CHAPTER TEN:
Two days passed without a word.
For Vanessa, they were heavy, restless days, the kind that made her throw herself into work until her hands shook from exhaustion. Yet no matter how many blueprints she sketched, her mind betrayed her, slipping back to Zack's face as he left, the raw edge in his voice when he said he didn't know how to be anything else.
On the third night, a knock came at her door.
Vanessa froze, her heart already knowing. When she opened it, Zack stood there rumpled, tired, but with a look in his eyes that stripped away her defenses.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
She hesitated, then stepped aside.
The silence between them was sharp at first, filled with unsaid words. Zack paced once, then stopped in front of her. "I don't want to fight with you, Vanessa. Not about this. Not about us."
Her throat tightened. "Then what do we do? Because I can't keep living in your shadow, waiting for the sea to choose when I get to have you."
Zack exhaled slowly, his shoulders sagging. "The sea will always be part of me. But so are you now. And I don't know how to balance the two yet. What I do know is I don't want to lose you while I figure it out."
Vanessa blinked back tears, her resolve softening. For the first time, he wasn't all confidence and fire. He was vulnerable, raw, reaching for something more.
She stepped closer, touching his hand. "I don't need you to give up who you are. I just need to know you'll come back to me. That I'm not second to the waves."
His fingers curled around hers, strong and certain. "You're not second. You're the only anchor I've ever had."
The word broke her. She fell against him, and his arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight as though he could never let go. Their kiss came slow, steady, and aching, less storm, more healing.
That night, when they lay tangled in her bed, it wasn't about urgency; it was about reassurance. Every touch said I'm here. Every breath said don't let go. And for the first time, Vanessa believed that maybe just maybe they could weather this together.