by Anne Leigh
Copyright © 2013 Anne Leigh
This is an e-book property of Anne Leigh. All rights reserved, unless permitted by the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. This cannot be reproduced, stored, transmitted, or copied in any way, shape, or form, without the permission of the author.
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to peoples living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, pigments, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. The author is NOT affiliated with real life swimming organizations, rules, regulations, and international governing bodies.
The author respectfully acknowledges all registered trademarks and owners of trademarked products that may have been included in this work of fiction.
Works Cited:
Hecht, A.V. “A Hill.” The Hard Hours. Atheneum (New York, New York), 1967.
Cover: Okay Creations
Interior Design: Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats
Editing: Katie Mac and KMS Editing
ISBN E-BOOK: 9781301804665
Unexpected Series
Love Unexpected
Love Unmatched
Love Untouched
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
What’s In a Name?
Thank You from the Bottom of My Heart
About the Author
To my husband: Because you tell me to enjoy what I do.
To my readers: Because you tell me you enjoy what I write.
More than thirteen years ago…
I took a deep breath, jumped as high as I could, threw my arms up in the air, and rotated my body backwards as I entered the water headfirst. I felt the swirl of the water hit me as I sank further underneath. I kept my knees tucked together for a clean finish.
Whew! What a great flip!
As I swam upwards for air, I blew bubbles out of my nose. This was the best part—the bubbles that formed underneath the water. I loved blowing bubbles in the water. They were way better than those bottled bubbles where you had to blow through a straw to create them.
I pulled on the bottom of my goggles to let the water out. I needed new ones. These old goggles weren’t serving their purpose anymore.
“What’s your name?” I thought I heard a voice before I sank down under the water again. There were too many beginners at the Santa Monica Aquatic Center today. They stayed in the beginners’ pools, but I still didn’t like having too many of them around. I’d have to let my dad know that I’d like to change my practice times. The noise that they made distracted me.
As I re-surfaced for air, I heard the voice again. “Hey, I asked you, what’s your name?”
I pulled my goggles off my head. Was that voice talking to me?
I rubbed my eyes and swam towards the voice. A scrawny girl in a blue swimsuit sat on the side of the pool with her feet hanging over the edge, forming circles in the water. She had long, dark hair that was stuck to her face. I paddled my feet to get closer to her. She was the only one without a gaggle of other kids around her.
“Are you deaf?” She huffed as she pushed her hair away from her face. I squinted my eyes to look at her. The sun’s reflection in the water was blinding my view of her. When I finally got a closer look at her face, I was mesmerized. Her nose was scrunched and her forehead was wrinkled into a frown, but her eyes were what drew me in. Wow! They were not blue or green. Were they... violet?
I swam closer to her. Who was she? She was new here. Obviously, she didn’t know that some boys liked to be left alone. Boys like me.
I continued to ignore her. She splashed her feet, and since I was so close, her action caused water to get inside my mouth that was wide open because I was about to say something to her. This girl was annoying. I spat the water out, and moved to her right, ready to climb up and leave.
“Fine. I guess you don’t want to tell me your name,” she said with a snicker, “It’s cool with me. But can you just show me how to do the flip that you did a couple of minutes ago?”
I didn’t answer her. I placed both of my hands on the concrete to push myself up and leave. I was not one for chatting it up with a girl who could not do basic back flips, even if she had unique-colored eyes. Especially if that girl splashed pool water into my mouth.
“What if we make a bet?” Her tiny voice was clear against all the noise.
That stopped me. I liked bets. That was how I got my baseball cards–they were going to be collector’s items one of these days. I always won when someone bet against me.
“What kind of bet?” I asked as I sat beside her. She was still kicking her legs under the water.
“Now, you’re talking to me?” She said, “I don’t know; you make it up. If I win, you tell me your name and teach me how to do the flip. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about our bet. See my dad over there?” She pointed towards a big guy who sat on a bench, reading a newspaper. “He wants me to make friends. I just want to be alone so I can read my books. But, he won’t stop bringing me here until I make some. If he sees me talking to you, he’s gonna think I’m making friends so he’ll be happy.”
This girl talked too much.
“Stay here,” I said and walked up to where my jeans were and took out a quarter from one of the pockets.
“Do you know how to swim?” I asked. Her chin was turned up. She was cute. If she visited my school, she’d have tons of guys crushing on her.
She nodded.
“Okay, if you can find this quarter when I drop it, I will tell you my name and teach you the backflip that I just did.” She was going to chicken out. Girls chickened out all the time.
She stood up and said, “Go ahead. Throw it.”
The pool was only 8-feet deep. I shrugged my shoulder. Fine, she was going for it. We’ll see if she could find it.
I threw the quarter. She jumped into the water.
She did know how to swim, right? Seconds passed and her head was not surfacing. Shoot. Maybe she didn’t know how to swim. What did I just do? I didn’t mean to hurt her. I jumped in the water but the lifeguard was faster than I was.
