All that to say, though the chances were slim to none that Miri would A) know what the hell he was talking about or B) care enough to do anything about it, he didn’t need her making even a casual reference to her friends and family about theGloGeojournalist she’d met who was on his way to the Cidade da Lua.
“Yeah, meeting my uncle and some cousins,” he answered before the pause came off as too suspicious. “And, hopefully, exploring a bit of my mother’s homeland while I’m here.”
Was that believable?Though, honestly, it would be nice tofinally get up close and personal with his heritage. He knew so little about the maternal side of his family tree, only the things his father told him, which wasn’t much given his parents’ whirlwind romance. Many years ago, Rafa had tried tracking down whether he evenhadrelatives in Brazil, but, unsurprisingly, ancestry websites weren’t all that useful when the only thing he had to go on was his mother’s first name: Andressa. No birthplace. No former addresses. Not even a last name, since it seemed she’d used a fake one on his birth certificate.
But now that he was here…well, maybe he’d finally be able to get some answers.
“That’s awesome,” Miri said, interrupting his thoughts. “I always wanted to do that—visit my parents’ birthplace.”
Phew.He let out a breath, thankful for his convincing delivery. Lying wasn’t really his forte, although it would be good to start getting in some practice before the expedition heated up.
“And where would that be?”
“Poulsbo, Washington. I mean, not nearly as sexy as Brazil, but I hear it’s beautiful. They met there in the seventh grade and, well, you know how the saying goes.”
He quirked his brow.
“The rest is history,” she offered. “Sorry, maybe they don’t say that in Canada?”
“Yes, we say that in Canada,” he said with a chuckle. “So, what’s stopping you? From visiting Poulsbo, I mean.”
“Oh, you know. The usual. Time. Money. Motivation.”
“Yet you’re in Brazil? Some would say that’s the opposite of the usual.” He said it with a smile, but her face instantly fell, and her cheeks blushed.
“I, uh…I’m here for work, so that doesn’t count.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“Oh…” Her eyes shifted.Hmm.“I, uh…I’m a consultant,” she said.
“What kind of consultant?”
“Um…I…” she murmured, twisting her hands in her lap. “I, uh, am a…a backpack consultant.”
Backpack consultant?Rafa cocked his head. “Is that an actual job?” he asked.
She snapped, “Yes, it’s an actual job.” Her eyebrows knit together.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. I’ve never heard of a backpack consultant before, is all.”
“There are consultants for everything.”
He nodded. “I suppose that’s true. What does a backpack consultant do?”
“Oh, you know…” She raised her head, looking everywhere but at him.
No, clearly hedidn’t.
“We test out backpacks for manufacturers and tell them what works and doesn’t work.”
“You’re going to be backpacking through Brazil?”
“Yep.”
“Alone?” The Amazon didn’t exactly seem like the most hospitable place for a test run, with its giant green anacondas, red-bellied piranhas, electric eels, and a whole host of poisonous bugs, frogs, and snakes. Not to mention poisonous Amazonian plants and Cannonball trees, dropping giant bowling ball–sized fruit from the sky onto unsuspecting tourists’ heads. Traveling in a group expedition was dangerous enough. Rafa didn’t want to imagine encountering these dangers alone.
She tilted her head and offered an overly confident smile. “Don’t think I can handle myself? Need I remind you of my lightning-fast reflexes?”
