Seal With a Kiss by Jessica Andersen Read Free Book Online Page B

had been great. Then Brody had married Maddy.
    And everything had changed.
    It wasn't that she wanted Brody for herself-their
brief relationship had been a big snore because they
knew each other too well-but his marriage had been
a shock to the trio of friends.
    After Smitty's marriage failed and Violet rejoined
the group without any rekindling of their romance, it
had seemed obvious to her that marine researchers just weren't cut out for marriage. They were on the
water too many months out of the year, and cared
more for the ocean than they did for most people.

    The founding members of Dolphin Friendly were
all single, and they liked it that way. Or did they?
    Standing on the sidelines while Brody and Maddy
recited their vows, Violet had felt an unexpected and
unwelcome tug. She'd wanted a family once. Maybe
not as much or as quickly as Smitty had wanted one,
which had been the big stumbling block between
them, but she'd wanted kids. Wanted a husband who
cared if she came home from sea every now and then.
She rarely saw her own family anymore, and when
she did, they asked careful questions and "tsked"
when she said she didn't have anyone and grandchildren weren't in the forecast.
    She'd glanced at Smitty and thought she saw her
own regrets mirrored in his face. She had wondered
whether he would someday marry again and once
again leave her the odd man out in Dolphin Friendly.
    The next day-when Brody and Maddy were off
on their extended honeymoon-she had filled
Smitty's diving duffel with shaving cream. And the
battles had begun.
    "What're you thinking about, Vi?"
    She looked over and saw that Smitty's rubber tube
had drifted close to hers. His hair was wet, darkening his sun-bleached highlights to a rich chestnut. He
pushed her tube ever so gently, making her spin. She
let her head fall back and felt her hair dip in the
water. Felt the familiar liquid surround her. God, she
loved the water. The coolness caressed her scalp and
made her think of being under the ocean. In every
image in her mind's eye, Smitty was diving at her
side.

    And suddenly she wanted to tell him what she was
thinking. She wanted to know whether he felt the
same way about Brody and Maddy, whether he ever
wondered what it would have been like if he'd waited
for her rather than running off with Ellen two weeks
after that fateful day at the water park.
    She wanted to know if he ever thought of her that
way now.
    "Vi? Mackerel for your thoughts."
    It was an old private joke.
    "I was thinking of Brody and Maddy's wedding. . ." she began, then paused to gather her
thoughts, struck by sudden indecision. What if he
didn't feel the way she did? What if he hadn't noticed the way things had changed within Dolphin
Friendly? What if he didn't care?
    But she didn't get a chance to continue. Smitty's
face twisted and his eyes shut once, as though he
were in pain. "Oh. Yeah, right. Brody."

    With a lurch, he slid off his inner tube and grabbed
hers as well, dragging her into the shallow side of
the lazy river, over to where a cluster of signs pointed
to the next group of rides. He asked, "Ready for the
Tidal Wave?" and boosted her onto dry land before
she could answer.
    "I-" Not really, she wanted to say. I wanted to
talk to you about Brody and Maddy. About us. About
Dolphin Friendly. About why we always fight and
what we could maybe do to change it.
    And it was then that Violet realized why she absolutely, positively could not voice the crazy feelings
that had started creeping up on her just after that
wedding. Why there was no way she and Smitty
could try to pick up where they'd left off ten years
ago.
    She couldn't tell him any of it, because if they
tried their relationship again and it crashed and
burned, she'd have lost his friendship for good. She
didn't think she could stand it if that happened.
    So she gave him her best evil look and said, "I
was born ready. Let's catch some waves," then
turned away