Next thing I knew, she was being pulled up from the water, and the lifeguard was placing his hand on her chest after laying her body on the ground. He pushed his hands on her chest and a few seconds later, she sputtered water from her mouth and nose, coughing it all out. Her dad was now by her side. He looked scared and panicked.
Her dad hugged her and asked, “Why did you do that?” She didn’t respond.
Then, he was scolding her, “You know better than to do something like that! You scared me! Go get your clothes. We’re going home.”
She lightly nodded her head and walked towards the chair where a pile of clothes was stacked. Her shoulders were slumped. It was not fair for her to get yelled at. She must have been scared, and now her dad was upset at her, too.
Her dad was still talking to the lifeguard. I walked towards her and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”
She hugged her hands to her chest. “I’m okay. But I didn’t find your quarter.”
; I reached my hand out to her. “I’m Kieran. I’m sorry I made you do that.” She took my hand and shook it.
She let out a small smile. “Kieran–that’s a cool name.”
“I got really scared when you didn’t come up.” The last thing I wanted was for her to drown while searching for the stupid quarter that I dropped at the bottom of the pool.
“Me too. I couldn’t move my legs.” She gathered up her clothes in her hands and started walking towards the bathroom to change.
I felt so bad. She really could have drowned because of me.
“Hey, what’s your name?” I asked, following her steps.
“Sedona.”
She turned around and smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat when she smiled.
“Do you like Super Mario Brothers, Sedona?” I loved Super Mario Brothers. My friends and I were crazy for Mario and Luigi. Maybe girls liked them, too.
She smiled again. Her eyes turned a prettier color when she did that. I found myself wanting to make her smile more.
“I play with them all the time,” she answered. I heard her dad call her name. He wanted her to hurry up so that they go home.
“Are you going to be here next Saturday?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
“Okay, then I’ll bring my Super Mario Brothers trading cards. I have some really cool ones. I can show them to you. If you like them, I can give you some.” She was cool. She didn’t tell her dad that I was the one who bet against her and that was why she almost drowned.
“Cool.” She grinned and then touched my hand. I didn’t move away. “Kieran, you still have to teach me that thing you did earlier.”
“Sure,” I agreed. She left to change into her clothes. She was cooler than a lot of other girls. She didn’t back down from a challenge and she was still nice to me, even after I made her jump into the pool so that I could teach her a basic move like a back flip.
I waited for her to get out of the bathroom. When she came out, she was wearing a pink shirt with funky-looking shorts. She giggled and mumbled, “You know, Kieran, I think we’re gonna be great friends.”
I smiled at her. “I don’t think so. You’re a girl and I’m a boy.” She continued walking and I found myself walking beside her.
“So? I’ve always wanted a friend and a brother. It’s even better because you swim really well.”
“Uh-huh.”
She reached for my hand, and told me, “I know it. You’re going to be my friend.”
I kept quiet. I just couldn’t shake off that funny, weird feeling in my chest that maybe she was right.
“I wish to meet a rock star.”
~J.M., age 9, leukemia
The first time I met Brynn Tanner, I thought of one thing: GOLD.
Element number 79. My best friend, Sedona—or Ace as I liked to call her—had drilled that into my head when she was memorizing the Table of Elements for Science class. It was her favorite element. Silver came in a close second.
Brynn shone like gold.
I was visiting Ace at her New York apartment, lounging around and watching TV, when I caught a glimpse of her. Ace had made casual remarks about Brynn when we talked over the phone but my attention was probably elsewhere, or she had failed to mention that her roommate was gorgeous.
Brynn came in carrying some polka-dotted box, and as soon as she uttered, “Cupcakes,” I saw Ace’s eyes go wide and there was probably drool forming in her mouth.
I stood up and walked over to them, and as soon as she turned her face towards me, I thought of... gold.
She had long, golden hair that framed her face, her lips were pink, and her cheeks were rosy. But, her eyes...They reminded me of my favorite place–the water. They were so blue. Liquid blue. She smiled at me, and whoa, a dimple appeared on the left side of her face.
Ace was saying something and it took me five seconds to regain my composure to even reply, “Whatever Ace told you, I’m ten times better than that.” Her blue eyes glittered with amusement and her pink lips pursed.
Wow, she was even prettier when she smiled.
She gave me her hand and I shook it, but not without gliding a fingertip or two over her palm.
She must not have noticed, or if she did, she ignored it. She had that pull on me. I couldn’t quite place it but it was instantaneous. I’ve met a lot of beautiful women in my life. But Brynn was different. It was as if she was luminous. Something lit her up inside, seeping through to the surface, and she just shone.
She started to tell me that her brother was a swimmer. Curiosity got the best of me so I asked who her brother was. After all, I have been in the swimming circuit since I was nine, so I’ve met a lot of competitive swimmers in my life.
When she blurted out, “Milo Tanner,” a burn started inside my throat that made me want to gag.
