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that.
    Kat had always wanted to learn more about his successes, and also to take his cue and experience life beyond her own neighborhood. So she’d accepted a lot of his more downscale invitations to tour his companies, to talk with marine biologists at UCSD, to learn .
    And she was grateful. This kindhearted man had brought new meaning to her life. But she was also aware of her faint fear of disappointing him, of staying in the same rut just because it was easier.
    “Even though you’re refusing everything,” Duke said, bringing her back to the moment, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about a different proposition. Something for your education, Kat.”
    Her education? “What?”
    “Sharks. The ocean. Another opportunity for knowledge.”
    She just stared at the optimistic, crazy sparkle in his watery eyes. His impetuous ideas, his never-ending mental youth, tugged at her. God, how she wanted togrow up to be like Duke—caring, giving, kept alive by joy and the refusal to accept defeat.
    “I’m chartering a boat out to Isla de Guadalupe, off the coast of Baja California,” he said. “Cage-diving. A five-day trip. Hell, you’re basically on vacation while Neptune Point reviews what happened with Yoko anyway, right?”
    “Yeah, but—”
    Duke’s shaky sigh cut her off. Its world-weary tone spoke volumes. “It’d be a great experience.”
    Closing her eyes, Kat tried to shut out the thought of how, these past few months, Duke had eased his way into the place of a father who’d died unexpectedly when she was eighteen. She would’ve given anything to have had time with him before he was gone, to have spent every waking second making that dying man happy.
    Not for the first time, Kat wondered why Duke was being so kind to her. It was something that made her a little uncomfortable to mull over. They were friends, right? An older man and a younger woman could manage that. He’d never made any advances toward her and, truthfully, she dreaded having to face that kind of situation. All she knew was that most of Duke’s family had been distant until his recent illness, and she loved the thought of having a surrogate family like Duke for herself. Theirs was a symbiotic relationship—good for them both.
    “I’m taking Chris, also,” Duke said. “He’s on a shark kick right now.”
    His grandson and ward. An orphaned thirteen-year-old who looked at Kat like she was the end-all-be-all every time Duke brought him for a surfing lesson. He was one of Kat’s worst soft spots besides Duke.
    “No fair.” Kat took some sand and playfully tossed it at her friend’s leg. “You know I can’t resist that kid.”
    “Then pack up. We can get an expert from the Shark Study Institute on board, the finest gourmet food, spectacular staterooms—”
    Tempting. God , it’d be so tempting if she could just tell herself that he was inviting her as a friend and nothing else. But then she thought of a trip to the middle of the ocean, surrounded by blue. Peace, danger. She thought of how her dad would’ve loved such an adventure with her, if he’d had the money or time for it.
    In her mind’s eye, she saw him scooting out the front door, on the way to Viejas Casino. “I can’t go to the pool with you today, Kat,” he’d say. “See ya later though?”
    Then she saw him the way she preferred: guiding her over the surface of the public pool as she floated on her back, the sun splashing over her face. “You’re a born water baby, Kat,” he’d say. “Like dad, like daughter.”
    As the memory drifted off she tried to cling to it, but it just disintegrated, like all the possibilities between them.
    Duke’s voice took the place of her father’s. “You want to go. I can tell.”
    He was right. And since when was she going to let a little thing like discomfort get to her? “I guess I can deal with real life when I get back.”
    “Good. Good. I like your attitude. But, for now, just have some fun, okay? You deserve it