He had to hand it to her. She certainly had spunk. “I retract my last question.”
Where had this woman come from? Maybe this was a sign.
A sign of what, exactly, he had no clue. But visiting this country had been a pivotal moment in his dad’s life. It had been the place he’d found purpose. Found…love.
Rafa glanced at Miri, and then he quickly wiped the ridiculous thought away. Was he seriously daydreaming about love four thousand miles away from home and hours before he was scheduled to set foot in the Amazon on an uncharted adventure? He’d only just met this woman.Arrête d’être niaiseux.
“Address?” the driver called out, stealing Rafa’s attention.
“Here,” Rafa said, pulling out his phone and pulling a text up on his screen. “Hotel dos Sonhos.”
“Wait,” Miri said, placing her hand on Rafa’s forearm, sending a pleasant jolt through his body. “That’s where I’m staying.”
He turned toward Miri. “You’re…you’re staying at the same hotel?”
“Unless there’s more than one?”
“Only one,” the driver called out.
This isdefinitelya sign.
No…no. Rafa waved off the absurdity of it all. He’d taken this job for a reason, and he couldn’t disregard it simply because this woman had made him smile half a dozen times in less than thirty minutes. Besides, not to judge a book by its cover, but Miri didn’t quite seem like the type who partook in casual rendezvous with strangers. That she could barely look at himwithout blushing didn’t exactly mesh with his usualmeet me in my room in an hourroutine he’d grown accustomed to on the job.
And yet, Rafa had a tough time accepting that the universe put the two of them on the same bus platform, hitching a ride to the same hotel in Brazil, for shits and giggles.
“So…” Rafa patted his hand against his thigh, debating his next move. Time slowed to a near standstill. Now what? Would they spend the next hour riding together in silence before she’d eventually thank him for the cab fare? Then would she wish him a nice life and a good visit with his family, to be followed by him spending the next who knows how many weeks in the fucking rainforest, drenched, miserable, with nothing but the memory of her sapphire eyes keeping him warm at night, leaving him to regret passing up the opportunity to spend more time together when it presented itself?
He erased the thought from his mind. That didn’t seem right. It didn’t need to end with a handshake, even if his job had to take priority and even if she didn’t seem like his typical hookup companion. Or maybe…maybe he needed to let the universe play its course.
And to quit making assumptions about whether Miri fit some preconceived mold Rafa had concocted. Maybe she was a backpack consultant during the daytime, but a bedroom consultant at night.
Hmm…
They sat staring at each other for another few moments as Rafa weighed the pros and cons of his next couple of words.
“I’ve got this thing tonight, but—” he started as she simultaneously said, “Did you know the Amazon is home to—”
They paused.Fuck. Guess he’d read that wrong. “You go,” he said.
“No, you first. I insist.”
Aside from an awkward taxi ride, what did he have to lose?
“I was going to say, I’ve got a thing I have to go to this evening, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab a drink afterward? What were you going to say?”
“I…I…”
Rafa’s body tensed at her hesitation. What…wasthis sensation? He’d never been nervous around women. On the rare occasion that a woman passed on his advances, it never bothered him. And he certainly didn’t get anxious when he awaited a reply.
“I was going to ask if you knew the Amazon is home to some amazing bars and if you’d like to get a drink this evening?”
He exhaled internally. “No, you weren’t,” he said, smiling at her. But cute that she’d tried.
“You’re right.” She smiled back. “Technically, I was going to ask if you knew the Amazon is home to two point five million insect species. But I’d…I’d like to get a drink…” She blushed. “Unless after this car ride you decide you can’t handle all this awesomeness. And by awesomeness, I mean, this,” she said, motioning her hands over her fanny pack like Vanna White onWheel of Fortune.
Rafa burst out laughing, garnering a raised eyebrow from the driver in the rearview mirror.Mind your business.
“I’monlycoming if you wear that, Pringles. And bring your snack bar.”
