Caleb couldn’t tell where her gaze had landed. He wondered if it was just him she couldn’t stand to look at, but then her gaze snapped back. “Isn’t it obvious?”
If only it was. But Caleb really didn’t want to assume wrongly. Not when so much was at stake. “Not exactly.”
Bree held his gaze a moment, then stepped closer. A shiver ran up Caleb’s spine. The night was warm, but his wetsuit was still damp. He barely registered the cold, however, as he awaited what Bree had to tell him. This was why she had driven back to Starlight Ridge, wasn’t it? This moment? A moment that could change everything.
“I’m here…for you,” Bree finally said. Caleb’s heart stalled, but then collapsed when she said, “I was selfish to leave the way I did, leaving you to try to run your shop all by yourself, and knowing you couldn’t possibly manage your dive school at the same time.”
So. She had come back out of obligation. If that truly was the case, he wished she hadn’t come back at all.
“No need to worry,” he said, turning away and walking back to his abandoned belongings. “Jessie is helping out for the rest of the season.”
Bree didn’t follow him.
Caleb grabbed his towel and rubbed his hair with it. It didn’t do much to stave off the cold, but it at least gave him something to do, other than stare at Bree, wishing she could see him the same way he saw her. He didn’t hear her approach but felt a hand on his bicep. It involuntarily flexed, as if showing off his muscular physique would help Caleb’s situation. He glanced over his shoulder and took in Bree’s figure, illuminated against the background of the sea. The moonlight lit up her features.
Why did Bree have to come back? Watching her leave had been hard enough; now it was going to be impossible.
“You could have called,” he said, resuming his hair drying.
Bree stepped around Caleb so she now stood in front of him. “I could have. But that wouldn’t have been very romantic. Risking my life by diving in pitch black darkness, though? Totally swoon-worthy.” Her tone had a teasing lilt to it, and it lifted his heart at the same time. “Thank you for stopping me, by the way. I nearly passed out at just the thought of what could be down there.”
Caleb couldn’t help but laugh. “Why not wait until I resurfaced?”
“I couldn’t wait that long.” Bree then moved in quicker than Caleb would have thought possible, and her arms were suddenly around his waist, and her lips on his. Before he could register what was happening, she shot back. “Oh my gosh, you’re freezing. You need to get out of that wetsuit.”
With a numb nod, Caleb stripped off his suit, revealing his swim trunks. Normally after his night dives, he’d change out of those real quick, but not with Bree there. He was at least able to throw on a dry T-shirt, and that helped. He barely registered the mechanical movements, though, still stunned by Bree’s words and actions. They didn’t make sense. She moved in close again, but he stumbled back. Pain flitted across her features. “I don’t understand,” he said, his voice coming out husky. “You left.”
“And that was the biggest mistake of my life,” Bree said, sitting down on the rock, no longer trying to close the distance between them. She pulled her knees into her chest. “The second biggest mistake was that I hadn’t realized it until I was supposed to take the elevator up to the twelfth floor of my building this morning. I was a coward, like usual. Too afraid to admit the truth.”
“Which is?”
Bree released a dry laugh and shook her head, then shot him an exasperated side glance. “I’m in love with you.” Her gaze returned to the ocean. “Have been all along.”
Caleb sat next to her and took her hand, finally allowing himself to hope. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He knew he was being a hypocrite even asking that question. “Fo
rget I asked. It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, actually, it does.” Bree turned so she was looking at him. Her face was halfway shrouded by darkness, half lit by the moon. “I was afraid. Still am.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been more of a coward than you could ever be,” he said, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles.
Bree wrapped her fingers through his. “Oh, it’s a contest now?” she asked.
“Yup.” He sighed. “My mom left because she felt trapped by the small-town life. A few years ago, I was dating someone I had grown up with. She left for the same reason. And I was afraid—”
“That I’d do the same thing,” Bree said. “And then I left.”
“Pretty much.”
Bree leaned her head on his shoulder, and they sat in silence, staring at the reflection of the moon on the water. She suddenly sat up, catching Caleb by surprise. “Jessie said you’re leaving town.”
Oh, yeah.
“I’m moving,” he said.
Bree looked at him like he was a stranger. “But you love Starlight Ridge.”
“There are some things I love more.”
She was silent for a moment. “Oh.”
Caleb thought she’d have known he was talking about her. But per his usual, he hadn’t given her enough information, expecting her to understand without him saying it outright. “My bags are packed because I’m moving to New Mexico. To be with you.”
Bree’s lips opened in surprise. “B-but you can’t.”
Had Caleb somehow misunderstood? He’d thought she’d be excited. “Why not? I’m sure there’s a need for a diving school there.”
“Because I’m moving to Starlight Ridge. To be with you.”
It was Caleb’s turn to be surprised. “But what about your job?” It made no sense for her to be the one to upend her life. “You’ll feel trapped here. I’ll hold you back—”
Bree stopped his words with a kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled and said, “There you go again. Being all noble.” She snuggled into him, tilting her face up to the stars. “I don’t want my old job. Or my old life.”
Caleb smoothed down one of Bree’s hairs that was tickling his nose. “It’s okay if you do.”
“I know. But that’s not me. It never was.” She straightened and looked Caleb in the eyes. “All I want is to be with you. In Starlight Ridge. Being happy.”
Caleb cupped his hands around Bree’s face, loving the way her eyes shone at that moment. “And that’s enough for you?”
She smiled. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
26
“Are you sure we didn’t miss anything?” Bree asked, scanning the dive shop, like the answer would miraculously present itself. Everything was stocked, and Jessie would only need to handle the selling of the merchandise. Bree could do the rest when she and Caleb got back.
