Before she’d discovered Lee was working for Stonefish, she’d imagined bringing him here, swimming with him. In her daydreams, they’d camped nearby and she’d shown him places he could photograph and they’d spend their nights making love.
She had fallen just as hard as he claimed to have, but her trust regarding men was non-existent. She wished she could talk to Dot about it.
How was Dot coping with having her ex back in town? Dot had completely fallen apart when Oliver had chosen a job overseas instead of staying with her. Nhiari had been desperately worried, but she hadn’t understood the depth of Dot’s feelings until Lee had betrayed her.
Instead of collapsing, Nhiari had vowed vengeance. But only a couple of days with him and her conviction was fading.
“Have you started taking lessons from your mum?” Lee asked.
She squeezed her eyes closed and gritted her teeth. She’d hoped he’d forgotten everything she’d told him that night.
“You wanted to learn basket weaving, right?”
He knew he was. Nhiari had felt so comfortable with him she’d told him her regrets. She’d never embraced her indigenous heritage because she’d been teased mercilessly at school. She’d refused to listen to the lessons from her mother about gathering food and basket weaving, not wanting to acknowledge that aspect of who she was. Her mother had been disappointed but hadn’t pushed.
Now she was older, she wished she knew more of her heritage. The Bayungu had a joint agreement with Parks and Wildlife to manage the land here and while Nhiari protected the people, she wanted to know more about protecting the land as well.
She couldn’t ignore him. “Mum’s been teaching me, but I haven’t had a lot of free time lately.” She swam back to where she’d left her clothes and dragged them into the water to wash.
“Are you enjoying it?”
The information couldn’t be useful to Stonefish. “Yes.”
“I’m glad. You sounded so sad when you told me about it.”
Her heart squeezed. “Don’t,” she beseeched.
“Don’t what?” His question was calm.
“Don’t pretend you care.”
“It’s not a pretence, Nhiari.”
“When this is done, I have to arrest you, Lee.” Which would leave her in the same position as when she’d learnt of his deception. Heart-broken.
“Both of the people I killed were in the defence of another person.”
“And what about the rest of it?” Nhiari demanded. “The drugs, the enlisting people for Stonefish, killing the Stokes’ sheep.”
“It’s all part of stopping them. Will the case I’ve built against Stonefish work in my favour?”
She didn’t know, but he had a good point. She shoved away the hope. This could all be part of his manipulations again. And she wasn’t ready to forgive him.
Lee shifted close enough to touch her but kept his hands by his side. “When I started this, I saw nothing past avenging my father. I didn’t care what happened to me. But my focus shifted after that night with you. I realised there was something I wanted more—you. I’ve done everything since then to protect you and those you care about.”
His words were seductive, a temptation she desperately wanted to accept. She longed to reach out and touch him, to hold him in her arms again.
He didn’t move any closer, waiting for her response to his words. His patience made her want him even more.
“Lee…” She didn’t have the words, didn’t know what she wanted to do. Her heart screamed to forgive him, and her head reminded her of all the ways Stonefish had manipulated people in the past. “I can’t. Not yet.”
Lee nodded. “I’m here when you’re ready.”
Those words. They shouldn’t mean so much. Having someone there to wait for her, who wanted her enough to wait until she was ready. She couldn’t trust them yet. Not with how she’d been let down by him and others in the past.
“We should get back. I need to call Dot.” She waded to the shore, enjoying the cool night air on her wet skin.
Lee hurried ahead over the rocks and handed her a towel, which she used to dry herself, unable to resist inhaling his scent. After she’d spent some time drying her long hair, she wrapped the towel around herself. Lee held out the T-shirt and shorts he’d offered her before the swim.