Asshole.
Moron.
Idiot.
Milo Tanner.
Frozen water numbed my insides. “Nice to meet you, Brynn.”
I made sure to avoid her after that. I stayed with Ace for two days and we had tons of fun visiting all of the places in New York. At night, when I tried to sleep, I heard Brynn rummaging through the kitchen. I could not deny her presence. She affected me in a way that was foreign to me. I brushed it off, but I still found myself thinking of her. Sure, she was a pretty woman. One of the prettiest women I’ve met, if I was honest to myself. But, her being Milo Tanner’s sister, pretty or not, meant there was red caution tape around her.
Do not cross the line, Kieran. Ever.
She was Brynn. But Tanner was her last name.
To me, she was untouchable.
This was the second time I was meeting Brynn.
I saw her earlier. She was trying to fix her shoe or something. Out of all the wedding guests, I noticed Brynn right away because she was the only one that glowed. When she started to look up, I looked straight ahead, my eyes shifting away from hers.
She was wearing a light blue dress that fitted her body perfectly. Her blonde hair was arranged in some type of a bun. It was a great look for her but I thought she looked sexier with her hair down, spilling over her shoulders.
Shut those thoughts down, Kieran. Right now.
Do not even think of her as sexy.
I was standing on the side of the flower-decorated arbor, waiting for Ace to come out in her wedding dress. Tanya and Nalee, Ace’s bridesmaids, flanked my right. Zander, Xavier, John, and Dom stood on the left side of the minister. An excited tension filled the air – everyone wanted to get a glimpse of the bride. A bride who had time to text me minutes before Shawn Colvin’s ‘When You Know’, her cue to walk down the aisle, filled the air.
Ace was worried that Sofia was going to misbehave. She texted me earlier to be on the lookout if Sofia started getting fussy in her grandmother’s arms. I thought it was funny. Sofia was a well-behaved baby. She never seemed to cry around me. Ace was just a worrywart.
I heard the music playing and saw Ace walking towards us with her dad, Mr. M. Ace looked so beautiful. She always did. But this time, she looked like a princess from one of those Disney movies that she had forced me into watching with her when we were kids. She smiled at me and I smiled back. Her face radiated with so much happiness. Her violet eyes were shining brilliantly and then her gaze landed on Zander.
Once their gazes locked, it was as if the whole world around them was non-existent. She looked at him with so much love. And Zander was the same. He voiced out earlier that Ace was the only woman for him. I believed that. Two hundred percent. They were made for each other.
I felt a pang in my chest. One that I haven’t felt in such a long time.
Years ago, if you had asked me whom I thought I would marry, I would have said, “The girl with the piercing violet eyes.” But, the look on her face at this exact moment was the reason why she was not the one for me.
When Ace gazed at Zander, she was completely enthralled. Like her life started and ended with him. She never looked at m
e that way. Not even once. Maybe it was not meant for me. No woman would ever see me that way. Like I was her world. Like I was her alpha, beta, and omega all in one. Like I was the only one for her.
Why Ace would seat me with Brynn was unthinkable.
Ace was relatively smart. Well, fine, genius, but she could really be a dunzo at some things.
I thought I told her that I didn’t like being around Brynn.
So here I was, stuck at Table # 4, with Douglas, Peter, and their dates, and yes, Brynn... and her plus-one.
Everyone introduced themselves to each other at our table. Well, actually, Brynn and her whatever were the only ones who our set of college friends had not met so they were the ones who introduced themselves to us.
It was probably rude but I made sure that I was intently concentrating on the bride/groom sweetheart table when Brynn started saying her “doofus” date’s name. Jeff or something.
I saw him touch her elbow earlier and her pearly whites appeared on her face.
What time was this reception over? Why should I even be concerned about her and her date? Maybe it was because I didn’t have a plus-one. I didn’t think of bringing a plus-one because, well, no one came to mind. In my RSVP to Ace and Zander’s wedding invite, I wrote “my wedding gift” in the plus-one column. It meant that they were saving money because I didn’t have a guest. Ace called me and laughed about it. She would not be laughing when she realized that I didn’t have a wedding gift for her. Actually, I did. I just didn’t know how she and Zander would react when the pool installer/builder came knocking on their door to install the new infinity pool I had ordered. Zander had mentioned that they were moving from a townhouse to a house so I thought it was a pretty cool gift. Baby Sofia would want to learn how to swim one of these days so when she was ready, Uncle Kieran would be all set to instruct her at the pool that he gave her parents as a wedding gift. Everyone else probably gave some sort of pot, pan, useless gift card, or whatever crap. I gave the coolest gift out of all them. It wasn’t just for a regular pool. It was for an infinity pool that required extensive structural and architectural details. I was just hoping that the house they had purchased was not in the middle of the desert. I’ve never been to Minnesota, but from what I’ve heard, water exists there so yeah, the Zobowski’s will appreciate my gift.