“Everything has been planned for, to the tiniest detail, thanks to my brilliant store manager,” Caleb said, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling his nose into her neck.
“But two weeks is a long time to be gone.”
“I know; look what happened to you. You came to Starlight Ridge for a two-week vacation, and a year later, you’re still here. And married, no less.” Caleb rubbed his thumb over her wedding ring, as if to prove his point. He spun Bree to face him. “We’ve put off our honeymoon long enough.”
Bree knew he was right. They’d married in May but had waited until October to finally get away on an Alaskan cruise. “I’ll relax once we’re gone. I promise,” she said, kissing Caleb long enough to distract him so she could slip from his arms. “But until then…” She walked to a wall on the far side of the store where all her framed photographs hung. “Do you think I printed enough? I have a whole box of them in the back, just in case.”
“I’d bet that we sell out of every one of your prints by the time we get back,” Caleb said.
“Tourist season is over,” Bree said, throwing him a smile.
“I know. But it’s not just the tourists who appreciate your talent.”
She turned her attention back to her photographs. It was hard to believe sometimes that she’d had a hand in creating something so beautiful. She knew it wasn’t really her—she hadn’t created the ocean or the dolphins. But Bree had been allowed to capture that beauty. And she was grateful for it. It had boosted the dive shop’s business, even during the off-season.
Some of the photographs in front of her were one of a kind, which she charged more for. But the more popular prints she created multiples of. Ones like the family of turtles she’d caught at just the right moment.
Of course, there were pictures she’d taken with her camera that weren’t on display—ones that were just for her and Caleb. Those hung in their small apartment above the store. Most of them had been taken when they’d first met—the one of her that Caleb had taken on her first hike up to Starlight Ridge, their first underwater selfie when she was still working on her scuba diving certification, and then, of course, their beach wedding.
The happiest moments of her life.
Epilogue
Isaac sat on the beach, enjoying the view. Despite sitting in the same spot day after day, making sure swimmers were safe and not venturing out too far, it never got old. It was what kept him sane.
He knew most of the town saw him as the typical surfer, never taking anything too seriously. Except the waves, of course. He always took those seriously. Isaac supposed it was better that way. If people knew what really went on in his head, they’d probably stage an intervention.
“I thought I’d find you here,” a female voice said, startling Isaac from his reverie. “Things haven’t changed much around Starlight, have they?”
Isaac froze. That voice. The one from his dreams. And nightmares.
He was afraid to turn, afraid of what he’d find. Part of him hoped she’d be there, home at last. Just like she’d promised. Isaac had said he’d wait for her. And he had.
But the other part of him?
Isaac didn’t move. “You said you’d be gone for three months. It was a summer apprenticeship.” His gaze remained on the horizon.
A long pause. Maybe he had imagined her voice, after all. But then she said, “I know. I’m sorry.” Another pause. “To be fair, when I told you it would take longer than I expected, you said you would wait—as long as it took.”
Isaac barked out a humorless laugh and allowed himself to glance down at the woman who stood at the bottom of the lifeguard station. Her hair was a shade darker than it had been, and she’d traded in her flip flops for high heels—not exactly appropriate for the beach. But she was as beautiful as the day she’d left.
“As you can see, I waited. I’m sitting in the same exact spot as when you left. Two years ago.” He shook his head. “You stopped calling, didn’t return my texts. I didn’t know if you were ever coming back—wondered why I was still here, when I didn’t have anyone left to stay for.”
“And yet you’re still here,” she said, her voice soft.
Isaac released a long sigh. “Yes, I’m still here.” He fell quiet, unsure what to say. He’d imagined this moment many times over the past two years. How they’d run toward each other like in the movies, and he’d sweep her off her feet.
But now that the moment was here?
All he felt was cold.
Did you enjoy Diving into Love? Read Isaac’s story in the next book of the Starlight Ridge series, Resisting Love.
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Arrested by Love takes place 25 years before Diving into Love, the first book of the Starlight Ridge series. In this novella, you’ll meet new residents, as well as see some much younger but familiar faces.
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* * *
Resisting Love
<
br /> He’d rather ride the waves than the tide of romance.
* * *
Isaac Larson is the picture of surfing perfection, killer smile included. But ever since his long-time girlfriend left their small town for the summer—and never came back—it has been harder to find things to smile about. It isn’t until she turns up on the beach two years later, ready to pick back up where they had left off, that he realizes he’s finally ready to move on.
* * *
Leanne Warner had only intended to spend the summer in LA. A screen-writing apprenticeship with a Hollywood bigwig had been too good an opportunity to pass up. Her boyfriend, Isaac, would still be around when she got back. Except, leaving LA hadn’t been as easy as leaving Starlight Ridge. When she finally breaks free of its chains and returns to her hometown, Isaac is still there, as she knew he would be. But he isn’t the same person as when she’d left. And neither is she.
* * *
Will some small-town intervention and a lot of forgiveness be enough for Isaac and Leanna to figure out they were never meant to be apart?
* * *
Resisting Love is the second book in the Starlight Ridge romance series. If you can’t get enough of small coastal towns, sweet kisses, and second chances at love, you’ll want to read this sigh-inducing love story.
* * *
Pick up Resisting Love and let Isaac and Leanne surf their way into your heart today!
Also by Kat Bellemore
BORROWING AMOR
Borrowing Amor
Borrowing Love
Borrowing a Fiancé
Borrowing a Billionaire
Borrowing Kisses
Borrowing Second Chances
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Diving into Love Page 18