Zara bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to get this show started. But there had been a lighting glitch, and they’d been delayed for fifteen minutes. She’d sat in the whirlpool to stay warm, and now she just wanted to go.
Though she was behind the closed door in the locker room, when Suzie came bursting through it, Zara heard the noise outside. “What’s going on?” she asked, trying to get a peek before the door closed. “How close are they?”
Suzie pressed her back into the door, a grin filling her whole face. “They’re close. There’s just…Maine Fitzgerald showed up, and everyone’s making a big deal out of it.”
Zara’s heart stuttered a little, though she had no chance with quarterback Maine Fitzgerald. He was dating someone and had been for a long time. But still. A celebrity at Fresh Start.
She’d performed in the show dozens of times now, and still she felt jittery. A few minutes later someone knocked on the door and said, “Two minutes, Zee.”
After snapping her goggles into place, she eased into the pool that would get her out to the arena without being seen. She held onto the platform, she rode it up high, and she and Beni performed their spectacular dives into the pool below.
She usually came up to thunderous applause, but tonight, when she broke the surface of the water, only silence rained down on her. Sliding up onto the edge of the pool as normal, she waved as though they were cheering like they’d just seen her win the Super Bowl.
A man stood up and a spotlight shone on him. Zara’s hand froze mid-wave and she felt like she’d just inhaled a lungful of salt water.
It was Noah Wales. Prince Noah Wales.
Right there, just on the other side of the railing. Maybe ten feet from her. He lifted his hand in a wave and called, “Amazing, Zara!” He started to applaud, and his third clap got swallowed by the crowd as they all joined him on their feet, the roof-shaking applause now what she was accustomed to.
She didn’t know what to do. The timing of the show was off now, and she still perched on the edge of the pool. Finally, someone grabbed onto her ankles and said, “Come on, Zee. You can talk to him after.”
Zara joined Suzie in the water, and she missed the first synchronized move with the other girls but managed to get her leg up on the second one. Her heart skipped every third beat, and she couldn’t hold her breath as long as she used to.
Noah was here.
What was Noah doing here?
She wanted to go see him during intermission, but she found the exits blocked by James, Beni, and Ian himself.
“After the show,” Ian said. “I already did him a huge favor by moving his seat and postponing the show so he could get situated right where you’d come out of the water.”
“You did that?” Zara stared at him in disbelief. And now she’d have to put her swim cap back on over wet hair and skin, and that was a huge pain.
“Well, the lights were already a problem, so I figured what was a few more minutes?” Ian shrugged and smiled, and added, “He seems like a really great guy, for what it’s worth.”
Zara wasn’t sure what she thought. She didn’t really want to see Noah, but he was here. On the island. And she wanted to find out how he’d achieved that. And fine, she wanted to find out if they could have a second chance.
But first she had to finish the second act of her show. As she did, she couldn’t help thinking that the name of this production was Fresh Start—and that was exactly what she and Noah needed.
After the final applause, after she’d showered and changed, after she had everything in her bag ready to go, Zara sat on the thin benches in the locker room and stared at her phone. Almost everyone else had left, and her nerves prevented her from doing the same.
“Come on,” Suzie hissed from the doorway leading into the hall. “What are you doing?”
Zara lifted one shoulder in a shrug and looked at her best friend. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t you at least want to hear how he got here?”
“I don’t know,” Zara said. She did, but she didn’t at the same time. “What if he has to leave again in the morning?” She’d already started piecing her heart back together. It hadn’t gone well, and she still had a lot of cracks and wounds to heal, but she’d started.
Suzie entered the locker room, looking like she could eat kittens for breakfast. “Zara, come on. He’s all you’ve talked about for a week, and I know you were suffering in silence before that. So he’s here. And he’s gorgeous. And he’s just as nervous as you. So come on.” She tugged on Zara’s hand hard enough to get her to stand.
Zara moved to the door, only because Suzie was behind her, and she couldn’t turn and flee the other way.
She’d taken one step into the hall when Suzie added, “And besides, your family needs to get back to the restaurant.”
“My family?” The last word whispered out of Zara’s mouth, because she’d seen Noah. And he was wonderful and strong and everything she held in her memory of him.
He took an anxious step forward, a huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. Sure enough, her family—her parents, both sets of grandparents, all her sisters and their husbands, and her aunties and uncles—flanked him.
Zara could hardly move, but her wooden legs managed to get her down the hall to a more open area where everyone stood.
“Hey, Zara,” Noah said, his warm, deep voice washing over her. Soothing her. So not fair. She wanted to be mad at him, and he’d charmed her simply by saying her name. “These are for you. Your sister said you like carnations the best.”
“She does,” Krisha said.
“But they smell bad,” Abi said. “He should’ve gotten hibiscus.”
“There’s some of those too,” he said. “Your friend Ash helped me get them. I guess her fiancé owns a flower business?”
Zara nodded and took the bouquet. She did love carnations, and she did like the way hibiscus smelled. “How long have you been back?”
“I got here about noon,” he said.
Her eyebrows went up. “And you mobilized my family and met my friend Ash?”
“I was a little late to the show,” he said, a magnificent smile touching his mouth. Zara wanted to touch his mouth. Feel him and make sure he was real and not a mirage. “It took forever to get a ticket.”
“How did you get a ticket?” she asked.
“I called Ian.”
Of course he did. Only Prince Noah would be able to figure call in a favor to a man he barely knew. Bold. The fact that he’d been able to orchestrate everything so perfectly felt like she’d entered an alternate reality.
“After my lunch of butter chicken,” he said. “Things got really interesting. I wasn’t going to do all of this. I just wanted to see you.” He took a step forward, his hand reaching toward her like he wanted to make sure she was real too.
“I wanted to apologize,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve seen some things online that have been upsetting. I know I need to explain and earn your trust back.” He glanced at her father, who nodded once.
“But I’m in love with you Zara Reddy, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right between us.” He dropped to one knee and took the black jewelry box from her mother in one quick movement.
Zara couldn’t breathe. It seemed to take an hour for Noah to crack that lid. When he did, he presented the glittering, diamond ring to her and asked, “Will you marry me?”
Sai and Myra sighed like they were Disney princesses, but tears stung Zara’s eyes. She wanted to look to her parents for permission, but their presence meant they’d already given it.
So she nodded, some of her tears splashing down her face, and said, “Yes, Noah. I’ll marry you.”
He grinned and fumbled a little to remove the ring from the box and slide it on her finger. Then he stood, took the flowers and handed them to someone, and gathered her into the safety of his strong arms.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured just before lowering his head and kissing her. Zara knew there was a lot to talk about still, but it didn’t seem to matter all that much. He was here, and he’d fixed a lot already.
So she kissed him back, hoping her actions could convey the three little words she’d yet to say.
Her family and friends cheered, and it was the exact proposal Zara had never known she wanted. She pulled away, giggling, and Noah tucked her into his side while they faced her parents.
Her mother wore a smile and wiped at her eyes, and that set Zara to crying all over again. She hugged her mom, who asked, “You will do the traditional Indian wedding, yes?”
“Nita, give her a few days,” her dad said, drawing Zara into his embrace. “Congratulations, Zee. You two will be so happy.”
She wondered what had changed their minds, but she decided she had plenty of time to find out. She hugged her sisters, her aunties, and everyone else before returning to find Noah had picked up her swim bag and was holding her flowers.
“Do you want to see where I live?” he asked.
“Don’t tell me you found a house since noon too.” She looked at him, pure shock moving through her. Was there anything he couldn’t do?
He shrugged and said, “You might want to use the bathroom before we go.”