“But they weren’t rumors, were they?” She raises challenging eyebrows, and I suddenly realize what she’s doing. She’s smart, diverting the conversation away from herself. She nearly got away with it.
“I asked if you wanted to talk about it.”
“The rumors?”
“Lainey,” I sigh. “Stop bloody fighting me at every turn.” Leveling serious eyes on her, I raise my own eyebrows. “What happened?”
“I can’t swim,” she offers easily, but she doesn’t seem to find looking at me easy, choosing to drop her gaze again.
I can’t deny her the need to hide. But what’s bothering me is that she’s embarrassed. “Okay,” I say easily. “We’ll do something else.”
“I went in the water after being badgered by—”
“I said it’s okay.”
She doesn’t listen, going on to explain. “He said we’d stay near the shore and he’d hold on to me, but he didn’t.”
“He?”
“My ex-husband.”
Blood, meet heat. My nostrils flare dangerously, though Lainey misses it completely, going on.
“He left me to go snorkeling. The current got stronger and I panicked. He thought I was joking when I flailed around trying to keep my head above water. I wasn’t. He left me. Just left me, and I was pulled out of the sea by a guy who was jet-skiing.” She finally comes to a stop and scowls to herself. “He knew I didn’t like the water. I told him so.”
I don’t even know what to do with that, except, maybe, ask who her arsehole ex is so I can hunt the fucker down and drown him. And I’ll make sure there’s no one around to save the lowlife, either. My teeth grate and I try to breathe some calm into myself before I say something stupid. Like ask her more about her ex. He hurt her, and this is just adding to the list of shit I’ve got to hold against him. “Was this before you got married?”
She nods.
“Why would you marry someone who was so careless with your life?”
“Do you think I’m pathetic?”
“No.” I shake my head, frowning as I glance away. “Ouch,” I yell when Lainey smacks my shoulder. “What was that for?”
“I can see what you’re thinking.”
“What was I thinking?” I challenge, rubbing my arm as I cock my head in question.
“You think I’m pathetic.”
“I don’t think you’re pathetic,” I argue. “Why did you marry him?” I ask again, realizing she avoided the question. How could someone so vibrant marry such a scrote?
She sighs, nibbling her lip. “Mum and Dad were moving to Australia and taking Martha with them. She was a kid. Didn’t have much choice. Andrew said he loved me.” Lainey frowns, and she laughs. “He loved controlling me, that’s what he loved.”
I’ve heard enough. None of it matters; it’s all in the past, but regardless, I’m going to chase the remnants of Lainey’s painful history away. She deserves that and more. I place my finger over her lips to stop her from going on. I see the desperation in her eyes. I see hope. “I’m going to teach you how to swim.”
“Oh, no.” She shakes her head vehemently, refusing point-blank. “I hate water.”
“Lainey, in order to conquer a fear, you have to face it.”
“I don’t want to. I don’t need to.” She starts backing away, looking over her shoulder. “I live on land, and I don’t plan on changing that.”
I chuckle a little, whether appropriate or not, but damn, she’s just the most adorable thing I’ve ever encountered. The compulsion I have to conquer her fear can’t be ignored. “I promise we’ll take it slow.”
Her gaze darts to mine, and I see her read between the lines of my statement. “How slow?”
“As slow as you need,” I promise, even if what I actually want to do is dive in feet first, so to speak. I hold my hand out to her. “I’ll be gentle with you, Lainey.”
Trust. I see it slowly form in her eyes as she reaches for my hand. Gratification overcomes me. “Okay,” she says quietly, making me smile. “Promise not to leave me.”
“I swear.” I don’t plan on letting her down.
Not in the pool.
Or on dry land.
SHE LETS ME LEAD HER out of my apartment, my pace unhurried as I head to the pool. I glance back every now and then, checking up on her, and each time she smiles faintly in a silent sign that she’s okay. It’s only when I push the door open into my pool area that I feel her reluctance in the form of a tight squeeze of my hand. Comforting Ty kicks in, and I cuddle her into my side as I walk us around the pool toward the loungers, making sure we’re well away from the edge. Her eyes are fixed on the water the whole way, one arm looped around my back, the other around my front, as if I’m her lifejacket. I’m fine with that. Her hold is solid, and through our closeness, I can feel her trembling. Her fear is deep. I suspect she’s as frightened of water as she is of exposing her heart to me. I intend to conquer both of those fears.
“Here,” I say, detaching her from my body with some effort and encouraging her to sit on the edge of a lounger. Her stare doesn’t move from the water, as she eyes it with an almost dirty glare.
I grab some towels from the nearby cupboard and throw them on the lounger. Then I stand in front of her and strip, smiling when she cranes her neck to see past me and keep her gaze on the pool. “Up here, beautiful,” I prompt once I’m naked, snapping her from her staring standoff with the pool.
Her eyes are big, round, and full of fear. “What now?” she asks nervously, not even acknowledging my nakedness. It’s a first, I can tell you.
“You can watch me for a while, if you like?”
“You’re going to swim?”
“Yes.” I edge toward the pool and take the steps, watching her watch me as I slowly sink beneath the water. Tilting my head back, I wet my hair and sweep it off my face with both hands. Such a move should send a woman delirious to the point she’s diving in to join me, but Lainey doesn’t even blink, her face remaining straight but nervous. “See, I can touch the bottom.” I indicate to my midriff where the water comes to.
“But it gets deeper?”
“At the other end, yes. But we can stay in this end.”
“I’d rather stay here.” She sits back in demonstration, crossing her legs in front of her and resting her elbows on her knees.
“You can stay there,” I agree, bending my legs and sinking beneath the water to my shoulders. “For now.”
“Forever,” she retorts, and I laugh, treading water as she watches me. “Do you swim often?”
“Most days,” I reply. “It’s great exercise.”
“So is the gym. Or jogging. Or cycling.”
“This is my preference above all others. A bit like you are my preference, too.”
She smiles, satisfied. “You’re—”
“So smooth, I know.” I flick my head in gesture. “Come on. Get those clothes off.”
“By all means.” She takes the bottom of her top and pulls it up over her head, tossing it to the tiles by the lounger. “But I’m still not coming in.”