“We’re okay,” Dane said. “Thanks, Vanny.”
Vanny. She loved the way they were there for one another and the way Savannah looked at her, with tenderness in her green eyes that matched Dane’s concern—absent of judgment and filled with empathy.
“Okay. Hugh’s got everything under control, so take your time.” She came to the side of the bed and touched Lacy’s shoulder. “The first time I had to meet with a celebrity, I had a panic attack. I was struck numb. It took me twenty minutes to remember my name.” She smiled. “I think it’s a show of strength in some ways.” She shrugged when Lacy crinkled her nose in question. “Think about it. It’s easy to be suave and cool, but it takes real courage to come back after falling flat in front of others.” She bent down and whispered in Lacy’s ear, as if she had read her mind, “Hang in there. He’s worth it.”
Lacy looked at her then and was surprised when Savannah squeezed her shoulder. She smiled again, feeling the warmth and generosity of another Braden. She watched Savannah leave the room and took a deep breath.
“She’s so nice to me,” she said.
“She likes you. I can tell.” Dane placed his hand beneath her chin and lifted her face so she was looking into his eyes. “I like you.”
She smiled and dropped her eyes. I like you too—too much. They sat quietly for the next few minutes, the boat moving swiftly, the gentle rocking soothing Lacy’s worry.
“It was a shark,” she said, touching her scar. “I was seven.”
“I wondered,” he said, and covered her hand with his.
“Why?”
“At first I wasn’t sure. It could have been a rock-climbing accident, or maybe a viscous fight with sandpaper—that you lost. I work with sharks, Lacy. There isn’t much I haven’t seen.”
“Right.” Of course you’d know.
“It could have been a hundred things, but when I saw your reaction to Savannah’s comments and the way you reached for your scar. You were kicking your feet, thrashing around like you were swimming, which is very different from running, I might add.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
“We were in Bora Bora, at this restaurant, which was more like a hut on stilts. I jumped into the water next to the kitchen.” Her eyes remained trained on her scar.
“And that’s where they threw the excess and rotten fish and meat, which drew the sharks,” he said.
“How did you know?” How did my parents not know?
“You’re talking about twenty years ago, on a remote island. It’s not like the United States, where everything is micromanaged. I’ve done a lot of research, Lacy. There’s little that I haven’t heard about or seen when it comes to sharks.” He placed his hand on her scar, and when she tried to move it away, he held firm. “Sharks don’t go looking for humans, Lace. You were in their chum bucket. I wish you would have told me.”
So you could end it before we even got started? You can’t get serious with someone who is afraid of sharks. “I didn’t realize I was that afraid,” she said honestly.
“You went into the water seamlessly in Nassau.”
He held her gaze, and Lacy could see that he was waiting for an explanation of some sort. She sifted through her mind, reaching for something, anything that might explain why the fear returned at that moment—but she drew a blank and finally looked away. “I don’t understand any of it.” But I know now that it’s a problem—a big problem.
“We’re all afraid of something,” he said.
Lacy inched away from the safety of his arms. It wasn’t fair to allow him to be close to her. After what she’d just experienced, she was keenly aware that the fear was bigger than any emotion she could control. Or maybe even overcome. Dane deserved to be with someone he could share his life with, and his life meant his work, his travels—his career. I can’t let myself fall for you any more than I already have. We can’t be together. I can’t ruin your life. God help me.
Chapter Eight
IN THE SAFETY of her room at the inn, Lacy flopped across her bed facedown and buried her head under a pillow. Less than five minutes later, she was startled by several frantic knocks on the door. She groaned into the mattress.
“I know you’re in there, Lacy. Open up.”
Kaylie.
“Go away,” Lacy yelled into the mattress. She didn’t really want Kaylie to go away, but she didn’t want to get up from the safety of her hiding place. If only she could hide there forever.
“Open up or I’ll tell housekeeping that I’m afraid you’re committing suicide and they’ll open the door.”
