Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(31)
She nodded, determination welling up within her as she repeated, “Let’s do this.”
***
She continually amazed him. Ethan had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky to find Abby, but he knew without a doubt that he had found one of the strongest and most remarkable women when he met her. Something was up, that much was clear. But she was determined not to let it stop her.
As he watched her gather her courage and resolve to face whatever demons she undoubtedly had, Ethan knew he could never let her go. Last night had blown his mind. It wasn’t just that he’d been aching to make love to Abby since the first day he saw her. It wasn’t even that it was one of the most amazing experiences of his life. It was that the feelings she stirred up inside him were feelings he’d never expected to have. He’d fought off commitment for so long, fearing that it would cost him too much, that he’d have to give up too much. But Abby accepted him for how he was and didn’t ask him to change a thing.
When she said, “Let’s do this,” he couldn’t be more proud of her.
A grin broke across his face. “You won’t regret it.” She smiled back at him as if that was exactly what she needed to hear.
Giving her a quick but tender kiss, he grabbed her hand and led her to where he’d stuck the boards in the sand. “Okay, let’s go over the basics before we get in the water.”
She nodded and listened carefully as he began to explain the basic concept of how to balance on the boards. He’d forgone any instructors that the resort offered, knowing he had enough experience to be able to teach Abby anything she needed to know at the beginner level. Plus, he loved being the one to introduce her to one of his favorite sports.
She caught on quickly, no doubt because she’d spent years of her life watching surfers and had a general idea already of what she needed to do. Once he felt like she had a good handle on how to get up on the board and how to find the right wave and align herself with it, the only thing left was to get out there and actually try it. Ethan was a big believer in learning by doing.
“You ready?” he asked, grabbing his board and securing it to his ankle before tucking it under his arm.
She did the same, then looked at him and nodded. There was only a trace of hesitation in her eyes, but the fear was gone.
“You’ve got this, baby.” He gave her an approving nod back, then kissed her again. “Let’s go.”
Abby followed him into the water and he saw her close her eyes briefly when they were waist deep in the ocean. It looked like she let out a big breath and then looked up at the sky and said something he couldn’t hear over the crashing waves.
“You good?” he called.
She nodded and smiled, calling back, “It feels good to be back in the ocean. It’s been a while.”
He waded a little closer to her and reminded her of some of the instructions he’d given her, then smiled encouragingly as he moved to a safe distance from her. He put his board in front of him and jumped onto it, lying on his stomach and paddling out past the break line, gesturing for her to do the same. He was glad she had worn a bright red swimsuit so he could better see her against the water. She followed his lead and got on her board as well.
As they paddled out further, she gave him a huge grin. Whatever concern she’d had seemed to be gone and she seemed to be getting the same adrenaline rush he always did when surfing.
The waves were actually a little bigger than they’d been when they’d first come down to the water that morning, but that was better. It was a bit easier to catch a wave when there was something big enough to catch.
He saw the perfect swell coming up and called to her as loudly as he could, also gesturing with his arm. “There it is! Line up your board!”
She quickly turned her board and got her body in position, just like he’d shown her. As the water caught her board and started pushing it forward, she jumped from her stomach and positioned her feet, then rose up quickly. Like all first timers, getting the balance right was practically impossible and she toppled over the top of the wave and fell under the water.
He paddled over to her as she resurfaced with the biggest smile he’d ever seen, her eyes wide and full of elation.
“I did it! I actually got up on my feet!” she said excitedly.
He knew exactly the rush she was feeling. He remembered his first time too and he couldn’t be prouder of her. To even get to her feet for a couple seconds on her first time out was something to be proud of.
“That was awesome, Abby. I swear, you’re a natural.”
She beamed at his praise and swam over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as the waves continued to break over them. She planted a hard kiss on his mouth. “That was amazing. I can’t believe I did that. It was even better than I expected.”
“You ready to try again?”
She nodded, her eyes gleaming. They paddled out again and Ethan watched her a few times to make sure she was comfortable before going to catch a few waves of his own. She was doing great, and looked to be having the time of her life. Awesome wasn’t even the word to describe how he felt at being out on the water doing what he loved most with the woman he loved.
The thought hit him as hard as if a wave had just knocked him under and left him totally disoriented. Loved? Is that what he felt for Abby? It seemed crazy. It had only been a couple weeks since they’d met. But he’d fallen hard and fast, and he’d be lying to himself if he said love wasn’t what he was feeling for her.