The cool breeze lifted Meg Taylor's red curls from the back of her neck, tossing them wildly. She smiled and tented a hand above her eyes to squint at the curling waves. She should've brought her darker sunglasses. The ones she wore didn't cut through the glare enough for her to properly see what was going on, but she'd sat on the dark ones last week in her car and hadn't had time to buy a replacement set before the wedding. She was always doing things like that. It's why she didn't buy expensive sunglasses; they rarely lasted long.
The blare of the bullhorn startled her, and she laughed to herself. As the wife of Brad Taylor, international surfing champion, she'd have to get used to that sound. The voice of the announcer cut through the buzz of the crowd, detailing the water conditions, wave size, and backgrounds of the competitors as arms curved beside surfboards, pulling the surfers into the depths.
She blocked out all the noise and scanned the group of distant, colourful corks bobbing on the ocean’s surface to find her husband.
Her husband.
She liked the way the words sounded. Even in her head, they sent a thrill of delight along her spine that tingled and made her heart leap. They'd only been married a week and decided to honeymoon in Hawaii so Brad could compete in the Oahu championship before they headed home to Emerald Cove on the sunny northeastern New South Wales coastline.
It felt strange to be here, watching Brad on her own. Usually his parents would come too, maybe his brother. She'd gone with him to two other events, but always with his small entourage. Never on her own. Having just the two of them made this competition feel special in a way the others never had. At twenty-four and twenty-two years of age, they were now Mr and Mrs Taylor, and she was his entire support crew.
She rested a hand on her backpack. Water, snacks, a towel… She hoped she had everything he'd need. He was so relaxed about the whole thing he hadn't been much help. All he'd wanted to do was stay in the beach cottage they'd spent the past week inside. She'd objected - why come all the way to beautiful Hawaii to honeymoon if you were barely going to step foot outside? But she hadn't really minded. Her cheeks flushed with warmth at the memory of his kisses, of exploring each other the way they'd been able to do - unfettered, unchecked. She loved him so much. In ways she'd never imagined she'd be able to love someone else.
"Hi, Meg!" One of the other Australian surfers' wives, she couldn't remember the woman's name, sauntered past and waved, her blonde hair bobbing in a thin ponytail down her tanned back.
Meg waved in return, offering the woman a smile. "Nice day for it."
The woman nodded. "Brad's looking good, I think he's got a chance today."
Meg grinned. "I think so too. See ya."
The woman disappeared into the crowd, and Meg's attention returned to the group of tiny surfers floating beyond the break, waiting for the perfect wave.
The waves this week had been bigger than any waves she'd ever seen in her life. Emerald Cove was renowned for having great waves, but even Emerald Cove waves couldn't come close to the waves in this bay.
She lowered herself into a chair and foraged around in her bag for her hat. Her skin wasn't as fair as her sister's, but it was fair enough that she did her best to protect it from sun damage when she thought of it. Though, since arriving in Hawaii a week ago, she'd already noticed the sun didn't burn as harshly as it did back home in Australia.
With the hat firmly ensconced on her head, she studied the ocean once again. Several of the surfers had caught waves to shore. Most had crashed out, as the thick lips of the waves curved towards the churning ocean below, taking the surfers with them.
The sky was clear today, but the wind was high and the waves were unpredictable and rough. White water sprayed in the air as another wave crashed. The announcer cautioned everyone to be careful out there, and Meg's heart skipped a beat.
Brad was a professional. He surfed every day, had for most of his life. He'd grown up in Emerald Cove and moved to Brisbane after high school. She remembered him from when they were kids. She'd had a huge crush