Page 21 of Hidden Depths

That's when Storm starts seeing him differently.

Not as "the groom."

As a man who asks thoughtful questions and genuinely values what she knows.

Ivy suddenly points toward the water.

"Dolphins!"

Everyone rushes to the rail.

A pod of dolphins races alongside Sea Whisper.

Harold is there.

Ivy laughs.

"I told you he'd come."

Scott stares.

"...She really does know that dolphin."

Everyone laughs.

Ward looks at Storm.

Storm isn't watching the dolphins.

She's watching her sisters.

Smiling.

He realizes...

This woman loves seeing other people happy.

5

Storm

The Pacific had a rhythm.

Not the crashing waves people imagined from movies.

A quieter one.

A slow rise beneath the hull.

A gentle roll.

The steady heartbeat of an ocean that had been here long before any of us.

Sea Whisper rode it effortlessly.

She always had.

I stood on the bridge, one hand resting lightly on the wheel while the autopilot held our course southwest.