Chapter 16
It was Christmas, 2008. Outside, aquamarine waves washed over a white sand shore, throwing up clumps of seaweed with their relentless rise and fall. The sun was a brilliant yellow-white orb, banishing shadows to thatch-roofed cabanas dotting the shoreline. The air smelled crisp, heavy with the fragrance of the briny seawater.
Jess dug her toes into the sand and reveled in the feel of the warm, salty water as it washed over them. Her skin felt pleasantly dry from a balmy breeze. The sun was hot on her shoulders, which had already begun freckling. But she wasn’t worried about her fair skin burning, not when the sun felt so glorious on it—a hot, full-body kiss.
She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and watched as a small boat headed out to a coral reef, filled with e