Lacy reluctantly climbed off the bed and threw the door open. “You are such a drama queen.”
Kaylie rushed in, grabbed Lacy’s hand, and pulled her over to the bed, where they sat side by side.
“How did you even know I was here?” Lacy asked, wanting to crawl beneath her covers and hide again.
Kaylie’s skin had already turned golden brown from just one afternoon in the sun. She wore her hair in a high ponytail, which swung from side to side with each of her fast movements. “Savannah texted Josh and told him that Hugh was bringing the boat in and asked him to find me and Danica. She was worried about you.”
Lacy groaned and fell backward on the bed, covering her face with her hands. “I’m mortified.”
Kaylie got up to answer another knock at the door.
“Where is she?” Danica pushed past Kaylie and rushed to Lacy’s side. “Are you okay? How are you feeling? What happened?”
“Give her time to breathe,” Kaylie said with a sigh.
“I just want to go home.” Lacy sat up and faced her sisters’ concerned glares.
“You poor girl,” Danica said. She sat down beside Lacy and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.
“She had a panic attack. She didn’t break a leg,” Kaylie said. She plopped down next to Lacy. “She’s embarrassed, not hurt. She flipped out in front of Dane. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”
“May I just remind you that I passed out on my wedding day?” Danica cast a harsh glare at Kaylie.
“Yeah, yeah. And I went into labor at my baby shower.” Kaylie’s twins, Lexi and Trevor, were now three years old.
“Can we focus on me for a minute?” Lacy said louder than she meant to. “Danica, what the hell happened to me? Savannah was talking about seeing sharks, and suddenly I was seven years old again. I don’t get it. After twenty years? Why did it all come back like that?” Lacy shook her head and twisted out from between her sisters. She rose to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, pacing in her cover-up and bathing suit. “What am I going to do now?”
“What do you mean? It’s almost four o’clock. Shower, dress, and we’ll go to the family function, have dinner, and move past it,” Kaylie said. She walked to Lacy’s closet. “Want me to help you get ready?”
“Jesus, Kay. Give her a minute to figure this out.” Danica rose and leaned against the dresser. “Lacy, it was a panic attack. That’s not all that uncommon, and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Oh, right. A guy like Dane doesn’t need to deal with a girl who’s afraid of the one thing he deals with every day. A guy like Dane doesn’t need someone who freaks out without any warning. A guy like Dane—” Lacy swallowed past the growing lump in her throat. When had she begun to care so much?
Danica stood before her, stopping her from her frantic pacing. “A guy like Dane cared enough to ask me to check on you.”
“A guy like Dane is lucky to date you, sis,” Kaylie said. “I don’t care if he’s gorgeous and wealthy. You’re stunning, smart, funny, and incredibly sexy.” She winked, and Lacy couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re my sisters. You’re supposed to make me feel better.” She covered her face with her hands and groaned.
“Don’t worry. I’m right here, and I’ll stay with you all night if you need me to,” Danica assured her.
“What if it wasn’t a panic attack? What if it’s something else? Something worse?” She gasped a breath. “What if—”
Danica grabbed her shoulders. “Breathe, honey, or you’ll end up all anxious again. This all makes sense.”
“Did he really ask you to check on me?” Of course he did. She thought of the concern she’d heard in his voice and the empathy she’d seen in his eyes when she’d regained her focus on the boat.
“He really did,” Danica answered.
“He probably wanted to make sure that I wasn’t an insurance liability,” Lacy snapped. She didn’t believe her own words, but she couldn’t allow herself to continue to think about Dane as a prospective boyfriend and lover anymore. It would be a mistake to get any closer to him. She needed to forget how comfortable things were between them and the way he was so attentive to her. Lacy had to let him go. She couldn’t be a noose around his neck, and the last thing she wanted was to be around sharks now that she knew how deeply the fear was seeded. She had to concentrate on getting home, where she could lose herself in her work and focus on things other than the feel of his lips on her skin or the strength of his arms as he held her. Stop it!