“You know.”
He stared at her, signaling that, no, he didn’t know. Or at least he was good at playing coy. She paused, waiting to see if he would respond before asking, “I mean…what are we doing here, exactly?”
Rafa lifted his drink and twirled the glass in the air. “Appears we’re having a couple gin and tonics.”
She rolled her eyes with a playful smile. “You know that’s not what I mean. What did youthinkwas going to happen when you invited me out for drinks earlier?” Her heart pounded in her chest at her forwardness. But she had to know.
“Well, I thought we’d be having caipirinhas, since we’re in Brazil.” His lips turned up in the corner.
“Now you’re teasing me,” she said, turning away from him.
“No, I’m trying to make you laugh. Trying to soften theterrifyingblow you received this evening. You’ve got nothing to be worried about. Dr. Mejía said it herself—there’s a decent chance this entire expedition ends up a bust. No one is going to blame you if you don’t succeed.”
“Wow, you’re great at pep talks. You should be a motivational speaker. ‘Don’t worry…you’ll probably fail, but that’s okay. Gold stars for everyone!’ ” she said in a voice that sounded more used-car-salesperson than motivational speaker.
“Hey, don’t knock it. I could get paid big bucks with a speech like that. And then I could afford all the fanny pack snacks in the world.”
“I told you, it’s a money belt.”
“Sure it is.” He smiled, popping a couple of cocktail peanuts into his mouth.
She couldn’t help but smile in return. “Well, thank you. If you were trying to ease my nerves, then you’ve succeeded. Partially.”
“Anytime, Pringles.”
“Am I ever going to live that one down?” she asked with a smile, finally turning back toward him.
“Nope.”
She dipped her head to hide her ridiculously wide grin. Aside from the shortened nameMiri, she’d never had a nickname or a pet name.Pringleswasn’t exactly flattering, but she quite liked it, even if she’d never admit it aloud.
“What do you know about the Cidade da Lua?” he asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
Miri leaned back in her chair and looked up. “Oh…let’s see. I mean, I suppose the same things everyone knows—lost ancient civilization that disappeared without a trace. Supposedly the structures glimmer under moonlight. The people who lived there weren’t part of any other tribe or group. They managed to keep to themselves and avoid conflict with other people living in the Amazon and surrounding areas during that time. The rumor is that it’s because the Moon City peoples would trade their abundant riches to avoid any kerfuffle. But those riches were eventually their downfall.”
“How so?”
“Others wanted their gold and gemstones and tried to findways to infiltrate the city, following its people home if they were ever spotted. Legend has it that slowly the people of the Moon City stopped returning to avoid detection, ultimately resulting in its abandonment.”
“Seems pretty extreme, don’t you think?” he asked.
“To us, sure. But to them, they felt their home needed to be protected. They say there are people still protecting it to this day: os protetores da lua.”
Rafa shifted in his seat when she said those words, his discomfort palpable.
“Have you heard of them?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said, turning and watching her intently.
She smiled at his apparent interest in the topic. This. This was one of Miri’s favorite parts of her job. Hypothesizing with others about ancient worlds and civilizations. Talking about the people who lived there and how to honor and respect their traditions. So often Miri was left out of these conversations. Few of her colleagues ever sought her opinion.
“Oh, well, they think they’re the descendants of the people from the Moon City,” she said, excitedly. “From generation to generation, they’ve passed down the city’s secrets. Posing as tour guides and throwing unsuspecting explorers off its scent whenever they get too close—”
“Sounds like some secret grail society nonsense straight out ofIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade, if you ask me,” Dr. Quinn said, interrupting their conversation and sending a wave of nausea mixed with annoyance over Miri’s body.
Perfect. Just what she needed. Not that she necessarilywantedto be a lead on this expedition, co-lead or otherwise, but it probably didn’t look good that instead of studying up on theLost City of the Moon, she was out getting drinks with the hot photojournalist.
“I was hoping to find you,” Dr. Quinn continued, sidling up not to Miri, but to Rafa.
