The Project

CHAPTER15

“Ihave told you that I’ve never done this before, right?” Andi asked, fumbling with the goggles in her hands.

Chuckling, Travis took the goggles from her and carefully placed them on her head, adjusting the snorkel as he said, “And you grew up in Florida? Shame on you,” with a teasing smile.

“I don’t like going in water when there’s a possibility of being devoured by anything that can be nicknamed Jaws,” she said, nodding solemnly.

“You’ll be fine. I promise,” Travis said, chuckling as he shot her a wink and she found herself watching Devyn as he pushed away from the railing and joined the incredibly beautiful woman by his side while Andi stood there, unable to help but notice that their children would be beautiful.

“Just do what I showed you and you should be fine. Besides, if anything happens, I’ll be right there to keep you safe,” Travis said as she forced herself to look away from Devyn, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

Slowly exhaling, Andi said, “Okay,” forcing a smile as she pulled her goggles down and followed Travis into the cove, determined to stop thinking about Devyn and how much she liked the way that he-

Nope, she wasn’t going to do this.

She wasn’t going to stand here thinking about Devyn or how much she liked being around him, or the fact that the big jerk-face ditched her after she offered to share her hot cocoa with extra mini snowman marshmallows. She thought they were friends, but apparently, she was wrong and that was fine, more than fine. Because this was just a job and as long as she remembered that, she would be fine. She would focus on doing her job, learn everything that she could, and see what she could do with those files that Hillshire Hotels seemed to have forgotten about.

And then…

Then, she would show Devyn what she could do.

Until then, she was going to focus on something else besides work, Andi decided as she took a deep breath and slowly released it before biting down on the mouthpiece and followed Travis through the calm, cold water until it reached her hips and it was time to swim towards what looked like the remains of a mast sticking out of the water.

“Take a deep breath,” Travis said, shooting her a smile as he adjusted his snorkel and lowered himself into the water until the only thing above the water was his snorkel.

Taking a deep breath, Andi slowly lowered herself into the water and-

Felt her lips pull up into a smile when she saw the remains of the pirate ship scattered only a few feet below the surface. She watched as colorful fish swam through what was left of the ship, making their way around a cannon, over thick, barnacle-encrusted chains attached by a row of hooks to what remained of the side of the ship and ended abruptly in the sand just before the metal poles placed around the wreck with chains linked between them, warning swimmers to swim at their own risk. She took her time swimming over the wreck, taking in the sand that swallowed most of the wreck whole, the colorful fish racing from one end to the other only to suddenly scatter and gather again seconds later, the large seashells scattered along the wreck, the large hole in the side of the ship that she would love to explore and couldn’t remember the last time that she felt this relaxed.

When Travis gestured for her to follow him, she didn’t hesitate. Taking a deep breath, Andi followed him down to the wreck, and swam through the remains of walls, stairs, and around the mast, coming up for air every other minute before continuing to explore the wreck, running her fingertips over shells, through the light brown sand, the walls, the mast, and the chains before coming back up for air and going back down again. This time, Travis led her through the large hole in the side of the ship, making her smile as she watched yellow, orange, and blue fish race out the other side, following Travis as he made his way back up to the surface and-

Ouch!

Wincing, Andi looked over her shoulder to see what cut her only to realize that she was caught on something. She reached back to free herself from whatever was caught on her suit only to realize that it was out of her reach.

Damn it!

She was stuck on something sharp, Andi realized, struggling to reach it as she started signaling to Travis for help only to realize that he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Trying not to panic and admittedly failing miserably, Andi kept reaching back even as she tried to pull away, twisting and turning as she struggled to ignore the way that her lungs burned, desperate for air. She needed to get this suit off, Andi realized, giving up on trying to break free and reached back, blindly searching for the zipper pull as she searched desperately for Travis.

Where the hell was he? Andi wondered as she finally managed to grab hold of the zipper pull and yanked it down only to realize that it was stuck. Oh, God…

She was going to die, Andi realized, the words racing through her head as she struggled to pull free. Every pull, wiggle, and strain caused sharp pain to tear through her back, but she didn’t care. She needed to break free. She needed to-

The air rushed out of her lungs as pain tore through her chest, leaving her struggling not to breathe in. God, she was so close to the surface. Just a few feet and she could breathe. This wasn’t happening. Oh, God, please! Andi thought as she squeezed her eyes shut only to open them and find herself looking into Devyn’s determined eyes as he pulled her goggles off her head along with the snorkel before he cupped her face and covered her mouth with his.

Cradling her face in his hands, Devyn slowly breathed into her mouth. When she felt his lips pull away from hers, she pressed her lips tightly together and held her breath. His eyes locked with hers as he reached behind her and pulled, the muscles in his arms bulging as he yanked, pain tearing through her back with every move, but it wouldn’t give.

Jaw clenched, Devyn pulled his hands free, his eyes never leaving hers, he quickly made his way to the surface only to return seconds later, covering her mouth with his again as he reached back around her, yanking on her suit, trying to pull it free as he breathed into her mouth. He kept doing that, pulling on her suit, trying to free her before he resurfaced just long enough to take another breath and came back for her.

He kept coming back.

As she struggled to break free, Andi noted the strain around his eyes before he moved around her, yanking harder as she reached up and pushed against the broken board above her, ignoring the sharp pain tearing through her hands and back. She kept pushing even when Devyn was forced to stop and swim back to the top, but before she could panic, he was back, covering her mouth with his and slowly breathing into her mouth as he reached back and-

Released her.

Wrapping his arms around her, Devyn moved them through the water, his mouth never leaving hers as she felt his lips move against hers, brushing against hers once, twice, and then-

“Breathe,” Devyn said, pressing his forehead against hers when they finally broke the surface and she couldn’t seem to get enough air, “just breathe.”